- Emilia Kenyon’s design was conceived with the 2021 COP26 conference in mind
- the designer would jump at the opportunity to make one of her designs a reality
- Judges were drawn from wide range of specialist industry professions
GSA 3rd– year Interior Design student, Emilia Kenyon, has won a coveted Retail Design Week Student Award with proposals for a pop-up Body Shop pavilion, it has been announced. Emilia won the award for the ‘Seaweed Pavilion’ design, which was conceived with the 2021 COP26 conference in Glasgow in mind.
The Body Shop brief asked young designers to develop a pop-up space that would allow the company to fully express its sustainability credentials. Emilia’s response, the Seaweed Pavilion, is a modular design which takes its inspiration from The Body Shop’s Body Shop’s seaweed skincare range and bamboo brushes. Shaped by the land and the sea these materials provide a deep-rooted connection to sustainability and innovation, a perfect representation of The Body Shop.
“To win such a competition amidst so many great submissions really means a huge amount,” says Emilia. “It’s so encouraging to know that industry professionals selected my work.”
“It’s always been my dream to work in a commercial environment where you can blur the lines between design, brand identity and values; so the Body Shop brief really resonated with me,” she adds.
“Creating a design that was modular and transportable proved challenging, and designing during a pandemic has certainly led me to think differently. Having guidance from Ross Hunter, from Graven Images, was really insightful and helped me focus on the key aspects of my solution.”
“I’ve long had a deep interest in sustainability so it was great to spend some time researching materials and their end of life.
“In November 2021, Glasgow will host The U.N.’s COP26 Climate Change Conference, providing the ideal opportunity to hook up with fellow activists and channel Anita Roddick’s founding passions,” says Emilia. “My pavilion design is for a space for conversations, to discover and make new connections.”
Although there are no firm plans to create the pavilion during COP26, Emilia says “she would jump at the opportunity to make one of her designs a reality.”
“Students taking part in the awards this year have been incredibly impressive,” says leading design writer and consultant and chair of the RDW judging panel Lynda Relf-Knight. “Many have been working at home, without the benefits of mixing with and taking inspiration from their peers, but the standard of the work has been higher than ever. Hats off to them, their jurors and mentors.
“The briefs very much reflect the realities retailers face just now and the students have risen to the occasion. It is an ideas competition and there were no shortage of those, but they were well presented and explained.
“The Glasgow School of Art’s success this year is to be applauded. Emilia Kenyon’s campaigning project, A Wave of Emotion, not only picked up on The Body Shop’s values, but it’s focus on climate change is timely, given that Glasgow is hosting the UN Climate Change Conference COP26 this year.’
THE DESIGN
“I particularly enjoyed discovering more about The Body Shop, there are some strong values at play. Finding a link between materiality and their products was at the heart of my design. Anita Roddick was clearly a real driving force and someone I will continue to take inspiration from,” says Emila
The seaweed for the construction would be harvested from the same Irish farms as the Body Shop products. Hand crafted bamboo would small FAIR TRADE producers. The Pavilion could be transported alongside The Body Shop’s products reducing the carbon footprint. After Glasgow it could be packed up and pop up in key global locations to continue the conversation. At end of life the modules and the seaweed can be composted and the bamboo repurposed.
When the pavilion arrives it’ll be shrouded in translucent seaweed that glows luminously as the internal light show starts. The wave like structure that floats above the bamboo frame comes alive as lights dapple and music plays to the gathering crowd. Friends pause, selfies flash and films starts… The Body Shop has landed.
The Seaweed curtain wall will be pulled back. The stage is set. Inquisitive passers-by approach from all directions. Inside or out, the modular format can expand to occupy the space between. Touching, smelling and even tasting enrich the multi-sensory experience. There’s a buzz, a spirit of positivity, new commitments will be made.
As dusk falls, the chairs are placed, the interviews begin. The Pavilion is now a venue, a place to challenge stereotypes. The gable ends broadcasts the conversations, #TheBodyShopSupports | Creatives | Innovators | Producers | Partners | Designers | Climate… Every night a new theme, a new audience to facilitate human connection.
Ends
For further information contact:
Lesley Booth
07799414474
Notes for Editors
The 2021 judging panel comprised:
- Chair – Lynda Relph-Knight
- Alex Whitlow, Design
director, Quinine Design - Dilys
Matlby, Senior Partner, Circus
– - Katie
Greenyer, Creative
Director, Pentland Brands - Matthew
Valentine, Independent
journalist specialising in design, retail and marketing - Oliver
Salway, Founder, Softroom, architect, designer and writer - Tesh
Chauhan, Independent retail
designer, formerly design head at Pret a Manger and Specsavers
ABOUT THE RETAIL DESIGN WORLD STUDENT AWARDS
- Retail Design Student Awards, a much-applauded scheme designed to celebrate, encourage and promote the future stars of retail design, were launched in 2015.