Aboveground Rebel Bingo is an exploration of the style, attitude, and persona of a potential The Lake & Stars client.  Our proposal began by listening to the designers’ comments about their collections and their initial thoughts on the installation.  We were specifically attracted to the idea of the space as a pseudo set for the apartment of one of their clientele.  It seemed like an interesting idea as part of identifying the brand, however, we were concerned that taking this specific approach may be too literal.   As we continued to review the previous collections, and discuss the persona of a The Lake & Stars customer, we discovered the Underground Rebel Bingo club.  The club is an underground rave party that exudes the free spirited and self-assured lifestyle we imagined for the hypothetical The Lake & Stars customer.  Our project began by transplanting the cultural reference of bingo into the retail space as a new and experimental way of organizing space. 

We then re-imagined the idea of the “apartment” and dissected the individual elements to create a mise-en-scene and graphed them onto the bingo platform.  This abstracted “apartment” contains the same elements that can contribute to the branding of The Lake & Stars brand, yet displayed in a unique way.  In addition to adding to the identity of The Lake & Stars brand, we imagine these elements of the apartment can be functional; for instance, there could be a record player that is connected to speakers, or lamps for additional lighting.  In any case, each element would be selected with the designers to correspond with the identity of the collection. 

The Lake & Stars clothing is displayed on the bingo platform, as if the hypothetical occupant laid out their stash of clothing.  Each piece is placed in its own square for shoppers to browse, and each product square has a unique number that can be coordinated with a price sheet in the store. The special Supima piece is imagined to hang from a coat rack, allowing the piece to stand out, but still be integrated into the overall design. 

The third element of the platform is the referential text, which was inspired by the thought process and theory that The Lake & Stars designers weave into their collections.  Many of the words were taken directly from recent collections, however the specific text for this installation would be decided with the designers to make sure the text bolsters the theme of the current collection.  The text also has the functional purpose of providing open squares that allow for customers to traverse the platform.

The final and most interesting part of the installation is the actual The Lake & Stars customers being able to walk onto the platform and become part of the installation.  The project is centered on creating an environment around this hypothetical customer, and when the installation is in use, the idea becomes reality.  We also feel this idea of a bingo platform would provide an exciting and memorable shopping experience.  Where else can you be an Aboveground Rebel Bingo shopper?