design:retail - June 2015 - 42

042

↓ A modern palm tree
was created with
shadows and "leaves"
made from rubber
sandal thongs.

→ [Opposite page]
The Havaianas rainbow
spectrum counter is
made from repurposed
rubber.

hether you know them as flip-flops or still
call them thongs (hey, we're talking about
a store in Brazil, after all!), there's no denying the brand power behind iconic footwear
brand Havaianas.
When the flip-flop retailer decided to branch
out into a beach-inspired lifestyle line and roll out
a new store design rich in Brazilian culture, it was
a true homegrown effort.
The brand partnered with architecture firm
Gensler, enlisting the São Paulo design team to
brainstorm what it means to be from Havaianas'
home turf in Brazil, and how to visually incorporate elements of the footwear brand's deep-rooted
relationship with its tropical-jungle-meets-urbanjungle customers.
The result is a fabulous, airy and bright new
store at its São Paulo location, which launched last
June. Here, Havaianas and Gensler created a roadmap to take to its international retail outposts and
kiosks, rolling out the design to Havaianas' Rio de
Janeiro; Westfield, N.Y.; Orlando, Fla.; Las Vegas;
and Los Angeles locations, with more to follow. The
new lifestyle stores will sell sunny apparel, beachwear, shoes and, of course, sandals.
Luca Panhota-Alves, office director and senior
associate at Gensler in São Paulo, calls Havaianas
"the most Brazilian brand ever," and says he grew
up with multiple pairs of the staple flip-flops. (To
date, he owns 19 pairs.)
To show off its national pride to an international
customer, Panhota-Alves says the conversation
started with the question, "What are the things that
permeate the world that people know are Brazilian?"
The first is Bossa Nova music. "Everything started from there," Panhota-Alves says, adding that the
final look and beachy vibe is the combined effort of
two winning design ideas from the firm.
The second renowned Brazilian element
Havaianas focused on is its street market, which
serves as the overall design concept of the store-
think woven display baskets, pushcarts carrying
merchandise beneath warm lighting, a parquet
floor, perforated panels made with the elliptical

logo shape, and "granilite" or granulated material used on the walls to resemble the texture and
warmth of the beach.
Then, Havaianas focused on its core brand
signatures-the recognizable rainbow of colors seen
in a greeting sign at the cashwrap made from cut,
leftover sandals; the rice patterns on its famous
sandals, seen dividing the changing rooms; and
the shape of the rubber thong seen repurposed
throughout the store. "The way that they use the
rubber with such a simple design and shape is so
Brazilian in design," Panhota-Alves says.
Gensler combined these essential Brazilian
and Havaianas elements with the perception that
people have of Brazil. "People think Brazil is always
sunny, fun and colorful," Panhota-Alves adds.
That "beach life" aesthetic was meant to translate not only in São Paulo, but in future branded
Havaianas stores as well. "Thinking about those
feelings of being in Brazil, we developed a 'kit of
parts,' with elements that bring the tropicality, the
culture, the Havaianas history and the warmth
from the weather and from the native people," says
Gensler designer Thais Rosa.
Much like one might find in Brazil's worldrenowned street markets, the 1,000-sq.-ft. store
features market-style produce crates and woven
baskets bearing accessories, which have connecting hooks for wall placement. The idea was, in part,
inspired by a global survey of markets, in places like
Singapore, Paris, London, Spain, the Midwest and
throughout Brazil, where Havaianas retails.
The new prototype store design divides men's
and kid's on one side of the store and women's on
the other, and it includes a central market stall beneath a striped canopy tent surrounded by stools
for customers to browse and try on flip-flops. A fun
DIY customization stand allows shoppers to select
personalized studs, like pins, flags and gems, to
embellish the classic flip-flops.
Straying from tradition, the eye-grabbing "Big
Hello" table greeting customers at the front of the
store excludes the need for a front window, Rosa
says. "It's a set of elements: the lit-up ceiling with

design:retail - June 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of design:retail - June 2015