Fantastique Canopée for Comme des Garçons by Paul Coudamy
Following the success of London’s Dover Street Market, a store of the same name has opened in the traditional area of Ginza in Tokyo. One of the most impressive of the several installations to be seen in the store is the Fantastique Canopee (Wonderful Canopy) designed by Paris based designer, Paul Coudamy.
This enormous sculpture was created on site for Comme de Garcons and is made up of 9,715 separate wooden panels and off-cuts. It rises majestically from two tree trunk-like columns on either side of a glass paned escalator and spreads over the ceilings of two retail spaces. The movement of the wood appears to stretch and flow with incredible liquidity, one towards the other. The ‘branches’ of the ‘tree’ introduce an organic aspect into the otherwise urban environment of the shop and create a contrast with the whiteness of the walls and ceilings.
The concept of the interior of the store is by Rey Kawabuko of Commes de Garcons, whose intention was to transform the space without radical structural intervention.
