The design for this optician outlet blends nostalgia with new-age

I’m D’sign and its experimental wing I’m X play with edgy forms, a modern material palette and traditional finishes to transform a retail space.

Curated by: Rupali Sebastian
Photographs: Dhrupad Shukla; courtesy I’m D’sign

Every retail experience is drawn from a story, and the R Kumar Opticians store in Ahmedabad is developed as a creative dialogue between Delhi-based I’m D’sign and its experimental wing I’m X, signalling the dawn of the digital age. The age, heritage and establishment of the brand got a future-ready facelift that reassured its connection to the customers — both old and new. 

In a time where digital spaces are rising to fame and the purpose and relevance of physical retail are being questioned, this store comes as an interactive and immersive experience that speaks for the brand’s values — and its wish to stay and transform with time. The space is clad predominantly in silver, anchored on a caviar-black base. The hand-cut black granite of the floor, the hand-textured paint of the wall and the soft vaulted silhouettes running in between talk nostalgically of the past, while the mannequin heads sculpted in rings of clear glass and hexagon displays stacked in an edgy stainless steel speak of a surreal future.

“The biggest challenge for us was to design and detail those sculptural forms,” says Aarushi Kalra, creative director, I’m X. “They all had a different method of installation and a different location.” For instance, the centre of the store is occupied by a linear, tall system with very thin supports on top and bottom, while elsewhere the display system sits on the floor. And then there are two more that are designed to stand against the column, almost hugging it. “They all took a lot of prototyping and model making at our end before we could put them in final production,” discloses Aarushi.

With a character that celebrates two time zones at once, silver metal becomes an important part of the material palette. From its original identity of a precious element, it has now taken on several meanings. These associations now enter this contemporary retail context to project a combined picture of future, space travel and progress, and turn a transactional act into an experience of discovery that engages the customers’ senses with the brand’s retail character. 

In short, R Kumar Opticians is a playful, edgy retail store for eyewear that plays with the idea of frames and layers through sculptural installations that define the visual and experiential character of the space. 

Fact file

Project: R Kumar Opticians
Location: Ahmedabad
Area: 1,100 sq ft
Principal designers: Deepak Kalra (Founder, I’m D’sign) and Aarushi Kalra (Creative Director. I’m X)
Design team: Priti Negi, Yuvika Agrawal and Harshita Sethi