A documentary movie has inspired the theme for Korean luxury eyewear brand Gentle Monster Singapore’s new store at Ion Orchard.
By US director Ron Fricke, Samsara explores spirituality and the human experience. Key symbols from the 2011 film, a camel, lion and child, feature throughout the shop in intricate art installations, offering an immersive experience for customers.
As they enter the store, shoppers are greeted by the camel, an installation comprising a futuristic spinning wheel with multiple threads and a camel-shaped prop that moves up and down.
They then enter a darkened space featuring the lion, a sculpture made of tresses of hair surrounded by wall-mounted lion tails.
In the final room is a platoon of rotating dolls and a throne in a lit setting of faux arches.
Gentle Monster says the store explores the core philosophy of salvation introduced in Friedrich Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra 2, in which the German philosopher writes that salvation can be achieved only through overcoming one’s self. He describes the three transformations of the spirit as obedience, symbolised by the camel, with the lion for governance and child for complete freedom.