MULTIPLEX by Tom Dixon // London Design Festival 2015.

Multiplex by Tom Dixon at LDF15, Photo © Nick Hughes | Yellowtrace

MULTIPLEX by Tom Dixon at the Old Selfridges Hotel.
Photography © Nick Hughes/ Yellowtrace.

MULTIPLEX is a month long exhibition brought to life by Tom Dixon and friends, set within the Old Selfridges Hotel in London. Held to coincide with four of the most important events on London’s creative calendar – London Fashion Week, London Design Festival, the BFI London Film Festival and the Frieze Art fair – MULTIPLEX brings together design, technology, fashion, film and interiors to explore how the future of retail might look, sound, smell, taste and feel.

Instigated by Tom Dixon, MULTIPLEX is built around the contributions of its collaborating brands, bringing their own ideas and experiences to the event. These include Wallpaper*, Sony, Caesarstone, Deliveroo, Resident, Mindblower.com and Moo.com. Dixon thinks the retail interiors business has been crushed by soaring rents and the growth of online shopping that a radical rethink such as his MULTIPLEX model may be its only chance of survival.

The old Selfridges Hotel, derelict for four years, provides a sensational setting for this project. The concrete interiors of the old cinema was draped in folded silver foil, referencing the International Space Station and the toilet in artist Andy Warhol’s infamous New York studio, known as the Factory. MULTIPLEX was laid out just like the department store next door, but with a cooler edge and interesting brands in the mix. Among these is Reviv – a company that does intravenous vitamin injections, minimal Danish brand Sort of Coal for white-charcoal shampoos, and Haeckles known for its Margate seaside-foraged beauty products. Then there’s an Indian tailor where you can get measured and watch them making your stuff via a live video link in Mumbai. And since there’s no plumbing, an order-in service from Deliveroo provides the catering.

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