Sale: COS, London

I strangely never think to look at COS here on Regent st. I think probably as they seem to sink into the background a little without anything particularly visual, therefore I never seem to be drawn to them. However, these Sale structures that they have placed in the window caught my eye and I thought I should record them as we so rarely are shown the structure from which these things are built - of course this is deliberate. If you are not familiar with COS they are the mid-market sister brand of H&M and tend to produce a rather sophisticated collection of clothing aimed at a more discerning consumer. I have seen their store at Westfield (the newish large shopping mall in West London) and I was actually, I must say, rather impressed. Although, I never seem to plan a purchase around this brand personally, I can see the attraction. However, I do like my shopping journeys to be a little more visual and this brand, for me, is just a little too bland for my preference. Of course the stores are great, the product is great but the environment just doesn't sing to me. There just seems to be lacking any personality, not in a celebrity endorsement sense - God forbid - but just in who it is. Am I wrong?

Sale: Harvey Nichols, London

Go and see Harvey Nichols the ever Uber fashionable department store, as I wouldn't have expected any thing less this Sale time from this company. This simple scheme in large format vinyl does exactly what its supposed to do and shouts out that the Sale is on. Contained within the vinyl lettering are small reveals, which just give us snippets of whats on offer. The is a great tease strategy and the passerby cant resist but be drawn to these tiny areas of interest. Of course, things which are revealed are always far more exciting that if they are simply presented to us and this is why this concept works so well. No doubt the team are beavering away working on the first major installment of 2010 which is something I always look forward to viewing as I flaneur the walkways of London.

Sale: Anthropologie, London

No time flaneuring the city would be complete without checking out Anthropologie. I have noticed that a lot of retailers this year are utilising their Christmas schemes for Sale. I'm really pleased to see this. Sale, although, I suppose a necessary part of the calender to shift all that excess stuff that didn't sell, it is rather a dull time of year visually and therefore why bother trying to develop a magnificent and complex scheme which soaks up the annual budget when we can enjoy so much more the rest of the time. Anyway, Anthropologie have reused their great Christmas scheme which I loved anyway (apart from the silver birch trees which could be seen in just about every other scheme around town) but the props are always magnificent and great fun. I am dying to see what they do when all returns to normal in a few weeks.

Sale: Esprit, London

After an horrendously long flight from NYC across the pond back to the UK, I definitely needed to get out to stretch my now jelly legs and breathe in the London pollution. While slipping and sliding my way around the icy city and having travelled from one cold climate to another I now feel at home again. Anyway, my first destination on my regular flaneuring of the city had to be Regent st. as new stores are opening, its late at night and therefore quiet, all of the multiples are in Sale and I could get a quick visual fix. Esprit brought a smile to my face and tired eyes displaying Zentai-like suits in their windows. These are great fun and I couldn't help wondering what a wonderful brand this would be if they actually sold these, even just as a promotion. Male and Female mannequins have been dressed in these 'lycra' suits in their windows in a repetition layout in front of a large format graphic in the obligatory Sale 'Red' telling us its Sale time in multiple languages. Incredible fun, simply presented and telling the message. Great. In the mean time, the 'courteous' guy at immigration who confiscated my fabulous MarieBelle cocoa drinking Chocolate from my favourite Chocolatier in NYC because I didn't pack it in my luggage as the tins explode cocoa powder all over my clothes - I know where you live.

American Apparel, New York

This my last day here in the city that doesn't sleep - and it really doesn't. Anyway, I will soon be on my flight back to 'Blighty' and apparently snow and a freezing cold apartment. Having written blogs here for nearly a month it is time to reflect on my journey (much of it I will keep to myself you may be glad to hear?) While running to the airport - yes I am sending this out with only a few moments to leave for the long haul journey. Anyway, my cab to the airport screamed to a halt when I shouted to the driver to stop so that I could photograph the above for you all. I thought the colours and use of repetition in a spatial cell type presentation works incredibly well here at American Apparel on 181 8th Avenue. I must admit I am not a huge fan of this brand, in fact I buy nothing from them, however I must tell you that I do admire this initiative. According to their website this is what this scheme is all about......

