Footscapes: Foot District Barcelona
Address: Carrer de la Lleona, 4, 08002 Barcelona, Spain
Hours: Monday-Saturday 11AM-830PM
We’ve decided to put together a monthly series that highlights sneaker stores and boutiques all over the world that transcend your average sneaker shop. Spaces that not only offer product, but showcase design, architecture, and an overall experience to be inside of. Places that, if you’re in a city for only a short period of time, this is the spot you must hit or forever regret. Our first store is the newly opened, Food District Barcelona.
Located in the beautiful country of Spain, Foot District Barcelona is located inside an ancient building, over 100 years old. From the moment you walk in, you realize immediately this isn’t your average sneaker boutique, this is truly the culmination of design, architecture, and attention to detail.
Interestingly enough, the inspiration behind the design of the store came from fraternities, started by construction workers that date back to the Middle Ages. They were stonemasons who built cathedrals and introduced the gothic style to Spain and the rest of Europe. A lot of the symbols and designs used by these fraternities are gracefully sewn throughout the design of the space. As you enter the space you’ll be in awe at what is greeted you. Gorgeous marble floors, beautifully aged exposed bricks, hits of gold and silver, incredibly eye catching light fixtures that hang low, multiple archways, and an overwhelmingly positive use of geometric shapes. The mixture of glass, iron, and steel contrast the rest of the materials used throughout the store in a way that can only be described as perfectly juxtaposed.
On the walls you’ll see sneakers on shelves, lined in gold with LED lights under each shelf, feeling like pieces of art or sculptures that are on design for all too adore. The dressing rooms are stored within the golden rectangle, a focal point of the boutique. Near the back of the store there is a giant glass cube. In here you’ll find the sneakers with the most heat. There’s also what can only be assumed as an interactive experience that allows you to place a sneaker from the wall on a ledge that has the words “Place Here”, presumably some sort of magical interaction takes place.
The central zone is dominated by a large rectangular prism of golden stainless steel, embedded between three archways, and which encompasses all the functional areas of the store. Illustrious materials continue to be ever-present, as the displays in this area are presented on a mechanized methacrylate (acrylic glass) structure, beaming light from within, and that rest on exposed walls that reveal the imprint of time.
As you move past the cube, you’re greeted by an archway that is lit by the beauty of natural light casting down from above. Plants and succulents populate the tiny garden, that adds the perfect contrast to all of the stone, marble and gold that has lined your pathway thus far. It seems as if no matter the angle, or area within the boutique, there is no wrong place to take a photo, this is an Instagrammers haven.
Aside from all of the beauty of this store, Foot District carries a wide array of brands, and they most often than not are always stocked with the most hyped releases. Some brands you can expect to see here range from Adidas to Aimé Leon More, Opening Ceremony to Stone Island, and of course Nike, Jordan and much much more.
Overall, this space is something that has to be seen in person to truly appreciate. The design and execution is absolutely incredible, and you will not regret making a quick trip here if you happen to be in Barcelona. Plus, you might come up on some limited pairs of of kicks you’ve had your eye on.
Stay tuned for more instalments of Footscapes, as we dive into the world of sneaker shops and boutiques.