Cosmic Boutique

The D'Fly interior by Germany's 3deluxe is a 2002 space odyssey, SoHo-style

Jen Renzi -- Interior Design, 9/1/2002 12:00:00 AM

Tucked away on an unpasteurized stretch of Greene Street, D'Fly traffics in state-of-the-art accessories, from Marc Newson Ikepod watches to laser-cut stainless-steel eyeglasses with logic-defying screwless hinges. But it's the trickery of Niessing tension rings, gripping dainty gems in a superstrong clasp, that provides the best analogy for the SoHo boutique: Delicate objects are poised in a tenuous balance. Tubes of nylon mesh, like particularly elegant cobwebs, stretch taut from corner to corner. The tops of floating vitrines, anchored to floor and ceiling by tensile nylon cables, rise and lower via pneumatic technology borrowed from car manufacturing. The design suggests the perpetual tug-of-war between art and science.

D'Fly (meaning dragonfly) is the brainchild of Jeff Shi and Jennifer Lin, owners of three avant-garde stores in Taiwan. For Lin and Shi's latest effort, their first U.S. outpost, they collaborated with maverick German firm 3deluxe, which engineered the 2,200-square-foot storefront into a futuristic gallery that marries hands-off austerity and interactive, touch-me-please product presentation. At rear, for instance, the try-on counter features three frameless mirrors that slide into and out of the tempered-glass surface, like car windows. For a truly interactive experience, try out the funky seating units; their cushions of heat- and pressure-reactive foam mold to the shape of the sitter.

Counterbalancing the white lacquered surfaces and the industrial edge of the floating vitrines is the jungle allure of a terrarium behind mirrored glass panels at the back of the space. (Depending on viewing angle and lighting conditions, patrons see a bamboo forest reflected ad infinitum or a faint impression of their own visages superimposed over the foliage.) Further contrast is offered by the polyurethane-coated recycled-rubber flooring—endowed with a bit of give should fumble-fingered customers drop a piece of the merchandise.