What Will X Be?

01.07.2009 | New Work

Selfridges is lifting the veil on its next big centenary celebratory moment, which this time focuses on the future rather than the past fast-fowarding 100 years exactly.

Selfridges has teamed up with leading creative agency Wieden + Kennedy London to create the "2109 Future A-Z", a special window installation which looks at the life we may lead in 2109 and the objects of desire that may become commodities in the future.

The installation launches officially on Monday 29th June in Selfridges Wonder Windows situated in the storeís Wonder Room, the ultimate destination for precious and extraordinary products. The Future A-Z is part of a wider window scheme, simply called 2109, that launches on Friday 3rd July. Whereas the Future A-Z is looking at specific products that may revolutionise our current lifestyle and bring it ultimate comfort and pleasure, the main 2109 window scheme will look at more complete lifestyle scenes.

The Future A-Z will offer a unique opportunity: a competition open to the public to design a product for inclusion in the alphabet.  This is the first time the world-famous Selfridges windowsí team will create and display a concept generated as a result of a public competition.

The 2109 Future A-Z installation consists of 25 fantastical new inventions designed for our life to come: from the stupidly clever A for Airbag Cycle Helmets through to the darker dimension of D for Designer Organs, and one, "T is for Timeless", will be recognised by all.

It is the letter X which the general public will be invited to pitch for, simply by sending their idea drawn on paper either by postal mail or by applying online by 6pm on 26th July (see details in editorís notes). The winning idea, as selected by a panel of creative experts: Dr Frances Corner - Professor of Art and Design Education at the London College of Fashion, Patrick Burgoyne - Editor Creative Review and Linda Hewson - Head of Creative at Selfridges, will be made to measure and exhibited from 8th August until the end of the month.  The X Idea Competition winner will also win a £500 Selfridges Gift Card.

Tony Davidson, Executive Creative Director Wieden + Kennedy said, "As the industry evolves, so should opportunities to do projects beyond the normal remit of an agency.  Too often we are pigeonholed by clients who believe we can only do one thing.  It is a privilege to be given the chance to do a project like the 100 years of Selfridges Windows by a brave client who believed in us and consequently gave us a chance to execute ideas beyond traditional advertising."

  • print post

W+K Pick Up Selfridges
Brief

15.05.2009 | New business

Wieden + Kennedy London has been appointed by Selfridges & Co. to create an installation in the Oxford Street store’s Wonder Room Windows.  The new installation is part of the iconic department store’s 100 Year Anniversary celebrations this year and will be unveiled in July 2009.

In celebration of 100 years of trading, Selfridges & Co. decided to celebrate the future rather than looking to the past, so the pitch for the design of the windows was to devise ‘an ad-hoc vision of domestic design utopia in 2109’.  

The Wonder Windows link the outside of the store to the Selfridges Concept store and Wonder Room which is undoubtedly the most high profile area of the store. They have a reputation for showcasing bespoke artworks by both up-and-coming and more established artists in these windows. They are treated as installation spaces and are regarded by the press and art world as such.

Sarah McCullough, Concept Manager, Selfridges & Co. said ‘Working with Wieden + Kennedy has really given us the opportunity to push the spaces in a new direction, by working in tandem with the Selfridges creative brief of 2109. The W+K proposal was at once accessible and inventive and has been hugely well received by all parts of the business. We predict that the tongue in cheek wit and whimsical but dark inventions will be a great crowd pleaser.’

Tony Davidson, Executive Creative Director, Wieden + Kennedy said ‘I hate being pigeon-holed and confined to traditional advertising, so its nice when you find yourself winning pitches against product designers and artists, not advertising agencies’.

Tom Seymour, Creative, Wieden + Kennedy said, ‘Both Selfridges and Wieden + Kennedy have a similar way of thinking in terms of playfulness and witty humour. This is a fantastic opportunity to be working with a like minded brand and to be seen doing alternative projects beyond traditional advertising.”

  • print post
© Wieden + Kennedy 2009, All Rights reserved