For this year’s Salone del Mobile, Jimmy Choo steps off the runway and into the sphere of conceptual design with a bold installation by artist and architect Harry Nuriev, founder of Crosby Studios. On view at the brand’s Sant’Andrea boutique in Milan until April 14, the exhibition is a meditation on time, permanence, and the evolving language of fashion. The result is a thoughtful collaboration between Nuriev and Jimmy Choo Creative Director Sandra Choi, transforming the retail space into a reflective gallery.
DESIGN
The central installation takes the form of a translucent runway, frozen mid-motion. Crafted entirely in glass, the structure appears suspended in time, drawing visitors into a study of movement interrupted. Within this static frame, iconic Jimmy Choo heels are arranged as if caught in transition, each a marker of the brand’s design legacy. Their placement invites not just admiration but inquiry: what makes a design timeless, and how do we measure its relevance across decades?
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Sandra Choi, who provided many of the archival shoes from her personal collection, emphasized the emotional and creative weight of the project. “The concept plays with the idea of timelessness… a study that underscores the artform of our creations over the years to be spotlighted,” she shared. In the mirrored reflections of the glass runway, each shoe becomes both artifact and inspiration.
Adding to the experience are 3D-printed replicas of Jimmy Choo silhouettes, designed by Nuriev to blur the line between original and reproduction. This subtle manipulation of form and materiality is a hallmark of Crosby Studios’ work, where commercial and cultural references are often intertwined.
Nuriev describes the installation as a fleeting intervention with long-term resonance. “I wanted to take a commercial store and turn it into a temporary exhibition, a space that would exist for just one week but leave a lasting impression,” he said. The installation reframes footwear not just as fashion but as design object, imbued with sculptural quality, history, and a kind of silent theatricality. In doing so, the boutique becomes a lens through which the audience is asked to reconsider value and permanence.
Open through Monday, April 14, the project marks another significant moment for Jimmy Choo at the intersection of fashion and contemporary art.
