Q&A with Renny Ramakers Many are surprised to hear Droog is opening in Las Vegas. Why Las Vegas? The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas approached us. Initially it’s hard to see the common ground between Droog and Las Vegas, but for both, experience is important. For us it is interesting to reach a new audience, and Las Vegas is truly a unique place in the world. Sometimes reality can be wilder than fiction. What do you think of the kind of design you see there? One sees a totally different type of design. I believe the audience is ready for a new approach, one that establishes new borders between the design and the non-design world. What about the themed approaches in Las Vegas? The themed experiences are oldfashioned. You can see Las Vegas is looking for new experiences, and The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas is breaking some new ground. But it was already happening in 2002, for example with the Guggenheim Hermitage Museum by Rem Koolhaas. Perhaps then it was too early, and now might be a better time for new developments.
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What are your impressions of Las Vegas? Whether you are eating, watching a performance at a theatre, shopping or gambling, everything in Las Vegas is about entertainment. Such a concentration of entertainment is an interesting model for me. Any thoughts on gambling? If one can restrict oneself, gambling can be very playful. Can you tell us about the store design? With each store location we take a different approach. For Droog Las Vegas, our brief to the designer, Marcel Schmalgemeijer, was that it should be a strong gesture but at the same time, be very functional. Seems obvious, but it is important that the store looks and functions like a store. We want the design to allow the products to speak for themselves and to create an experience. Are there any future plans for the store? There will be a program of events and new collaborations with the local context. We have some ideas so far, but are also looking forward to what Las Vegas will inspire.