In the fall of 2008, Proposition 8 passed in California, striking down the legalization of same-sex marriage. Since that time, several states across the country have voted to legalize same-sex marriage, or recognize those performed in other states. With many of our employees and customers identifying as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered, we are a company that is vocal about our support for the protection and advancement of gay rights, and we hope that the rest of our fifty states take the necessary steps toward equal rights for all, and legalize same-sex marriage.

I never cut and paste from websites or use anyone else's visuals / images but I do think the above statement was too important not to include and for me not to stand up and say yes I support this initiative by American Apparel. I think you will agree a worthy cause and I take my hat off to this brand for doing this. Check out http://legalizegay.com/

I will be launching the latest 'Sale' windows tomorrow from London so in the mean time, swing by American Apparel and show your support and get a great pair of colourful underwear too...! (I did, but you will just have to guess which colour..!)

Babette Pinsky, New York

While flaneuring around Greene street earlier, I came across Babette. Now, as with a lot of these small brands I am not wholly familiar with her stuff. However, what actually made me stop here is the use of these incredible figures that look like something from the future that the popular media would have us believe will possibly look like. After doing some quick research, it transpires that Babette Pinsky, the main designer here is influenced by mid 20th Century modernist architecture, Industrial and Graphic Design and her use of pleated materials is legendary. I am always nervous when I see these types of figures used as they don't always work particularly well and don't suit every type of Fashion product, however here they really are superb and have been handled brilliantly. I don't come across these figures very often and absolutely had to record it and show them to you. However, if you are in SoHo, pop along to 137 Greene St. and take a look yourself.

Camper, New York

When I first saw this store at the start of the millennium I remember being quite in awe of its innovation. I believe they are a Spanish brand with a very long history of shoe making begun originally by Antonio Fluxa. The layout here has always reminded me of a combination of catwalk and large ovens, I think probably because of the Red used on the inside of those enormous lights. Camper encourage us to 'Reinvent our Reality' which is perhaps a little ironic as the store has remained the same for nearly 10 years and perhaps a little past it sell by date in terms of Retail Years. However, the product remains fantastic and the quality is superb and if you do like this kind of thing then maybe drop by 125 Prince St. in SoHo and take a look.

Catherine Malandrino, New York

I have been following this brand from a distance for the past 10 years after I originally came across the Catherine Malandrino (Herrine) store in SoHo here in New York. I think it was the light wall that initially attracted me and I always made a point to return each year to the same place to see if they did anything different and get my annual fix. Interestingly the brand has really grown and new stores are popping up around the world (and concessions) including this one in the Meatpacking district on Hudson. While checking out Catherine's website, which really is such a gem of a find she clearly has a strong philosophy, integrity and direction, drawing on all types of resources for inspiration from Music, Art, film and so on which is such a pleasure to read as often these types of designers are usually so secretive that one would have to squeeze out the tiniest snippet of information about how they work and what interests them and usually one finds very little. Catherine is clearly cultured and now I am able to see the level of depth to her thinking which I find so fascinating. Do go along to the store in the Meatpacking district (even if if you don't like women's fashion) just to see how incredible it looks.

Gene Frankel Theatre, New York

While searching out the latest boutiques around Greenwich village this week, I came across The Gene Frankel Theatre, 24, Bond st. here in NYC. What actually struck me and the reason I recorded this site was because of the amazing Gold figures climbing the building. This, at least to me, is quite an odd site. On the one hand, one can find the likes of John Varvatos and a variety of other very expensive boutiques around this area and on the other hand the rest of the area looks rather unloved. This is an interesting strategy used by retailers, particularly the Uber cool ones and we can see how places such as Jeffrey's in the Meatpacking district led the way in the gentrification of the area into one which is fairly exclusive. Areas that used to be quite cheap to live in and often populated by artists and musicians and so on, which makes the area so interesting is high jacked by developers, retailers and other non-artisans who wish to obtain some level of credibility and buy up the spaces. This in turn prices out the very people who made the area 'cool' in the first instance. This, of course, is not a new phenomenon and examples of this happening can be seen in areas of London such as Hoxton. Anyway, do check out Gene Frankel on Wiki - what a fascinating story behind his life, and this area is still very sparsely populated by tourists too.

