Clever catalogue cover for the Design.Art.Fashion fair held in Munich before Christmas.
German engineering
Clever catalogue cover for the Design.Art.Fashion fair held in Munich before Christmas.
Love is in the air / cash is in the till
Royal Wedding buzz wasn't quite at fever pitch whilst I was in London late March but it was certainly building and retailers were making the most of the pending nuptials. "Middleton Blue" was the fashion colour of the moment. Lots of variations of the engagement dress featured in high end designer windows along New Bond Street as well as department stores around the corner on Oxford. Amongst the sea of tacky souveniers I spotted a couple of cute ones that stood out from the landfill. A beautiful set of iced biscuits in commemorative tin (around the 40 pound mark from memory) and the very silly 'Knit your own Royal Wedding' book had just arrived in store the very day I went to Liberty. I thought this was just waaaay too much fun so I bought it for my mum (she being a Pom and all). I hope she knits me a Corgi!
Big in berlin
Lordy they love a big billboard in Berlin. You have to go to Checkpoint Charlie to check this out.
Glamping?
D-Mop has set up camp in Ocean Terminal with a fully enclosed canvas cave of denim cool. I gather this is a permanent shop that sits within a cluster of youth fashion brands. Would shopping centre developers in Oz allow such a nimble approach to store finishes and design? I doubt it ... but as the world changes around us all I guess we have to start thinking of new ways to jump the barriers regarding cost of entry to play in the mall, keeping indie brands in the mix ... and customers coming back for more. Spotted in Hong Kong.
Take one large blank canvas…
Potsdamer Platz is a minimalist hub of tall modern glass architecture in the centre of Berlin. I was first taken by the size of the billboard, only to discover on closer inspection it is a levelled building site made to look like it exists and is part of the plaza's commercial activity. From the actual building next door I estimated it was a 12 story high structure of scaffolding and printed canvas. I assume the 2 huge backlit billboards funded this rather grand illusion.
Delicate detail
A sculptured screen of stepped-pattern boxes creates quite a stunning shop facade when light and dark comes into play no matter what time of day. IFC, Hong Kong.
Pull up a chair
A display table that incorporates the bar stool look caught my eye. Ocean Terminal, Hong Kong.
Smoke screen
What is nice about walking through this open air foyer is that you don't really notice workers having a cigarette until you walk past their smoke screen, and even then you could easily miss it / just not notice. People smoke... so the clever building management in Hong Kong have thought about how this presents to the passing parade. Somewhere on Canton Road HK.
Cool coke
A traffic stopping decal treatment of this delivery truck certainly stopped me long enough to take a snap whilst walking the streets of Hong Kong yesterday.
This boxer is likely to pack a punch
I often sit in high-end thinking sessions relating to retail developments ... sessions where the suits know the shopping landscape is changing around them, and will change again by the time the plans on the table have turned into a mall or new precinct ... who know the business model needs a bit of a tweek too but their good ship Shopping Centre has already set sail ...
Whilst squeezing in some retail research before I head to Europe next week I came across this new development. For those who face the complex challenge of master planning and leasing retail developments I say, "get yourself a latte, put your feet up and take 15 mins to listen to what the developers, designers, marketers and targeted retailers have to say about Box Park". Initially I was a tad disappointed to discover it's due to open August 2011 but I perked up immediately at the thought that I'll just have to plan another I spy with my retail eye trip later in the year!
www.boxpark.co.uk
