Since 1774, BIRKENSTOCK has been conceiving ways that we – the inventor ofthe footbed – can make the lives of our customers better and richer. With a shoe to fit all conceivablesituations in life. BIRKENSTOCK, with its premium-quality products, offers an exceptional alternative for

those who place value in functionality, durability and sustainability.

Birkenstock 1774, named after the founding year, is conceived as a showcase for the brands special projects and upcoming 1774 collection, appropriately situated in the Rue Saint-Honoré.

The 170 square metre showroom is located in a typical Haussmann style Paris apartment with panelled walls, intercommunicating rooms, stone fireplaces and parquet floors. Birkenstock 1774’s new interior concept was conceived by Nick Vinson of Vinson& Co, who has sourced new and vintage furniture, furnishings and decor in a palette of warm wood and aged, lived in leather from across Europe.

Functional and flexible oak tables by Philipp Mainzer throughout the space are paired up with Cab chairs designed by Mario Bellini in 1978 complete with the patina of life visible in the tan bridle leather, 1950’s plywood Medea chairs by Vittorio Nobili and in the executive offices specially sourced, used, soft-pad chairs by Charles and Ray Eames. 

Footwear is displayed on Achille Castiglioni’s Lungangolo book shelf, a 1940’s folding glass and oak trolley, Aldo Bakker’s Tri-Angle stools or Simon Hasan’s Cleft Oak benches. Other seating of note include Toogood’s Roly-Poly chairs in raw colored fibre glass which sit alongside Pierre Jeanneret’s 1954 arm chairs, handmade in Chandigarh, India.

Carpeting is in rush fibre, cultivated and woven in the UK, ceramics designed in the 1940’s and 50’s by Swiss ceramist Margit Linck sit side by side Simon Hasan’s boiled leather vases and lighting comes from Carl Auböck or J.T Kalmar both from the 1950’s. 

Specially commissioned art panels by London-based embroiderer Geraldine Larkin, in jute and felt, reference the foot sole and uppers of Birkenstock’s footwear. Other artworks include important Lithographs by Hans Hartung and Edoardo Chillida. Ceramics from Anaphi, trays by Michaël Verheyden and tableware from John Pawson, Wrap vases by Simon Hasan and Pride cutlery by David Mellor complete the curated selection of accessories.

Everything selected is crafted in Europe, of quality materials with a focus on timeless design, consistent with the Birkenstock brand ethos. 

Photo Credit 1774 Showroom Imagery: ©DePasquale+Maffini

ABOUT DEPASQUALE+MAFFINI

Raised in Upstate New York and first trained by his father, Michael Depasquale (b. 1980) began his formal studies of photography in London, before graduating to The Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara. Martina Maffini was born in Italy 1976. After graduating in Political Sciences, she moved to Paris, Buenos Aires and New York City where she met Michael in 2011. Since then they share life and work. Passionate by art and design, they travel the world looking for inspiring and creative stories to share.

www.depasqualemaffini.com