A touch of frost

An installation made from Plexiglas and coloured LEDS dominates the jeanswear section.

A newcomer to the region, Paris-based Elise Fouin was responsible for designing the jewellery, jeanswear and beauty departments of the recently-opened Dubai Galeries Lafayette.

Inspired by the magic of winter, the 600m² jewellery department features a deluge of sparkles. Located at the store’s main entrance, the space had to make immediate impact, so Fouin opted for a symphony of frost, crystals and ice.

Eight pillars at the store’s main entrance are dressed in some 26,000 flat-based crystals. Each crystal has been hand-positioned, asymmetrically, and is the colour of the aurora borealis.

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Flowers, shards of frost and crystal beads are attached to a lacquered gold and grey background to mimic the shimmering of early-morning dew. Six chandeliers, made from jewellery chains and crystals, evoke a shower of fine hail to crown the display.

In the 150m² jeanswear section, the names of 35 iconic cities around the world hang overhead, in a Fouin-designed installation made from Plexiglas and coloured LEDs.
Located on either side of the central escalator on the 1st floor, this 30m-long installation was designed as a link between the masculine and feminine.

Inspired by the neon lights that light major megalopolises all over the world, the installation is also a nod to the popularity of jeans across the globe.

In the beauty department, Fouin embraced a floral theme – a water lily with metal petals coated in tear-proof white paper blooms from the ceiling. The heart of the flower is made from heat-moulded Plexiglas, while LEDs and fibre optics decorate and illuminate it. The feature’s 4m diametre makes it an undeniable focal point.

Fouin’s relationship with the French retail chain dates back to 2007, when she worked on the design of one of the restaurants in Galeries Lafayette in Lille. Impressed by her work, the project’s head of architecture introduced her to Michel Abchee, chairman of Galeries Lafayette Dubai.

The 29-year-old designer graduated from Paris’ l’Ecole Boulle, having studied gold and silver smithing, and furniture design, and she is known for the delicacy of her work, particularly with paper. With Galeries Lafayette in Dubai, she met with every designer’s ideal – a free rein.

“There was no brief, which is a dream for any designer. It is also the best way to acquire something good. Designers need freedom and trust,” she maintained.
Distance, and the lack of a set deadline, were the only challenges that Fouin faced with this project. And she overcame these by relinquishing control.

“The best way is to be patient, to trust the manufacturer and to learn to ‘lacher prise’ – to accept that my drawings can be translated into reality by people other than me! Now I know craftsmen in Dubai have many many skills and are very gifted,” she said.

By her own admission, it’s too early to pin down Fouin’s ‘design style’, but exploring materials is an overriding theme. “I don’t know yet how I would describe my design style!

Ask me when I’m 70 years old! The only thing I can say is I like to play with materials, and my biggest source of inspiration is what encircles me: to look at nature, the city, people and to travel; to keep a fecund eye.”