Death Masks and early Mannequin forms?

A little while ago I began researching into the use of figures in commercial environments as a form of the reflected self. As I was thinking through the project, I decided that I needed to somehow track back more than one hundred years and begin to look at the possible permutations that these forms had developed through and possibly from. I decided to visit the British Museum which I knew had some examples of mummies in their vast collection and interestingly I came across not only the usual pieces as above, but also these very early examples of 'masks' taken from the dead which were subsequently painted. Of course I have no proof that figures used in contemporary commercial environments have any link to these early forms, however using a surface approach there do seem to be some strong links that perhaps need further exploration.

Marni, London

I think many of us have seen this store in several publications over several years and it really still is a gem of a store along Sloane Street, London. What is so interesting is seeing how this concept is translated into concessions within department stores - usually it seems it is a mini version of this flagship and it still looks wonderful. I do think this store is particularly pioneering and I really do wish we could see more and more retailers being so experimental as this Marni store have been only with merchandise, perhaps, that is a little more affordable.

Browns focus, South Molton Street, London

Walking along South Molton street recently, while walking the city, I came across these fun windows at Browns focus. I have always enjoyed seeing props. within windows that have 'land of the giants' type proportions. Here of course we have the giant 1980's style mobile telephone and the perpetually popular Rubix cube. There is clearly an 80's theme happening here. Something that I think I personally would have considered is maybe taking a much more holistic approach and perhaps used the rest of the building on the outside as an opportunity to carry the theme through and really make a big statement.

Moschino, London

This was quite a bizarre scheme that I came across in London's Moschino store recently. Strings of mainly white out sized 'beads' with the odd coloured one were strung across the window with one piece of merchandise displayed. The one piece of merchandise scenario, of course is a sign of a very confident retailer, rather than the pile 'em high, sell 'em cheap strategy used by multiples in the High Street. I wasn't quite sure what to make of this scheme however, as it doesn't really say anything to me - perhaps that's the point? Perhaps its just one of those gap filling concepts that isnt supposed to say anything, it just is? I couldn't think of any way of deconstructing the concept other than it being used purely for decorative purposes. But who knows?

Mall of the Emirates, Dubai

I'm not a great fan of shopping malls, but one Shopping Mall that I actually found myself enjoying recently is the Mall of the Emirates in Dubai. The Mall of the Emirates really does have it all under one roof. How many places can you go to in searing heat and ski on real snow in minus something degrees? Ok, well I know this could not be achieved naturally and I did have pangs of guilt while taking my skiing lesson in a faux Alpine landscape (incidentally which smells as if a lorry has just reversed into a garage pumping out its obnoxious fumes). And I ski very badly much to the annoyance of Alfonso my Italian instructor, who looks at me pitifully as my legs are contorted in all sorts of directions that I never knew were possible, particularly the splits (ouch..!) and I still haven't learned how to stop as I regularly crash into the barriers surrounded with yellow tape that scream danger and I usually end up splattered on the glass screen next to the restaurant at the end of the slope, much to the amusement of the diners, leaving Alfonso to peal me off the glass while tutting and rolling his eyes in dismay. Anyway, putting aside the environmental issues, my bad skiing and Alfonso's frustrations, this Mall not only has amazing stores including my favourite home store 'The One' and Ski Dubai, it also has its own stage and Mall entertainment and these amazing fountains on the outside of the Mall which do their stuff every few minutes or so with different music although usually, the soundtrack to the film Mission Impossible. However, they really are a spectacular display of lights, water and explosions of fire. Very impressive. I do think that they probably work better at night time?

London Hoardings

One of the areas of Design that I lecture to my students in are the use of Graphics in Retail. While of course this does include the obvious use of swing tickets, hanging baffles, kimbels etc. within stores it can also include graphics in store windows and large format graphics over scaffolding etc. One area that is often overlooked as an opportunity is the utilisation of the hoardings for promotional purposes while the project to develop the site is underway. I am usually amazed that not all retailers use this as a kind of teaser campaign to the launch of the new site. However, the 'better' brands do clearly recognise this as you can see in the images here.

VM & Display Awards 2009, Get Voting..!

Dont forget to vote......!

It is not too late to get your entries into this years VM and Display Awards 2009. The deadline for voting has been extended. The closing date is now the 25th August, 2009 to accommodate a number of late entries. You can get a full list of categories from the website http://www.rvmww.com/ You can also enter online through the website or email your entries too or to make it even easier you can just pop them in the post to.....

Awards Department

RVM Promotions Ltd

2 Sir Peter Scott Road

Sutton Bridge Spalding

Lincolnshire

PE12 9SE.

Please remember you cant win one of the most prestigious awards for the industry unless you are in it. I look forward to receiving your entries.

