Known for its contemporary streetwear, Live Fast Die Young is pursuing its successful 'retail meets coffee bar' strategy with its move to the new Berlin store. The flagship store in the listed Art Nouveau building at Schlüterstraße 45 is the brand's largest to date, setting itself apart from other brands not only in terms of collection design, but also in the design of the retail space. For the capital, the Schwitzke & Partner team around Tina Jokisch went one step further conceptually: Art Nouveau architecture combines streetwear coolness.
The fusion of streetwear and indulgence
The Düsseldorf label adds another facet to the thriving street style scene, offering its customers an in-house community place in addition to 230 m² of retail space in its usual casual style: In the new heart of the space, the first LFDY café with a three-meter counter made of green marble, not only various coffee specialties, iced drinks, refreshing ice cream variations and homemade lemonades are served, but also' a specially designed 'LFDY Coffee Collection' with reusable cups, T-shirt, cap and coffee beans are offered.
"Berlin thrives on change, everything is always on the move - and so is LFDY," says Riccardo Ballarino, Director Sourcing & Creative. "We wanted to set new impulses in Berlin and develop not only ourselves, but also our store. For this, we needed more space and a new concept. The Kudamm has lost its attractiveness for us, which is why we decided to open the largest LFDY store to date on Schlüterstraße. With the integrated LFDY café, we transport our brand aesthetic into an area that goes beyond streetwear and accessories. The new flagship in Berlin is an important step for us even after 10 years of brand history," Ballarino continues.
Urban Modernity in the new Berlin Space
As in the other stores, the brand again relies on the collaboration with the architects of Schwitzke & Partner. "We are delighted to have the renewed commitment with LFDY. From Cologne to Hamburg, to Amsterdam, each of our designed stores has its own unique profile," says Tina Jokisch, of Schwitzke & Partner. "Berlin, more than any other city, represents the clash of modernity and history, which is also reflected in the store space," Jokisch explains. Five-meter-high stuccoed ceilings and a stainless steel-encased checkout counter in the entrance area are the prelude to a unique customer journey rich in contrast: a sweeping staircase leads to the sales area located on the gallery. From there, a historic double-winged door leads to the former movie theater. The room impresses with a listed wooden floor and paneled walls that have remained virtually untouched. This is where the typical LFDY cabinet system was placed. This is the largest at LFDY to date, measuring 11 meters in length and 186 drawers. To create a tech-cool contrast to the historic space, all presentation elements were made of stainless steel. Throughout the store, Schwitzke & Partner implemented an expressive design concept that breaks with conventions and plays with contrasts. Hexagonal tiles and a dark green border with the words "with us or against us" accentuate the spaces. In Berlin, LFDY shows all facets of its ever-perceptible holistic approach: designer furniture such as curved THONET chairs, a Barcelona lounger by Mies van der Rohe, large-format works by photographers Paul Hutchinson and Tobias Zielony, and a mirror image by artist Astrid Klein round out the interior compositionally. For the first time, LFDY combines a triad of retail, design and café in its new flagship store.
Limited Edition: LFDY Drop for the Opening
For the opening on July 01, 2023 LFDY launches a limited edition t-shirt, which of course plays on the theme of café and will be available exclusively in the Berlin store. In the usual boxy and oversized cut, the T-shirt is cream-colored with dark green print.
