Silhouette is an Austrian premium eyewear brand, sold in specialist stores worldwide. This traditional company, which offers a one-stop solution for stylish frames and bespoke lenses, is marking its 60th anniversary by opening its first brand experience store in the heart of the Austrian capital, Vienna.

The HOUSE OF SILHOUETTE occupies two floors of the Palais Herberstein, a neo-baroque Gründerzeit building in the immediate vicinity of the Hofburg. The store concept is as modern as the building and its surroundings are classical. We have moved an extensive product presentation of the company’s three brands Silhouette, NEUBAU EYEWEAR and evil eye onto the upper floor, thus freeing up the ground floor to function as a dynamic interaction space and touchpoint for the brands. Enhancing the retail experience, attractive events are constantly being created to bring people and products together, going beyond the simple purchase of eyewear.

The HOUSE OF SILHOUETTE is an extended shop window for new collections and campaigns, a stage for fashionistas and an opportunity to engage with one of the most important senses of all – our sight.

The moveable furniture on the ground floor can vanish to instantly transform the store into a stage for fashion shows, collaborative exhibitions, eye yoga, lectures and seasonal events. A full-height, curved LED wall provides the perfect backdrop, as well as a constant visual focal point for passers-by. The visuals played across the screen can be adapted to suit the occasion, without the need to rebuild the room each time.

At the back of the space, a carpet is rolled out to transform the grand staircase leading to the upper floor into a catwalk. Your progress upstairs is accompanied by a curving column that spirals organically up the staircase well to the upper floor. Here, the column extends out to form a room. In the Eye Test Space, customers’ eyes are measured using state-of-the-art optometry to select the perfect lenses for each pair of frames.

The upper floor is entirely dedicated to Silhouette’s three brands. They represent very different target groups – luxury, fashion and sport – to which the HOUSE OF SILHOUETTE appeals in equal measure. Curved, transparent walls made of glass tubes create a fluid zoning of the space, giving it a floating, almost ephemeral atmosphere. The glass tubes suspended in stainless steel refer to the materiality of the TMA icon and symbolise transparency, lightness and precision, characteristics that all the Silhouette brands have in common. Both natural daylight and artificial light are playfully refracted through the glass tubes.

The HOUSE OF SILHOUETTE is not a traditional retail space, but rather an innovative experiential space that is continually evolving. This is where the company seeks to engage with customers old and new through constantly changing worlds of experience that pay fitting tribute to Silhouette Group’s core expertise.