No42 Paris

Part boutique, part exhibition art space, the newest addition to adidas’ unique urban concept shops is opening up in February of 2013 to an excited population of Parisians.

When one first walks into the upscale, nearly posh – yet still funky, down to earth, and honest – aesthetic of No74 on Torstrasse in Berlin, a feeling of exclusivity cloaks the senses. From there, only a short flight away, the hip and dense nucleus of the No6 establishment in London allows a quick and fast graze through the latest of adidas’ various designer line finest. And now, at last, a third sibling is added to the growing family of international and artistic adidas specialty stores, providing an industrial and expansive place to show off wild surprises and in-depth experiments.

Birthed from the quite obviously hard work of the involved architects, Nicolas Sisto and Benjamin Liatoud, No42 lines it rustic, barren walls with simple shoe shelves and easy-going apparel bars, all vividly lit from buzzing yellow lamps that look suspiciously like rooftop skylights. Similar to No74 Berlin, negative space is a virtue within the coridor walls, providing a true ‘walk-through’ experience. In fact, the design was built so that once a visitor has entered through the large metal doors they would be faced with a long, hall-like structure in which to peruse the products before reaching the finale of the exhibition space. Possibly better described by the architects in their own cryptic tongue:

“The project of the new No42 store, located rue de Sevigne, inspires from the existing. It’s a narrow space linking the street to the existing showroom. The store is conceived as an indoor courtyard, half public, reinterpreting and confronting its code of materials.”

Artistic appreciation for conception is obviously held at the highest esteem in the construction of this third adidas concept shop. In fact, plans to unite the arts world with the fashion scene in the Parisian community is exactly how adidas intends to continue this international boutique movement and keep alive their so-far-successful, urban brand concept, one which never ceases to push the boundaries of what we all consider to be a ‘sportswear retail store’.

As can be expected, treasures and triumphs from the likes of Stella McCartney, Jeremy Scott, and Opening Ceremony will be found amongst the on-going collections of adidas’ Consortium, Y-3, SLVR, Originals, and Performance series releases. With Monday’s and Sunday’s off, the rest of the week is fair game for eager fans and curious minds to come find themselves within the walls of this exciting new concept store. And to all you No6 or No74 regulars out there who happen to make it to Paris for the opening, we wish you a warm welcome ‘home’.

written by Dylan Cromwell