Instagram holds an immersive pop-up during Paris Fashion Week

Instagram’s latest immersive experience presents a democratic objective to fashion week. Jean Jacques Ndjoli, more popularly known on social media as @ndjolijean, has developed an interactive and creative installation that aims to inspire the creation of original content to its audience through a series of stimulating installations and decorations. Located on the first floor of the cultural exchange space of Dover Street Market, 3537, Rue des Francs-Bourgeois in Le Marais, the Instagram pop-up will be open to the public from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. until January 23.

The Facebook-owned social network announced the ephemeral experience to the press, titled “Instagram IRL by Jean Jacques Ndjoli”, Tuesday, January 18, coinciding with the first day of Paris Men’s Fashion Week. The announcement came just hours before its opening to the general public, who will be able to book their tickets through a link available on the creator’s Instagram profile. After presenting a green Covid pass and adhering to mandatory mask regulations, visitors (with a maximum capacity of 30 people per hour to ensure safe social distancing and provide the necessary space for a positive experience) will be able to enter the interactive universe conceived by Ndjoli.

The space is set up as an inspirational social media feed, featuring five different rooms taking the form of a labyrinth through which attendees can walk.The creative wanted to create a warm atmosphere upon entering the space, these comforting feelings inspired by his brother and loved ones. The visitors first enter the large and cozy red room where large red spheres invite photographic snapshots, and a long mirrored hallway creates the illusion of infinite reflection. The spectacle of playful perspectives, lights, and colors ends in a staircase leading to a bright yellow room. The room’s walls are covered with acoustic foam in small pyramid-shaped modules, resembling the inside of a sponge. A unique sofa placed in front of a triangular mirror welcomes selfie opportunities before entering the next room. The following green living room features coexisting reinterpretations of various armchairs and a Parisian bench dyed in the same green shade, reminiscent of a park or a child’s playground.

The immersive experience concludes with its final room, which disguises itself as a professional photo studio created in collaboration with Vip Box, a company specializing in digital photobooth installations for events. Three booths, each sporting the same bright colors as the rooms previously seen, are placed at the creative disposal of the attendee.These booths propose different content creation possibilities: a gif, a video, or a 360° video recording. With the help of a professional supervisor, three counters equipped with a screen collect the images of the visitors, who then receive their photos and videos free of charge in a matter of seconds via email.

Throughout this fashion week season, the 3537 space will also host a temporary Dover Street Little Market shop, which will feature garments from 11 fashion brands including Airei, Weinsanto, and Youths in Balaclava. Additional projects also include the first Paris installation of “Black Market Comme des Garçons”, a pop-up boutique by Phipps, as well as other video and photography installations.

Instagram is already an official partner of Paris Fashion Week. Clara Cornet, former buying director of Galeries Lafayette Champs Elysées and director of strategic partnerships in southern Europe, was able to apply a more technical approach to conferences and seminars in past seasons due to the collaboration with the social network. The new pop-up installation with Ndjoli allows Instagram to additionally delve into a physical realm that displays content creation practically and accessibly to a wider general audience.

Instagram holds an immersive pop-up during Paris Fashion Week

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