Tuesday, September 9, 2008

4 Weird Shops That You Won’t See On The Corner

Deyrolle, The Creepiest Shop In Paris

Viktor & Rolf Milan, A True Head Spinner

Viktor & Rolf have a habit of designing eye-catching stores to compliment their fashion, but for their shop in Milan they took that ethos and multiplied it by a very large number. Designed by architect Siebe Tettero alongside Dutch SZI Design, the entirity of the shop's interior, apart from clothing, has been flipped upside down, from chandeliers on the floor to chairs on the ceiling. Even the front door. Walking around the place is beyond confusing, to the point where the constant brainpower required to stop yourself throwing up completely ruins the search for new trousers, which is a shame as that's something you may actually need on your exit.

Freitag's Container Shop, Recycled Head To Toe

Swiss company Freitag are responsible for making some of the most fashionable bags on the market, and not just because they look good - these bags are made from recycled materials, with an average Freitag bag consisting of a truck-tarp body and seatbelt strap. In 2006, for their flagship freeway shop in Zurich, the Freitag brothers decided to stick with this environmentally friendly stance and built a store from 17 rusty shipping containers, and it looks surprisingly inviting. At 26 metres in height the store offers quite a view from the top, one of the reasons why the brothers also decided to install a telescope at the summit in order for customers to take in the scenery, mostly consisting of a constant stream of trucks passing by.

Vancouver's Lido, A Local Mystery

Previously trading for decades, in the 1990s the shop stopped opening its doors to the public for no apparent reason. Everything inside the shop remained as it was on the last day of trading - the same tins of food, the same detergents, the same 1950s cash register - and the windows remained uncovered for curious passers-by to peer in, hoping to see something else that would provide another piece to what was becoming the local mystery. Then the windows became covered by the owner, probably realising the story was attracting too much attention, and people started to forget about the situation. Earlier this year the owner, a German lady who lived above the shop, died, and as clean-up crews set about clearing the place they found a huge range of retro goods, vintage clothing, crisp banknotes tucked under carpets and rugs, and a bag containing $400′000 in old notes.

More pics here,here