BIRKENSTOCK 1774 has partnered with artist Serban Ionescu for a sculptural project titled Funny City. The work was first unveiled during MATTER AND SHAPE 2026 in Paris from March 6 to 9, and continues with its second chapter at the 1774 Studio from March 27 to 29.
Ionescu, who works across sculpture, painting, design and architecture, is known for his distinctive lines, vibrant use of color and playful gestures. His intuitive approach to scale and form creates a dialogue with BIRKENSTOCK 1774’s design icons.
The sculptural presentation accompanies the launch of the new 1774 Romanticismo collection, inspired by 19th-century Italian Romanticism. The collection marks the 50th anniversary of two iconic silhouettes, the Milano and the Boston, both launched in 1976.
Echoing MATTER AND SHAPE’s 2026 theme of “Scale,” Ionescu created a series of sculptures in varying dimensions, exploring the relationship between the monumental and the intimate. Groups of three or more sculptures form a “City”: distinct, interdependent objects that engage in what Ionescu calls urban choreography. “Funny” signals a kindly asymmetry, the small eccentric fragment that breaks routine and redirects attention.
At the center of the project stands Turnstile For a Smile 2026, a three-meter-tall archway sculpture presented at the fair in the Jardin des Tuileries. Rendered in large-scale steel and aluminum, the piece integrates key elements of BIRKENSTOCK’s design heritage, including leathers used in the 1774 Romanticismo collection. Conceived as a symbolic threshold, the archway invites visitors to step through into the world of BIRKENSTOCK 1774.
The second chapter takes place at the BIRKENSTOCK 1774 Paris Studio on Rue Saint-Honoré. For this installation, Ionescu staged an architectural intervention composed of six works set within a Haussmannian interior. Each piece is placed in relation to the space along axes, between windows or against reflective surfaces. A freestanding tower-like form called Becher establishes a vertical anchor. Lord Park shifts the scale. More Byl suspends above, extending the field. Lash, positioned with a mirror, bends and doubles its form. Found Way sits between windows, engaging framing and light. 9:30 marks the threshold near the entrance.
Across the installation, symmetry is tested, stretched, misaligned and rearticulated. The works maintain structural clarity while repeatedly diverging from it. Humor enters not as gesture but as method: a quiet destabilization of order from within.
On site, guests can explore the brand’s design heritage through a selection of archival materials and a reading library curated by Ephemera featuring project-related books and magazines. The installation is open to all with prior registration via the MATTER AND SHAPE website.
