Birkenstock store in Cologne Germany

Birkenstock opened a three-month-long pop-up store on Cologne’s Ehrenstraße at the beginning of December, designed by Ad de Hond, Pieter Kool of Carbon Studio and John van Dorst of The Thirsty Fisherman. The 80-sq-m temporary retail space pays homage to the company’s visual identity through materiality and use of brand iconography; materials like cork and branding details are present throughout. The store’s exterior façade is coloured in the same brown cork used for Birkenstock shoes. Modular, cross-shaped display tables – a symbol used for the brand’s original logo – are also made of cork. Reference to brutalist architecture, which first inspired Karl Birkenstock to create functional shoes, is made through angular forms and simple materiality. Rough concrete ceilings and walls are exposed and painted a warm taupe. Staircase-shaped shelving finished in cork provides extra display space. The bone-like pattern of the sole of the shoes is used for the two display windows and floor.

Once seen as a super functional item, Birkenstock is having a major fashion moment through high-end fashion collaborations with labels like Jil Sander, Manolo Blahnik, Dior and Stussy in recent years; it's hard to walk down the street or scroll social media without seeing the brand's shoes. The temporary Cologne pop-up shows how Birkenstock is piggybacking off this success. Pop-up stores, temporary in nature, are often designed to generate buzz to encourage high footfall in a short amount of time. However, Birkenstock’s dominant popularity is, in itself, enough reason to pay a visit to the temporary space. Its design instead seeks to connect with its customer base by taking its brand universe to the high street. The trio behind the store’s design leans into the essence of the brand through materiality and visual identity, two aspects that are especially of resonance to customers.