One of GGR’s UNIC mini spider cranes brought a new meaning to high fashion recently when it helped to install a giant sculpture of fashion designer Rick Owens at Selfridges department store on Oxford Street, London.

The 6 tonne capacity UNIC URW-706 spider crane was hired from GGR Group to lift the 7.6 metre tall statue of Rick Owens himself onto the canopy above Selfridges’ entrance. The sculpture is part of “The World of Rick Owens”, Selfridges’ celebrations for the designer’s 20 years in the fashion industry. Made from a steel frame covered in polystyrene, the sculpture took 12 weeks to create.

The UNIC mini crane and GGR’s team of skilled operators were able to complete the installation in just one night, lifting the sculpture in three sections. The statue consisted of a 175kg head with long black fabric hair, a 1000kg torso and a 500kg arm carrying a flaming torch.

Working from the pavement outside the store entrance, the UNIC URW-706 mini crane lifted each sculpture section from the transport vehicle to a maximum height of 14 metres to sit on top of the 6 metre tall canopy.

This isn’t the first time that GGR’s UNIC mini cranes have been hired to install a fashion inspired sculpture at Selfridges’ flagship store. A UNIC URW-376 spider crane was used to lift a statue onto this same canopy for Louis Vuitton’s designer collaboration with Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama in September 2012.Take a look at our gallery of sculpture installations to see how our mini cranes have been used for lifting artwork in the past.

Contact your nearest GGR Group depot to find out more about hiring our UNIC mini spider cranes.