AKQA made LOEWE x On shoppers walk through living nature code at Selfridges

The collaboration entwines LOEWE's craftsmanship with On's performance and celebrates the spirit of the outdoors; the launch had to translate 'running on clouds feels different' into something shoppers could physically feel.

A walkthrough space where nature-like code — reaction-diffusion patterns at 60fps on 32-sensor panels — reacts instantly to every visitor's movement.

Artist Seph Li and AKQA wrote bespoke code informed by reaction-diffusion principles, rendered at 60 frames per second on panels carrying 32 sensors each — described as the world's fastest, most responsive retail installation to date. It opened on the front facade of Selfridges, London, then was replicated at Dubai Mall, Shanghai IAMP and LOEWE Chengdu.

Per the case page, the rollout across four cities cemented the campaign's cultural resonance and commercial viability, with the collection surpassing global sales targets (self-reported).

For the LOEWE x On collaboration — the fashion house entwined with the Swiss running brand's Cloudtilt 2.0 shoe, built around the feeling of walking on clouds — AKQA UK created 'Step into Nature', an interactive installation that embraces weightlessness as visitors walk through it.

Artist Seph Li and AKQA wrote bespoke custom code informed by reaction-diffusion principles, so the space renders the movement within nature — granular like sand, flowing like a river — in an abstract form matched to an outdoor palette. Like weather, the imagery can change instantly. Running at 60 frames per second on a bed of 32 sensors per panel, the interactivity responds immediately, which the case page calls the world's fastest and most responsive retail installation made to date.

The experience opened on the front facade of Selfridges in London and was replicated in key LOEWE locations worldwide, including Dubai Mall, Shanghai IAMP and Chengdu. The rollout, per the case page, cemented cultural resonance and commercial viability: the collection surpassed its global sales targets.

The installation enacts the product's core claim — cloud-like weightlessness — as a bodily experience rather than illustrating it.

Reaction-diffusion code gives each visitor a different, never-repeating nature, making the space feel alive rather than looped.

One build, four cities: London's flagship facade proved the concept and Dubai, Shanghai and Chengdu inherited it.

Build the collab's concept into the launch space itself: make the store react to visitors the way the product claims to feel, then clone the proof across flagships.

The case page notes the experience was replicated in Dubai Mall, Shanghai IAMP and Chengdu after the Selfridges debut, and that the collection surpassed global sales targets. No further follow-up is recorded in the material.