Fashion Brand Run to the Future’s First Space in Chengdu Celebrates Past and Future
Bold geometries and a sharp, minimal material palette collide in this 80s-inspired retail space
Run to the Future is a forward-looking, gender-neutral fashion label characterised by its minimal, unique designs. Previously an online-only brand, it’s now established a physical presence in the fashion and tech hub of Chengdu.
Appropriately situated in the futuristic, industrial-chic Cosmo mall, known to locals as a ‘youth magnet’ for its drawing power, the store is at home among fashion, art and lifestyle labels in what architectural designers One Fine Day Studio & Partners call a ‘curatorial commercial’ space.
The brand founders wanted to use the 1980s as the starting point for the store, says One Fine Day designer Junpeng Li. ‘The era aligns with their brand philosophy and recent collections. We incorporated iconic elements from that decade to create a time-travelling experience within the space, crafting multiple “retro destinations” that embody the brand’s spirit of freedom, diversity, vibrancy, boldness and self-expression.’
On arrival, visitors are greeted by British artist Matt Hope’s Escape Detector installation, designed to initiate the temporal voyage and resembling a futuristic probe or a cybernetically enhanced, retro-industrial creature. At the end of the corridor, a lounge-like buffer zone breaks the tunnel’s tight rhythm. The designers reimagined the fitting rooms into four fashion narratives. In Run to the Bedroom, metal furniture and fragmented images are intended to transport visitors into an imagined past home; Run to the Bathroom features a vintage bathtub and mosaic tiles, creating a private space that encourages reimagination of the identity; Run to the Playhouse has a recreational vibe that merges fashion and play; and Run to the Photo Studio brings the photo booth experience to the changing room, capturing visitors’ moments in their temporal journey.
Other intriguing details abound. Ceramic sinks punctuate the space and tactile cherry wood details provide a contrast. Soft, grass-like carpets guide visitors to a final pause at a wall filled with clattering typewriters that spill sheets of paper with ‘run’ symbols to the floor; perhaps in escape or pursuit, towards the future or the 1980s all around. A vintage office stretches along the corridors, its walls covered in houndstooth and offset with Run to the Future detailing. ‘The wood and coating choices were inspired by our vision of a retro-modern setting, reminiscent of an 80s office,’ says Li.
It’s a fun concept, despite its potentially eyebrow-raising existential elements. From the Escape Detector to the typewriter wall, the experience is designed to symbolise the brand’s narrative about time, space and self-expression, from its tribute to the 1980s to the future and the possibilities of its fashion.
Text by Philip Annetta
Images by Yuuuunstudio