Andrew 01406 359 882

Interior Design For Retail @ Central St. Martins

With a wonderful group of students recently, we had the opportunity to visit, Iguzzini Lighting, Adel Rootstein's factory and showroom and Tussaud's production studios. What is so interesting about these places is that students have the opportunity (which is open to very few, but very kindly to us in Education) to experience what companies do and how they do it. Students have the opportunity to view exactly how those amazing wax figures produced by Madame Tussauds are actually developed, from original model celebrity all the way through to the final presentation - students are always left feeling that they have seen something which will remain with them for the rest of their lives. Rootstein also take students through the journey from spotting the next 'super model' to the final piece, where they are able then to identify them in most of the windows around the world. Education is such a wonderfully privileged place to be and certainly working for such a famous institution does open many doors. I think students recognise this and certainly feedback from my students has been enormously positive as a result.

Hayley Mills, Display Designer talks about her experience in Leeds

Hayley Mills, Display Designer, Contact: hmills2318@hotmail.com
Leeds is not the first place one would think of for experiencing an exquisite shopping trip. However, tucked away, surrounding the city centre are a flurry of historical buildings which house the Victorian Arcades. These elegant shop fronts give the high street a new dimension and feel. Just from the presence of the buildings a grand atmosphere is created, you get a sense of heritage and prowess from your shopping experience; you could say a true palace of consumerism. Among the stores that stood out here are Louis Vuitton (below), I would not have expected anything less from this brand as they are one of the leading stores for creative displays. In their side window was a fixed architectural structure, which holds a resemblance to contour lines. This sculptural piece of art is what attracts your sightline to the window, with the merchandise becoming a secondary visual and are evenly spaced on the display structure. The solid strips of wood had a hint of red colouring on the edges; this rich striking colour gives it a hint of elegance and simplicity. It created a new dimension to the window space and displaying product. The other picture featured (below) is Mulberry’s store window, this transparent vinyl used to cover the whole of the window is of course nothing new but during this current climate with budgets being cut, it is a very cost effective and simplistic way to bring atmosphere and imagery to a window.

Longchamp, Bond Street, London

I must admit that I know very little about this brand as it is one that I have never bought anything from or have known anyone who displays their merchandise for them. Suffice to say for such a small window they have produced a quite interesting means of displaying their product. This also is the type of window which is quite difficult to comment on, probably because it is so simple. Anyway, Longchamp have used A3 sized sheets in a repetitive format as a backdrop and therefore creating a context. The merchandise itself has been placed on a stiffened version of the text that seems as if it has been screwed up and discarded and therefore providing a kind of hidden narrative.

Dover St. Market - Comme de Garcons

When travelling I am always amazed at how so many retailers are 'allowed' to come out of their spaces and decorate and change the outside. Those of us who have been lucky enough to travel to Tokyo will know how incredibly illuminated the city is (as well as incredibly noisy). Sadly London lags behind in the illumination sense, possibly due to the local bureaucratic council having such a tight grip on what can and cannot be done to London buildings. While this does of course protect these buildings I do always feel that it also stifles a lot of creativity. Clearly retailers have to work around this and ways that they can change how a space looks is with the use of vinyl on the glass. Here, are images from London's Dover street market and the Comme De Garcon 'Black' campaign.

Create Your Space workshop: Moscow

A little while ago I was invited to Moscow to give a talk and run a workshop around Interior Design for students at a conference centre close to the GUM shopping mall and Red square. My initial thought was how I could run a workshop in such an enormous event that would engage such a huge audience? The organisers didn't want me to simply talk to the audience about Interior Design and my knowledge of Russian embarrassingly consists of two words. Therefore, everything that I did say in English was followed by several minutes of translation into Russian. It is not the easiest thing to concentrate on what you are saying, waiting for it to be translated, and then pick up where you were, however after years of having to do this you do develop the knack. Anyway, I decided that I would put together a workshop and presentation which I called 'Create your space' where students were given some basic materials and guidelines and invited to literally create their own space. Some of the results can be seen below. What is so interesting about these is how different each and every 'model' is. We had hundreds of them too which we laid out across the auditorium for the audience to view, including the Mayor of Moscow. What about the presentation? I hear you ask. Well, not everything went according to plan, some things got lost in translation and the organisers had decided to cancel the projector and screen as they didn't think I would need it. The presentation therefore, (and my toes are curling as I write this), had to be done from a laptop to an audience the size of a mini Olympic stadium. Well these things do happen occasionally no matter how prepared we are and they might well happen again in the future, we just have to learn to dance quicker on the rug, I suppose?

Central St. Martins Interior Styling Course: Sarah Zimmer

Sarah Zimmer Germany / London

There are many different types of journey. The journey to healing, the journey to your Holiday resort, the journey to success and the trip back home. After a long exhausting day at work to (finally) relax and let go.

A journey is defined as a process of travelling from one place to another, hence figuratively a passage through life. The Interior Styling course has been an inspiring journey, as an Interior Stylist creates and sends their client on a journey each time. It can be an imaginary one to the Provence, to the countryside in the UK, to the seaside in Spain or to Disneyland. It is a journey through time and style. A trip to the clients dreamland.

We all need to set sail one day to begin the journey of a thousand miles and it begins with one step. I have begun my journey by joining this inspiring course...!