22 June, 2020

Take a moment.

This building is entirely real and permanent.

It’s the Louis Vuitton store on Bond Street in London.

After 14 months of renovations, the store was renewed in October 2019 – inside and out. The multi-story building was designed by visionary architect, Peter Marino. The façade of the building is a literal explosion of colour and movement. A stark contrast against the demure and classical street scape of Bond Street, a revered destination for exclusive brands, designer fashion and luxury goods.

Looking at such a building can anyone do anything but stop, look and wonder? Perhaps when one has recovered, you have the presence of mind to take a selfie and then post to Instagram.

The attention to detail is surpassed only by the interior of the building which includes all the hallmarks of luxury: light, space and objects to gaze upon. A sweeping double-helix shaped staircase made of cerused oak. Custom seating and furniture custom by Marino himself. Curated vintage pieces from designers like Enzo Mari and Pierre Paulin. The building also houses 43 artworks from 25 artists, including site-specific commissions. Is this a store or an art gallery? Both.

Peter Marino is no stranger to luxury brands. Designing for Chanel, Dior, Fendi he manages to work for competing brands because of his uncanny ability to understand each brand at its heart and convey that sensibility through physical form, structure and materials. He takes something ethereal like “brand” and gives it a physical embodiment.

Does this building not evoke a sense of travel and luxury, for which Louis Vuitton is known? It brings forth all my fond memories of international travel: speed, adventure, joy, a sense of purpose. But in pandemic age, how does the role of physical flagship store evolve?

The history of window displays

Reportedly it was Macy's that established the practice of window displays at its New York City store when it debuted first Christmas Window in 1874 and animated shop window in 1899.

The industrial revolution assisted the birth of window displays by making plate-glass inexpensive and accessible, so store owners could build large windows, spanning the full length of their stores, showcasing merchandise like never before.

In the 1930’s Oscar Lundkvist was the chief window dresser at Stockholm’s largest department store and his early experimental displays echo what can be seen today in store like Harrod’s famous displays.

His displays included innovative and unexpected details, such as mechanical moving objects and illusionary tricks (e.g. a teapot constantly pouring tea into a cup), and even live animals. Lundkvist turned the Christmas decorations at NK into a major attraction in the city. It was not only the windows that offered a Christmas spectacle for children and adults alike, but also the store’s interior. The glass-roofed central hall was converted every year into a dream, a fairy-tale scene of gigantic proportions.

James Bliss coined the term “visual merchandising” and believed that display design was a “langue of inspired, imaginative showmanship” and “creative make-believe”.

L. Frank Baum, who wrote the Wizard of Oz, began publishing “Show Window,” a magazine devoted entirely to holiday window displays, which awarded prizes to the best designs.

Of course, creativity and wonder was not the sole purpose of these displays. There was a very real commercial driver.

“The window decorator is at the same time a businessman, a commodity specialist, a fashion expert, a director, an architect and a drawer, or at least a bit of each” wrote the contemporary women’s magazine Charme in the mid-1920s.

But what is the role of physical stores today?

Even before the current COVID-19 pandemic, brick and mortar stores struggled against online competition. People love browsing on mobile devices wherever they are, they are more likely to find their desired colour/size/style online and can quickly compare prices/availability across multiple retailers. Their fingers can cover much more ground than their feet ever could.

Rise of the Spectacle Store

Flag ship stores have always been about brand rather than commercial success as an individual retail location. They are usually situated in premium, high traffic, luxury locations. But flag ship stores have evolved into what Sara McAlpine, Features Editor at Elle, has coined 'The Spectacle Store'.

“As an increasing number of brands have changed tact, considering showmanship, as well as shopping, trying to offer experiences that can’t be replicated online. Their stores have become shopping spaces-cum-galleries, as they bet on Instagram-worthy experiences as their USP.”

In 2018, renowned Australian beauty brand Mecca Cosmetica, launched Meccaland - the nation’s largest beauty convention. This year, the three-day festival, the event had over 15,000 attendees and resulted in an explosion of online activity.

Crowds lined to the doors on Saturday morning, with some attendees travelling interstate and internationally for the event. WWD has named Meccaland as the ‘Coachella for Cosmetics’, and has been shortlisted for the Glossy Awards, who recognises companies who transform the fashion and beauty industry internationally.
Meccaland advertised the event across social media and in-store, offering day passes and weekend passes to the beauty junkies. Some special guests included YouTube stars, Chloe Morello and Shani Grimmond, as well as Victoria’s Secret model, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, among others.

But in the uncertainty of the current (and future) pandemics, can brands engage with fans online and create a comparable experience filled with mystery, wonder and magic?

The future = Online/virtual + offline/physical

Virtual and augmented reality may provide an opportunity to recreate some of the magic of a physical experience and sense of community.

Augmented reality is a literal window into other worlds. To see what is hidden. Reveal meta-data. Context, History. Meaning.

Conceptual designs

The following are some experimental concept designs for building exteriors. These are designed for an in-person experience encouraging people to visit physical locations or to entice passing foot traffic.

REFERENCES

2019, October 23. https://www.elle.com/uk/fashion/a29558503/the-rise-of-the-spectacle-store/

2019, May 21. Feiam, Ally. “Meccaland: A Revolutionary Brand Event for Beauty Junkies” https://powerretail.com.au/in-focus/meccaland-a-revolutionary-brand-event-for-beauty-junkies/

2018, March 29. “From the great department store with love: window display and the transfer of commercial knowledge in early twentieth-century Sweden” https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/2373518X.2018.1449922

2018, November 28. https://www.6sqft.com/macys-lord-taylor-and-more-the-history-of-new-york-citys-holiday-windows/

2013, February 26. Nike+ Innovation Windows. https://hypebeast.com/2013/2/nikes-interactive-display-windows-by-staat

2011, December 25. https://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2011/12/11/what-christmas-without-department-store/oN2hfmXktw7n7rm74lv6YJ/story.html

2011, December 28. https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/anthropology-in-practice/macys-holiday-tradition-windows-through-time/