The magic of the winter holiday season is about to take hold in Doha Oasis. As Printemps Doha unveils its new window installations, customers are invited to come and admire them as they set off in the race to shop for festive gifts in the largest department store in the Middle East.
“Printemps Doha strives to enhance customers’ in-store journey from the moment they step inside our store. To be welcoming, entertaining and a social landmark, our promise to our guests is to offer a pioneering mix of in-store experiences, new technology and an innovative approach to consumer interaction. At Printemps, every detail is orchestrated to make shoppers’ lives more beautiful and to leave them with an ever-inspiring shopping experience” commented Thierry Prevost, general manager of Printemps Doha.
Ahead of the end of year festivities, a one-of-a-kind bespoke paper-themed installation featuring two 14 meters side windows was specially commissioned to Budapest based studio Edina’s Paper, elevating the window experience to something never seen before in Doha.
An invitation to pause and connect with the offerings on display, guests can reflect on the urban, cosmopolitan capitals of France and Qatar, which become the co-protagonists of Printemps’ latest story, creating an equilibrium between its two muses, Paris and Doha – articulated through delicate ornaments made out of laser cut layers of paper, painstakingly hand assembled with the utmost attention to detail.
The right side, depicting the atmosphere of a Parisian rooftop as well as the iconic dome of Printemps Haussman, features references to Parisian landmark monuments including the Eiffel Tower, XXX . In between the buildings, the suspended paper ornaments are inspired by the geometric patterns of the Hausmann dome elevate the festive mood in harmony with the dazzling dresses and accessories chosen in the same colour palette of black and gold.
On the other side of the store’s Fine Jewellery & Watches entrance, Doha’s cultural and city landscape come to life, with its highly recognizable buildings including the National Museum of Qatar, the Museum of Islamic Arts, Fanar Masjid, the Katara Mosque and the Doha Tornado tower that makes the West Bay so recognizable.
Crafting a unique visual experience with cutting edge graphic illustrations made of paper, it took Edina’s Paper more than 370 hours to design the ornaments of the buildings and skillfully translate them into layers, over 350 hours to laser cut them, and 1,150 hours to carefully assemble them. The installation was a close collaboration between Printemps Doha team and Edina’s Paper to bring this vision to life and create an experience to remember.
Of the collaboration, Edina said: “I felt very connected to the mission statement of creating an experience that visitors to Printemps Doha would remember. Even though we have worked with several luxury brands from all over the world, I was excited by the scale of this challenge – how to fill in these large windows with detailed paper art, bringing to life such an iconic French brand and merging it in Doha with the largest department store in the Middle East. As a paper visionary, I was very inspired by the skylines of these two cities and their remarkable facades and details.”
