A French fashion designer’s love of ’90s basketball led him to transform this public space.
When I traveled to Paris last year, it took me only a few minutes after landing at Charles de Gaulle Airport to realize the city had a deep appreciation of design because even its airport bathrooms are stylish. Parisians are not timid about designing public spaces with flair. The latest space to get an amazing treatment is a basketball court tucked between two apartment buildings on the north side of the city.
Designer Stephane Ashpool, founder of the fashion brand Pigalle, collaborated with the design firm Ill-Studio and Nike to create the colorful court. Ashpool has previously professed his love of 1990s basketball and how it has influenced his design. He reimagined this court in conjunction with the release of his new fashion collection, which he described as “an evolution of ’90s basketball allure from the U.S., but in an elegant, Parisian way.”
In his designs, he created colorways and lines that simultaneously harkened to the past while adding a touch of futurism. The resulting court, viewed from any angle, is pretty amazing.