Looking like a muted version of a Tron landscape, the interior of Crumpler Prahran in south Melbourne has been modelled on a pixel in abstract. And magnified somewhat as well, obviously. The bag store chain’s latest branch is the creation of award winning architect Ryan Russell, he of the Russell & George partnership, who has gone for a stylish urban look with lots of pale grey as the canvas on which the paint-like products are splashed.
What makes this store such a success is Russell’s less-is-more palette and clever lighting. Moving images in monochrome and piles of rocks add to the moody landscape, but the bags themselves ensure it doesn’t get depressing, and understated is not the description you would use for the laptop and camera carriers. These eye-catching products are as incongruous an addition to the stark surroundings as disco globes in the National Portrait Gallery, but effectively so, and it’s always good to be able to spot your luggage early on the airport carousel.
Photography, Nicole Reed
