The Devil Wears Prada 2 at SM J Mall

SM Supermalls has its own team, and that team owns the brief and the creative direction. UNCRTN is the creative execution partner: we take their direction and turn it into finished work.

SM J Mall wanted shoppers to walk into Andy Sachs’ New York. The film opened at SM Cinema on April 29, and the mall planned to bring its world to Fashion Avenue, featuring red creations from Clothes For Life and the Fashion Institute of Design & Arts Cebu. Three things had to work at once:

• A recognizable New York. Street signs, a city backdrop and a film key visual that read as the movie at a glance.
• A stage for the fashion. The red pieces were the point, so the structure had to frame them, not compete with them.
• A moment to peak. The display had to carry from the film’s release through the SM J Mall 3 Day Sale on May 1, 2 and 3.

Working from the client’s concept, we simulated the atrium as one continuous street, with the fashion placed along it and a film backdrop at the end. The whole space reads as New York from the moment a shopper steps in.

• One street, one direction. A printed road with a yellow center line runs the length of the atrium and pulls the eye toward the backdrop.
• Storefront bays for the fashion. Red-awninged frames line both sides, each lit with spotlights and backed by a dark red panel, so every red piece gets its own stage.
• A finale at the end. An arched red skyline backdrop carries the J Mall and film title lockup, framed by the street.
• Signs that make it a photo moment. Green street signs (42nd Street, Central Park, Fashion Ave) and a One Way sign give shoppers a place to pose, and a reason to share.
• Simulate before build. The whole street was modeled in 3D first, so the layout, sightlines and signage were settled before anything was fabricated.

The finished atrium follows the simulation closely: the same street, the same awning bays on both sides, the same backdrop at the end and the same signs at the entrance. What shoppers walked into on April 25 stayed true to the render.

SM J Mall opened a full New York street in its atrium on schedule, and it stood for a month across a film release and the 3 Day Sale.

• Built as simulated. The layout, sightlines and signage seen in the render are the ones shoppers walked through.
• Designed to be photographed. The street signs, the red bays and the backdrop give every visitor a frame worth sharing.
• A second big tie-in in one year. Alongside the holiday work for SM Supermalls, this shows the same process working on a film partnership.