Oakridge Clemande

Some collaborations just work. Adidas x Yeezy. Apple x Hermes. And lucky for us, Oakridge x Clémande — a partnership brought forward by renowned developer, Westbank.  The global real estate developer commissioned creative powerhouse Clémande Burgevin Blachman to curate the interiors of every studio apartment in their ambitious new Oakridge residential development, down to each book in the library, the toothbrushes in the bathroom, and even a visually stunning elevator cab (chic!).

Clémande is best-known for her tenure in fashion, working closely with Raf Simons and other brands including Calvin Klein, Chanel and Berluti. The unprecedented design partnership with Westbank was a uniquely personal project, drawing from the designer’s own memories and inspiration to create a luxurious space for today’s global citizen. Very Polite brought this story to life through targeted media outreach, an experiential media preview concept, and the creation of assets to successfully launch this elevated partnership. Throughout each phase we considered how to best showcase the quality, scale, and distinctiveness of this exciting venture.

Our design team worked in collaboration with teams across the world (from Westbank in Vancouver to Hayes Davidson in London) to develop a variety of assets including print ads (featured in Vogue among other publications), elevated postcards, and a 102-page magazine encased in a luxe metallic cover. No detail was overlooked. These pieces supported the narrative of the design project, which was rooted in art and design history as well as emotion, while also exploring textures and the ethos of cosmopolitan lifestyle. As Clémande herself explained, “I just started by saying, ‘How can I make it home?’”.

Very Polite hosted select press interviews within a private exhibition style showroom hosted by Clémande. The curated space (in place of a standard presentation centre) revealed Clémande’s vision for the project and allowed media to experience the new design concept in an interactive, creative way that highlighted the detail and craftsmanship considered for each room. Guests journeyed through a series of small curtained “vignettes” that offered a glimpse into the ideation process behind the design of each studio apartment. A video tour of the showroom, guided by Clémande herself, was produced and shared to select media outside Vancouver to extend the showroom experience globally.

Very Polite immediately secured coverage in both national and local media including top tier platforms such as The Globe and Mail, Montecristo, Vancouver Courier, Bloomberg and Business in Vancouver. Coverage ranged from business and architecture to fashion and cultural perspectives, resulting in well-rounded exposure that captured the inimitable characteristics of the project.

Fashion and architecture — name a better collab.