Sephora Paris Light Canopy
Stunning bespoke lightbox canopy hailed a triumph after its unveiling at global beauty brand’s Paris store.
“A triumph!” – that is a most apt description for a stunning colour-changing canopy of 182 ceiling lightboxes that we developed, manufactured and brought to life for a global beauty brand’s Paris flagship store just a stone’s throw away from the Arc de Triomphe.
It was deemed the ‘jewel in the crown’ when Sephora re-opened its prestigious store on the Champs-Élysées following a multi-million Euro renovation project.
The triumphant unveiling was the culmination of a 15-month collaboration between the beauty brand and Unibox – re-affirming our position as the UK’s biggest manufacturer of aluminium and LED-based solutions for retail spaces, exhibitions and commercial interiors.
The project began when we were contacted by Reda Slaoui, Sephora’s Director of Architecture and Design, regarding the renovation programme for the listed building, to ask us if we could make the vision of a thematic canopy a reality after seeing one of our bespoke creations for a development in London.
Concept Render
Finished result
While we adopted and developed the concept for manufacturing, we enlisted Intecho, a leading provider of SMART building technology solutions, to devise and implement a comprehensive arrangement of lighting control software for precise and dynamic lighting management, for both the canopy and the lighting throughout the rest of the store.
The 82m long canopy is capable of multiple thematic animations, such as mesmerising black and white Sephora stripes that chime with its brand image, as well as a rainbow-themed LGBT Pride and red, white and blue French tricolour-inspired displays, among others. New animations can be designed remotely and uploaded to the Paris store from the UK.
Unibox Director Nick Wraith says: “We pride ourselves on our ability to create things others can’t, and the Sephora project is a case in point.
“From the initial enquiry until the store opening, it took an immense amount of ingenuity and innovation to make the idea into a working reality.
“We had to create solutions to some complex and specific requests, such as lux level and efficacy, the need to make the lightboxes RGBW, include access hatches for maintenance and take the store’s air extraction and fire suppression systems into account in the design. There was also a glass firewall we had to meet and then continue the canopy on the other side. These were all problems that we were able to solve.”
Paul Murphy, Intecho director and co-founder, who was in Paris for store re-opening, says: “The end result is stunning. The first thing everybody did when they walked into the store was to look up at the canopy. It breathes life into the space, creating a perfect ambiance for everyone who enters.
“We were thrilled to collaborate with Unibox and Sephora, leaving an indelible mark on their flagship store. The vision for this project was to elevate the visitor experience through innovative technology solutions. This project has set a new global standard for luxury shopping.”
We teamed up with Cheshire-based Intecho again to display a smaller scale working replica of the canopy when we exhibited at the LiGHT23 trade show in London.
Sephora is a French multinational retailer of personal care and beauty products with nearly 340 brands, along with its own private label, Sephora Collection, and includes beauty products such as cosmetics, skincare, fragrance, nail colour, beauty tools, body lotions and skincare. Its Champs-Elysees store regularly welcomes in excess of 10,000 visitors a day.
And with Sephora planning to open more stores in the UK in 2024, members of our sales team who worked on the Paris project, are now in talks with the beauty brand’s parent company to supply more bespoke lighting solutions.
Meanwhile, Nick Wraith adds: “Specialist projects like this are a major part of what we do, but for every bespoke solution we create, we look at the potential to adapt it for other mainstream solutions.
“So, by displaying replicas of what we achieved in Paris, and for other projects, at LiGHT23, visitors could speak to our design team so they could show other potential clients how our expertise and collaborations can help them. We are totally unique in that respect.”
If you’re currently working on a project that involves lighting, or would like to speak to an the people responsible for delivering this project, contact us today at [email protected]
