Noise Noise Noise embraced colour to transition Stylerunner from an online-only presence into a brick and mortar store in the Melbourne suburb of Armadale.

After eight years online, the activewear brand called on the Melbourne studio to create a new logo, identity and colour palette for its first physical location.

“The go-to for womens activewear seems to be white walls, timber floors and greenery,” Noise Noise Noise director Blair Cooper tells ADR.

“We wanted to steer clear of this from the get-go and present colour in a confident, modern and tastefully feminine way.”

Coopers adds that the brief was very much influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, as the clients requested a space that “debated reality.

“We sought to create a space that was a rebuttal to the happenings of the world. When all we longed for was positivity, freedom, the ability to travel and explore somewhere new,” she says.

“We thought about the Stylerunner space as one that offered a euphoric escape from the day-to-day world, a feminine future-scape of colour, organic form, beautiful digital scenes of nature and an overhead portal to somewhere else.”

Along with the brand’s signature colour – mint green – semiotic forms in nature were used to inspire the design language throughout the interior.

At the front of the store, a low-to-the-ground display counter made from sycamore veneer layered with marble and champagne Rimex steel was designed as a “shapely oasis” to help “ease” the customer into their arrival.

Behind it, the footwear display takes reference from the “verticality of the forest” with mint green curved shelving separating the zone from the rest of the store.

Beneath it, “mossy mounds” growing on the forest floor are interpreted in an organically shaped ice blue handtufted rug from Kvadrat in a similar shade to the Fibonacci terrazzo flooring.

“Snake-like” teddy velvet seating in blush and mint green from Aspire Home Inspiration “wrap around the customer” while encouraging social distancing in this space.

Completing the footwear display is an oval-shaped water ripple mirror, which acts as a “portal to a place beyond” and floral art by Melbourne-designer XX-Flos.

“We like to give a story to the elements we design,” says Cooper. “It makes for a more engaging story and purpose for the ‘why?””

Keeping with the oasis narrative, stainless steel fused with mirror creates an “enclosed pod” fitting room at the rear of the store, accented by a neon “floating cloud” light.

“Unexpectedly, the interior of the fitting room unveils an uplifting graphic interpretation of oversized nostalgic bubbles that euphorically float over the walls and floors,” says Cooper.

“We have included dimmers for the lighting so the customer can control their experience, as well as a ‘Help / Hydrate’ button where, at the flick of a switch, a team member can offer assistance or a can of branded Stylerunner water to keep hydrated,” she adds.

“It’s the little details that make the experience memorable and make for a talking point.

The fitting room was also designed with Instagram moments in mind – a must for this Millennial-savvy brand – and is separated by a curtain, allowing for flexibility.

“Use it solo, shop with a friend or have a super luxe experience and draw back the central curtains to have over 7 sqm of space to transport yourself to a bubble heaven.” 

Photography: Arnaud Domange.

Led by Cooper, Noise Noise Noise is a specialised retail design and brand activation studio based in Melbourne. 

It recently completed another fitout in Melbourne, this time for the 120-square-metre streetwear concept store Relic, which earned it a shortlist spot in the IDEA 2020 Retail category, along with a nomination for this year’s Emerging Designer of the Year.