Reebok Flash Store Opens in NYC

November 20, 2008. Last night, New York’s Reebok Flash pop-up store opened on a not-so-quiet strip of the Bowery, with cacophonous interior graphics by Sebastien Agneessens and his team at Formavision. If it looks inspired by ’80s pop, it is, but there’s a more obscure design reference in play here—the patterns are modeled after the British Royal Navy’s perspective-bending dazzle camouflage, applied to ships during World War I to obscure their speed and direcion and thus confuse the enemy (Jeff Koons employed the technique this summer for some yacht paintings he did for billionaire art collector Dakis Joannou, see here). Reebok may be hoping the trick can ward off not just boats but brands (*cough* Nike…). 169 Bowery Street, open Tuesday to Sunday, 11AM to 7PM, Through December 15.www.formavision.info