Retail is arguably one of the most competitive marketplaces, causing brands to continuously push boundaries and truly innovate. Dior, one of Europe’s most well-known luxury brands, commissioned Bureau Betak for their Fashion Week (FW16) presentation in Paris. Dior and Bureau Betak have collaborated for years creating a series of captivating interiors for the brand’s Paris runway shows. In the past, the creative agency has had a live white orchid installation, a monochromic bulbous smooth white sanctuary, and a sci-fi style arena, as editors at DesignBoom would describe.

For the past few years, the agency has focused on the manipulation of a single substrate, mirrors. For FW16, Bureau Betak created a mirrored fashion house, sitting in one of the main courtyards of the Louvre Palace, the Cour Carrée. The mirrored façade reflects the beautiful, historic architecture that surrounds it.


photography© Bureau Betak

Virtually camouflaged and unbeknownst to a visitor, the interior is equally captivating. With a tunnel-like orientation, the models walk through red rounded gaps with sets of neutral toned flanked seating. The circular orientation of the apertures creates an optical illusion that transcends the catwalk.


photography© Bureau Betak

Again in Paris, and to showcase Dior’s 2018-spring collection, Bureau Betak transformed a previously stark interior into something else entirely. Utilizing 80,000 mirror shards, artisan crafted, the interior is enveloped in mosaic-style mirrored tiling. The shards make their way from the ceilings to the walls to portions of the floor, creating the immersive experience of being inside a disco ball.


photography© Bureau Betak

The concrete flooring and the artificial lighting all interact with the mirrors to further transform the interior space. The spring collection is colorful as if the models on the catwalk are walking through a winter wonderland towards the first signs of spring.

Photography ©Bureau Betak
information courtesy of DesignBoom

DISCLAIMER: The following project does not feature Alucobond® aluminum composite material (ACM). The “Industry (Architecture)” section of our blog focuses on extraordinary architectural works from around the world. While this project does not feature our ACM, we have included comparable samples to what was used in the project above.