The first Prada Paradoxe pop-up store in the Philippines felt just like a dream. Up in thirty hours, and gone in two days! A feat for the builders behind it, the pop-up is the largest in the world, so far, besting in size its other versions in New York, Los Angeles, Sydney, Beijing, Shanghai, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.

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The Glorietta pop-up was an ode to the multi-faceted woman. The perfume itself is an homage to “the multi-dimensionality of a woman impossible to frame,” just like its muse, UN Women Goodwill ambassador, activist and actress, Emma Watson who directed the short film on the fragrance herself.

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The Scent As A Spatial Experience

The retail outlet was meant to be a spatial experience of the scent. On a black and white checkerboard platform, a larger than life totem pole of the Prada Paradoxe fragrance bottles was built, along with the glass pop-up store, framed in a seductively shiny, mirror-like metal bracing. In it, the floating cabinetry, along with a cool, rounded, retro-shaped island in the Prada green color exhibit the fragrance. Plush velvet slipper chairs in evergreen provide seating for clients. Meanwhile, an immersion room, concealed by gray velvet curtains, takes shoppers into a world where the Prada reflection rules infinitely. This provides the Instagram experience, now a requisite in most retail and F & B outlets.

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For the local version of the Prada Paradoxe pop-up, Jopet Sy helmed the 65-person team of building firm, MYNT, Inc. (Making Your Needs Today, Inc.). The company counts the Fully Booked x Konikuniya store at the Mitsukoshi Mall, the Focus Global store in Rockwell and the Tartufo restaurants in BGC and Greenbelt in its roster of tony retail fitout projects.

Jopet Sy talks to Metro.Style about this pop-up phenomenon:

What were the challenges and triumphs of building for a very popular, luxe brand such as Prada?

[It’s] the quality that you have to maintain. They have a 5-star rating which requires things to be perfect no matter what. For this Glorietta pop up, we were only given 30 hours to finish the project and it has to be in its finest detail. Having a 12-m frontage without a ceiling hanger is one of the hardest challenge we've faced, we had to find a way to carry the Prada entrance logo without it sagging.

Axometric view of the Prada Paradoxe Philippine pop-up store Courtesy of Jopet Sy

What was it like working with their team of designers?

Their principal was the strictest of all. You cannot alter their logo entrance, the colors have a particular shade only for their brand. This is a very confidential practice [which cannot be used anywhere else outside of the brand].

What are the stand out features of the pop-up?

It is located in a 300-sqm area with a 100-sqm stand from the ground store which was built in only 3 nights. The experience inside is meant to convey the Prada Paradoxe scent. The immersion room will bring you to an infinity Prada reflection, the highlight of the booth.

The Prada Paradoxe Pop-Up In GloriettaCourtesy of Jopet Sy

The Prada Paradoxe Pop-Up In GloriettaCourtesy of Jopet Sy

The Prada Paradoxe Pop-Up In GloriettaCourtesy of Jopet Sy

The Prada Paradoxe Pop-Up In GloriettaCourtesy of Jopet Sy

The Prada Paradoxe Pop-Up In GloriettaCourtesy of Jopet Sy

The Prada Paradoxe Pop-Up In GloriettaCourtesy of Jopet Sy

The Prada Paradoxe Pop-Up In GloriettaCourtesy of Jopet Sy

The Prada Paradoxe Pop-Up In GloriettaCourtesy of Jopet Sy

The Prada Paradoxe Pop-Up In GloriettaCourtesy of Jopet Sy

Was there any element of design you recommended or had to localize?

Most elements were locally-sourced and thought of creatively to withstand a 30-hour construction deadline inside the mall. The technical details of the Prada totem were given and had to be followed to the T.

How does this project change/enhance/level up the local retail landscape?

The eye for the finishes and the pressure to finish with a very tight deadline are factors or challenges that [when met] are achievements for the local construction business. It only shows that the Philippines can do biggest pop-ups and not just the ordinary display modules.

Inside the Philippine Prada Paradoxe pop-up store Courtesy of Jopet Sy

What interior trends are represented in this pop-up, and do you see these trends becoming classics?

The lighting, the simplicity of things and the elegance of minimalism. Prada is mostly painted with Prada green and black. The walls, ceiling and even the glass is covered with a tinge of this green shade. The immersion room with the infinity mirror logo is a fun and trendy addition achieved with a classic trick.

What technology/ latest and greatest interior features should we all know about? How will they make our lives better and why would you recommend these?

Creativity should always take place to make things happen. I was there the whole setup and never left a single second just to make sure the brand and its standards are maintained. Lightweight materials such as gypsum boards for walls and ceilings, sintra boards for finishes, and acrylics instead of glass were material interior finishes used here. These materials are lighter, but installation can present its own challenges, so the secret is in the design details.

The recently concluded Prada Paradoxe pop-up store at the Glorietta Mall Courtesy of Jopet Sy

If you missed the Prada Paradoxe pop-up in Glorietta, don’t fret! It will be up in other locations.

For your building needs, contact MYNT (Making Your Needs Today, Inc.) through Jopet Sy at 0917-5555718.

Photographs Courtesy of Jopet Sy