Supermarket Sarah
Who knew the relationship between a living room wall and a girl who worked in advertising would be the start of something short of genius.
Bored by the online shops displaying items in a clinical format. Disappointed by the way great pieces were shabbily displayed on Ebay - usually on the floor. Sarah Bagner wanted to bring the 'fun' back into the shopping experience.
"Shopping should be about inspiration," she explains, " - not necessarily the buying and that's what I wanted to do with my walls."
Not restricted to just displaying clothes, Sarah's pieces range from furniture, art prints and home décor, creating a visual shrine for our eyes to feast on. This amalgamation of different elements within the design world is a popular trend that is being picked up in more and more high street stores, with a 'DIY' look about it. Clean but not too clean - maintaining that all-important put together appearance. "Fashion encompasses all creative spheres and there shouldn't be a definition," is what she has to say on this merger of fields. "I find with the art world, when people don't understand art, it's like 'Why not?'" she exclaims, "There's nothing to understand, it's just a feeling of - WOW!"
Well through her 'wow' inducing walls Sarah caught the attention of influential department store Selfridges in May 2010 and curated a 30ft high wall in their London Concept Store. Fast forward to January 2011 and Supermarket Sarah has a home on the ground floor, quickly diminishing any remaining doubts she had in her walls. "The backing from such a brilliant department store gave me the confidence I needed and propelled me into other projects". It was only a matter of time before all the collaborative offers came in.
Sarah has worked with the likes of Fred Butler, Patternity, Donna Wilson and Tatty Devine to name a few. Her hunger for working with young talent is insatiable, but results in making of very diverse walls.
This in turn has driven people to recreate 'walls' in their homes and studios. "It's rather fun because its an insight into them. I guess they are quite voyeuristic in that sense." So identity is being created through the re-arrangement of personal objects on a wall, similar to how we put clothes on in the morning. Right? "People are turning away from brands and moving with people," surmises Sarah. People are not simply wearing what is in fashion anymore, but looking at what other people on the streets are wearing and gaining inspiration from them - their brand. The rise of bloggers and influential street style websites are testament to this. "The walls have become a platform where you can become a brand."
However all this would not have been possible if it wasn't for relatives in a country renowned for its furniture design. "Initially I started getting things from my aunties in Sweden who have been hoarders for years and years. My good old auntie has been sort of a mentor since then," she proudfully enthuses. "Now, I get things through different designers that I meet. Each wall has loads of designers and they have friends so it becomes a network of young talent, which is something that I like. But its not just necessarily me it's a group of people - a growing group of people."
The scope for creating walls is endless and takes place in any location - indoors or outdoors. After returning back from a wall expedition literally on the Berlin Wall Supermarket Sarah is gearing up for the most important event of the year - The Royal Wedding. So keep your eyes glued to her website and pop into Selfridges London to see her work in person.
