British automotive brand Range Rover has worked alongside Los Angeles-based studio Nuova Group to create an installation that celebrates both the brand’s legacy and future.
Set within a Milanese piazza, the “Futurespective: Connected Worlds” installation takes visitors on an immersive time travelling journey that begins at a check in desk; goes through to a 1970s car dealership; and finishes in a Lumon-esque futurist setting.
Upon arrival, guests are welcomed by staff dressed in custom baby blue outfits – produced by fashion brand L’Equip – and are given a boarding pass featuring graphics from Studio Temp.
This attention to detail is a red thread running throughout the exhibition, and, according to Jaguar Land Rover Design Director Rich Stevens, is something that has formed the basis of this collaboration between the brand and the studio.
“The success of this installation feels largely down to an exceptional level of perfectionism,” Stevens told Hypebeast. “It was purposeful that we applied a meticulous level of detail for the whole environment, multi-sensorial experience and storytelling to each of the spaces the cars inhabited”.
After check in, guests head over to the installation and enter into a space designed to emulate a 1970s car dealership. The very first Range Rover to ever come off the production line is housed in here (the installation literally had to be built around it), with two charismatic “salesmen” talking everyone through the car’s details.
The rest of the space is decked out in custom furniture and lighting by Nuova, from seating upholstered in hot pink fabric to glass lamps. An important detail comes in the form of a fish tank, which adds to the nostalgic feel.
On the desk are papers and original 70s magazines featuring Range Rover advertising, which provided a point of inspiration during the ideation stage of the collaboration.
“Nostalgia and design are inextricably linked, it’s why we see design archetypes used time and time again,” Stevens says. “As a designer, the most successful designs blend the new with the familiar, never appearing retrospective but creating strong emotional connections that feel intuitive.”
Eventually, the salesmen invite you to step into “the future”, the time period of which isn’t exactly confirmed, but relates largely to the latest iteration of the car. In here, mirrored columns circle the new Range Rover, and reflect the brightly lit surroundings. Details arrive in the form of a sign above the door (a personal favourite), and a lamp that also reads out the time when prompted.
Hawk-eyed individuals may notice some nods to the brand’s future direction, although these weren’t strictly signposted.
“As we evolve the world of Range Rover, we want to show up in spaces where cultural and design thought-leaders are also present, to have a shared dialogue around the future of design and what it means to us,” Stevens adds.
Futurespective: Connected Worlds was on show for the duration of Milan Design Week, which came to a close on April 13.
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