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Neri&Hu Exhibition | petit h -- Hermès Chengdu Pop-Up StoreApril 2019

Neri&Hu’s design for petit h pop-up store takes inspiration from street life and shadow puppet theaters that once characterized communal society in Chinese villages. The retail pop-up is located in Chengdu’s Taikooli development.

petit h is a sub-brand established in 2010 by Hermès that creates products out of the recycled materials from the parent company. The brand is known for its bespoke, quirky, and experimental use of materials for leather goods, ready-to-wear, furniture, home decor/accessories and jewelry.

Drawing from the playful qualities of petit h products, Neri&Hu wanted to create a backdrop for the products that could capture the life of the streets while gesturing to the fictional, imagined and whimsical. The Chinese notion of "fiction" actually derives from the term "small talk" originating from alleys and streets. The relationship between the alley, fiction and street theater informs the layout of the shop as well as the careful placement of visual merchandise.

In addition to the intallation design, Neri&Hu also designed the special window display and two new products in collaboration with petit h for this exhibition.

A dialogue between Neri&Hu with Godefroy de Virieu (creative director of petit h), moderated by Hong Huang was held on 25th, by Fangsuo Commune and Hermès.