Lucky Brand Jeans, New York

Nothing beats a New Year's celebration hangover than walking in the New York cold weather - so I discovered. Yes, I know its already the 3rd January, but these things take time to work out of the system these days. Anyway, as I flaneured around Prince St. here in the city I came across Lucky Brand Jeans. Now I don't actually know this brand but according to the very lovely sales staff they are all over America too. I do find that the Jeans market is rather saturated personally and I could feel myself oozing Denim from every pore as a result. However, the reason I have included this brand is because I was drawn to their product presentation scheme. Unfortunately, my images here are not great but I did find the use of the Victorian vignettes quite interesting. OK, well its not particularly highly original, although it was produced incredibly well and therefore I wanted to show you as I was drawn in to the store to take a closer look so it did its job very well. On the downside, it does appear to be just another jeans brand (I'm sure they won't thank me for saying that) and the product isn't that great (as in original not quality) but the stores themselves do look really cool and perhaps this is where the differentiation is. After all, how many pairs of Jeans or checked shirts do we all really need? Anyway, it is worth taking a look if your are interested in Denim type brands if only just to admire their stores.

Anthropologie, New York

A visit to New York would not be complete without seeing my favourite brand and stores of the decade. I could happily live in these spaces, they absolutely push all (well nearly all) of my buttons - apart from the fact that they don't sell menswear which I know I moaned about when I visited the London store a few weeks ago. Anyway, while I flaneured around the bottom of West Broadway you would have had to chain me to the lamppost to stop me coming in here. This store seems to have an almost Dickensian feel to it mixed with up to the minute Uber cool contemporary thinking. I couldn't think of any reason not to like this concept and although the brand don't cater for men they do provide a man-creche as you can see in the images below (or it may just be a seating area but it is certainly dominated by males) Men bored out of their brains checking and sending text messages possibly waiting for their women folk to peruse the store. Why not use this space to actually sell men's products instead and give them something to do? Come on Anthropologie....look how bored these guys are...!

10 Commandments of Visual Merchandising for 2010

As we wave goodbye to another year, it is as always a time to reflect on the achievements and perhaps also things that didn't work so well throughout 2009. As 2010 approaches me like a speeding bullet, and as I write this in my tiny hotel room in New York's Meatpacking district, the heating still continues to fry me and the cold air from the Hudson rushes through the my open window as I try to maintain a sane level of warmth and coolness in order to work. Soon I will be back in London ready for the new season, while the Sale period works its way out of the retail, commercial and creative calender. In the meantime, I thought I should look through my archives to identify perhaps some of the considerations for 2010 which perhaps can either be avoided or employed as part of the overall process of this industry. The 10 Commandments listed below are not necessarily in any order and none is any more or less important than the other, however, as an industry we provide a service, creativity, commerciality, individualism, entertainment, dedication and so on and I do hope out there somewhere some of these thoughts will be read, and possibly acted upon in order for us all to keep moving forward into the next decade. They can of course be discarded, ignored and ridiculed. Does it really matter? Well yes it does. We are customers and consumers ourselves just as much as providers within this 'industry' and unless we have an overall view of what is actually happening out there, in here, else where or at least some where then we are condemned to repeating the same mistakes over and over again, year in and year out, while the customer or consumer becomes ever more sophisticated and leaves us with often a very large space full of merchandise which we cannot sell. Anyway, below are just some thoughts.......

