{"id":34375,"date":"2026-05-12T08:48:22","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T08:48:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/34375\/"},"modified":"2026-05-12T08:48:22","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T08:48:22","slug":"gramicci-store-in-east-london-revolves-around-jumbo-pair-of-shorts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/34375\/","title":{"rendered":"Gramicci store in east London revolves around jumbo pair of shorts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Creative agency Steep Learning Group wanted to emulate “a giant doughnut outside a doughnut shop” when creating a playful 2.5-metre-tall sculpture of a pair of\u00a0shorts to act as the mascot for clothing<\/a> brand Gramicci’s east London<\/a> store.<\/p>\n

The painted sculpture anchors the split-level interior of American climbing brand Gramicci’<\/a>s second London shop on Netil Lane, minutes from London Fields.<\/p>\n

\"GramicciSteep Learning Group has designed an oversized shorts sculpture for Grammici’s latest London store<\/p>\n

Steep Learning Group<\/a> modelled the jumbo blue-and-white striped shorts on a real pair of the brand’s bouldering shorts, complete with the oversized webbing belt that is typical of the brand, established by climber Mike Graham in 1983.<\/p>\n

“It linked nicely to the world that shaped Gramicci in its formative years in 80s and 90s California,” said agency co-founders Filip Tyden and Erik Hedman.<\/p>\n

The duo told Dezeen they hope the shorts evoke the same feeling as “a giant doughnut outside a doughnut shop, or a hotdog stand shaped like a hotdog”.<\/p>\n

\"GramicciThe shorts act as a mascot for the shop interior<\/p>\n

They began by sketching pairs of shorts to figure out the rough shape and size of the sculpture, before working with set designer Ellen Wilson<\/a> to bring it to life.<\/p>\n

Wilson and her team hand-crafted the 2.5-metre-tall object by glueing large blocks of styrofoam together and finished it with Jesmonite<\/a>, a plaster and resin composite material. After this, the shorts were painstakingly hand-painted with stripes.<\/p>\n

\"FurnitureDom Johnson created furniture for the project<\/p>\n

“Ellen worked tirelessly on doing texture and paint samples and really managed to capture the right level of detail and cartoonish-ness,” said Tyden and Hedman.<\/p>\n

“We like that you can see and feel that the shorts were made by hand and have some imperfections, far away from a rendering or 3D perfection.”<\/p>\n

\"ClimbingA climbing wall features on the mezzanine<\/p>\n

The agency conceived the rest of the interiors with local\u00a0designer Dom Johnson<\/a>, who created bespoke wooden furniture on wheels to fit the needs of a space that is constantly changing for different events.<\/p>\n

When crafting mobile display plinths for the store, Johnson was informed by the familiar style of stackable Euro containers<\/a>. The designer used Douglas fir<\/a> plywood, overlaid with pine<\/a> batons, to mimic the recognisable crates, which are usually rendered in plastic.<\/p>\n

\"MonoblocMonobloc chairs can be rearranged within the store depending on the event<\/p>\n

The largest of these plinths houses the till, while another can be used to exhibit clothes and other products and was stained a distinctive shade of cobalt.<\/p>\n

Johnson explained that the plinths were created to be flexible and can act as benches, display cabinets or even a bike stand.<\/p>\n

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Nati Minas & Studio and Gabriela Mestriner install climbing wall inside S\u00e3o Paulo apartment\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

The designer selected materials connected to the temporary structures often used for climbing and skating<\/a>, referencing Gramicci’s origins in the surf-skate scene of 1990s California.<\/p>\n

Johnson said he chose Douglas fir because “its grain is beautifully pronounced and inconsistent \u2013 a reminder that plywood does come from a tree \u2013 whilst still behaving as a furniture-grade sheet material”.<\/p>\n

\"GramicciSteep Learning Group and Johnson designed the interior to cater to different events<\/p>\n

“It resembles the shuttering ply we might find in skate parks or at pop-ups, but with an elevated finish,” he told Dezeen.<\/p>\n

The shop’s mezzanine<\/a> level features a bright blue angled climbing wall<\/a> that can be used to try bouldering clothes before buying, and nods to Gramicci’s Yosemite roots.<\/p>\n

“Knowing that the space might transform from a cinema to a retail space to a climbing workshop within one given weekend, we wanted to create a family which was practically agile and visually consistent \u2013 a big ‘Tetris system’,” said Johnson.<\/p>\n

\"StyrofoamThe shorts sculpture was crafted out of styrofoam. Photo courtesy of Dom Johnson<\/p>\n

The designer used leftover wood to create leaning wall panels as additional displays for Gramicci products, to “reiterate this feeling of the temporary or momentary”.<\/p>\n

Steep Learning Group also sourced a cluster of Monobloc plastic chairs for the store, which can be rearranged depending on the event, as well as a bright blue plasticky curtain that delineates the back-of-house space behind the shorts sculpture.<\/p>\n

Just around the corner, designer Nicola Weetch recently renovated the interior<\/a> of listening bar Bambi “to feel lived-in”.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere in London, designer James Shaw previously created a giant foot-shaped sculpture<\/a> for footwear brand Camper’s Regent Street store, which functions as a till and a bench for trying on shoes.<\/p>\n

The photography is by Michael Bodiam<\/a> unless stated otherwise.<\/p>\n

Project credits:<\/p>\n

Creative direction: Steep Learning Group
Furniture: Dom Johnson
Furniture assistance: Pat Forde
Shorts production: Ellen Wilson
Climbing board: Rise Climbing
Producer and events coordinator: Tiz Wz<\/p>\n