Tide, a kinetic window display for Alexander McQueen

Framed by the window, the three-layer-deep row of bags mimic the natural cycle of the river, gradually rising to reach ‘high tide’ where they oscillate up and down like waves before descending to ‘low tide’. Echoing the rhythmic ebb and flow of the Thames, the installation mediates the river’s slow and steady ‘breath’ in real-time.

Implanting a moment of calm into the midst of a busy shopping street, the window’s gentle tempo invites passersby to slow down, reconnect to the pace of a river-side stroll and lose themselves in a few minutes of contemplation. Starting in London, the display will travel on a world tour taking the tide and its cycle to different cities.

Next up on the world tour is Shanghai, where we created a new environment for the Curve bag in the form of a pop-up store at the IAPM Atrium. This time it was a microscopic view of nature that informed our design of the space, set in motion by several life-size kaleidoscopic screens activated by the presence of each visitor.

Visitors enter a symmetrical space, reflecting the architecture of a kaleidoscope. Drawing on a recurrent motif across Alexander McQueen's history – the butterfly – each of the five screens positioned throughout the space hosts an ever-evolving sequence of abstract natural patterns, taking their colour palette from the bag’s design. Inspired by the metamorphosis of a butterfly, the visuals shift and transform, delving further into the patterns the longer a visitor is present. Once they leave, the kaleidoscope slowly reverses to its original state, ready to restart its hypnotic life cycle the next time someone steps in front of the screen. Visitors are also invited to enter the kaleidoscope on their own screens via a face filter, taking a memory of the pop-up home with them or experiencing it from afar.