1. Thou shall employ, support and maintain the professionals in this industry.

Sadly over the past year or two countless visual merchandisers, designers, display crew have been made redundant from their jobs. These teams often work late into the evening and all through the night, indeed night after night. I have never really understood why these teams are usually the first to go whenever we hit a recession? Why do retailers not seem to understand that these specialists are crucial in presenting your product to the customer? I sadly, very often see the most talented people with years of experience being cast aside when the going gets tough. This is one of the biggest mistakes retailers make. These people then sometimes go on to other companies to whom they are ready to swear allegiance too and you have lost vital talent to your competitor. So, come on retailers, in 2010, please remember these people are the most important people in your company (as well as your gate keepers such the personal assistants and Secretaries, of course)

2. Thou shall not use coloured fluorescent lights horizontally, vertically or any other combination or multiple suspended light bulbs. (lamps)

Time and time again we see the use of this type of lighting in schemes globally. My personal photographic archives over several decades illustrate these being used on countless occasions, so Levi and Habitat are not the only culprits here. So, come on creative teams, its time to ditch the coloured fluorescent in 2010.

3. Thou shall maintain retail standards.

I lose track of the amount of times I see poor retail standards. I guess nobody counts on me being around when the store is closed to record these things - but I am. To me this illustrates such a lack of care and I do feel that if this was my home I would certainly be embarrassed to invite anyone in. Wouldn't you? Of course, the store here is closed, however, the brand image is being harmed and to me this just says, "I don't care."

4. Thou shall not use the same Mannequins for every scheme.

Well, what can I say here that I haven't said throughout my previous blogs, other than repeat myself? Do we really have to see the same mannequins used over and over again for every new concept? Of course, its easy to criticise when one does not have to come up with a solution, and therefore, my solution is to have not just one collection of figures but at least two collections so that figures can be rotated over different schemes. I love this Rootstein figure of Yasmin Le Bon, but do we have to see her in every single scheme of every single store in the same skin tone all of the time?

5. Thou shall not use Chandeliers.

Well, just about every multiple retailer in 2009 used Chandeliers in their schemes. Joseph did use them beautifully during the year and and then just about every combination, milking the concept, appeared just every where on the high street. Now, I must say, I do actually love Chandeliers, but come on retailers lets leave them out of the schemes for 2010?

6. Thou shall not use wooden crates to place product on or in.
Well, if there ever was an idea that has been flogged to death it must be the use of wooden crates in a concept. How many more times do we need to see these? I tend to cringe every time they crop up, particularly as they are such a dated concept. As we are two decades post-grunge can we please leave them where they should be - back in the crate place (wherever that may be)

7. Thou shall not use motifs.

As any of my students or graduates will tell you this is my nemesis and I believe the Achilles heal of this industry. If ever there was something to offend a customer (well, me I suppose) it is the use of motifs. Please can we not use them in 2010 when there are so many other ideas that can be used?

8. Thou shall not use the same scheme as the previous year.

I was quite surprised this year to see quite a few schemes resurrected from previous years. Some of the biggest offenders were actually the designer brands, where schemes used in 2008 were repeated in 2009. As we all travel more and more and the places to shop become ever more (sadly) generic do retailers really believe that no one will notice? Or was this just a case of the global recession kicking designer brands where it really hurt - the wallet? Who knows. Anyway, below we have, the usually incredible Louis Vuitton store in London in 2009 and New York 2008. I am a little disappointed that they did this as they really do presentation so superbly well, but who knows what goes on in LVMH towers that made them make the decision to use the scheme twice.

9. Thou shall not use the same idea in as many different combinations as possible.

This is one concept that I felt was absolutely flogged to with in an inch of its life. I have images of this brand throughout 2009 and I think just about every single scheme was based on the same idea. I have long suspected that this is a result of over zealous marketeers - maybe I am wrong? But I cant believe anyone truly creative leading this campaign would do this? I do like this brand but it seems to have really lost its way recently. Anyway, please can we see something different for 2010. We know the brand, we know the logo, we know the print, we know the idea, we recognise it and it is a the forefront of our minds. So, lets do something different now please?

10. Thou shall have a successful 2010....!

Thank you to all of you in 2009 who have commented on the blog so far this year and for all of your kind e-mails - I hope I was able to help you. Anyway, as I am now just a few hours from 2010 while I am writing this and my own fate this year is uncertain, one thing that I am looking forward too seeing this year is this industry bounce back from the global recession and without wanting to sound too corny...... putting the 'Win' back into Windows. Happy New Year..! Jonathan