The winners of the VM Retail Design Student Awards 2016 have been announced including Chelsea College of Arts student Daria Rodionova, a first year BA Interior & Spatial Design student.
Oasis, one of the top UK high street retailers, worked with Chelsea College of Arts, challenging students to expand their design horizons. The brief called for entrants to design a mobile pop-up store to contain a section of the store collection in a location selected by the retailer. The concept aims to be a visual showcase enshrining the brand tropes and values to introduce it to new and existing markets and ultimately build customer awareness and excitement.
Daria Rodionova originally from Moscow, told us what it was like to work on this exciting project:
“I am very happy that I have won the competition with my project and now I have an opportunity to work with the Oasis brand in the summer.”
“My idea was to create «Fashion Fridges», which would be used instead of ordinary changing rooms and clothes hangers. I wanted them to become a symbol of Oasis that would represent the main principles of a brand: contemporary, stylish and fun.
My work combines contemporary design and classical elements of decor and it is made from easily accessible materials. I hope that it is the first step in my career, which will give me experience and knowledge about the industry I work in.
While living in Moscow, I knew I wanted to study abroad. I chose UAL because it is one of the leading universities in the world of design and it provides its students with many opportunities to collaborate with the biggest design retailers.”
Daria Rodionova, Chelsea College of Arts
Young Soo Bae, another Chelsea College of Arts student received a highly commended award for her designs.
Young Soo Bae at the Retail Design Expo 2016 with her designs which were highly commended at the VM Student Awards
Here’s what other Chelsea College of Arts students had to say about this amazing opportunity:
“Being a part of Oasis project was a huge step forward. It was a great experience to practice, experiment and analyse my abilities and ideas.”
Rana Bashirova, Chelsea College of Arts
“Working with Oasis was a great experience, it felt like I was actually working in a real environment, where ideas were thought through and put to the test. I have challenged myself a lot in this brief, my work was constantly being reinvented and pushed beyond my boundaries.”
Alberto Segato, Chelsea College of Arts
“Working for Oasis has been an extremely challenging and rewarding experience. I have learnt to question myself and my ideas to create something different for this brand.”
Martina Bergamo, Chelsea College of Arts
The student designs were exhibited at Retail Design Expo 2016 at London Olympia.
Find out more about the BA Interior & Spatial Design on the course page of our website.