Fashion designers build their clothing lines through creativity and collaboration. When innovation and the active desire to stand above most enters the equation, something special can be made. That stare into the future generates a need for sustainability in the industry, but also in the world. Sustainability is exactly what Bottletop had in mind when designing their first flagship store.
The London-based brand originated in 2002 with the launch of The Bottletop Foundation. Developed by Cameron Saul and his father Roger Saul (founder of British luxury fashion brand Mulberry), Bottletop’s debut campaign fashioned recycled bottletops in Africa, lined with Mulberry leather in Europe into handbags. The design was an immense success, gaining press both locally and internationally, aiding employment opportunities and education projects in Africa.
Fast-forward ten years through much more success, best-selling products, public demand around the world and the Bottletop Fashion Company is founded. The company focused on contemporary art, music and true craftmanship when producing their collections, which they describe as “a timeless ‘created by hand’ aesthetic.”
Bottletop’s originality flows beyond the seams and into the walls of their flagship store. Located at 84 Regent St. in London, it became the world's first 3D printed store.
In collaboration with the large scale 3D-printing company Ai Build, the fashion brand completed the design of their brick and mortar store using robotic fabrication and upcycled materials. Ai Build is a startup, based in London, famous for their “Daedalus Pavilion” , created at a conference in Amsterdam in 2016. The intricate and visually captivating construction was built using 3D-printing and opens a new world to large scale construction and structural builds using concrete casting molds.
When speaking on the design for the Bottletop store, Daghan Cam, Ai Build’s co-founder and CEO stated “fashion and construction industries are two of the biggest contributors of environmental pollution today. This project demonstrates how cutting-edge technology can become the solution for such a fundamental problem of humanity.”
Both companies clearly are playing an active role in using their products to transform the future of their industry and beyond. While also using and recycling material cuts on waste and pollution.