Visual Trend Journal by mackenziedakin

VISUAL COMMUNICATIONS TREND JOURNAL

TABLE OF CONTENTS

VALENTINO, NEW YORK September 17, 2014

Valentino’s New York flagship store in the Takashimaya Building on Fifth Avenue has recently been renovated to fit the ultra modern and glamorous aesthetic of the iconic brand. Designed by Philip Johnson and John Burgee, the 20,000 square foot space has been transformed by David Copperfield Architects featuring a glass facade made of aluminum and black steel. The three-story building holds all product categories including women’s ready-to-wear, accessories, and a complete menswear collection. The store will include pieces from the accessory collection that are exclusive to the Fifth Avenue location, including the Camubutterfly pieces and the Zodiac finger clutches. The flagship was renovated this past August and allows the consumer to be immersed in a side of the Valentino brand that usually isn’t seen by the general public. The colorful and fluidity of the Valentino merchandise stands in contrast to the harsh lines and stone cold marble of the updated store interiors. Yet the structured surfaces create an unusual pairing that is incredibly striking and perfectly showcases the clothing and accessories alike. This experience is unique to include a combination of the old and new to create a Palazzo atmosphere while catering to an elite clientele.

Valentino Zodiac Finger Clutch

Valentino Garavani Camubutterfly Collection

The vastness of this location could easily overwhelm any customer yet it’s the overwhelming aspect of the space that allows you to appreciate it in its entirety. It remains open, allowing few light fixtures and displays available to show the merchandise. There is an unequal relationship between the amount of merchandise shown and the remaining free space in the building, yet it’s the emptiness of the floor and walls that truly allow the collection to stand out. Even among marble walls and sculptures, the patterns and color of the clothing pop against the grainy marble texture it’s surrounded by. The architects of the David Copperfield group were immensely successful in revamping the Valentino New York flagship location. They understood that the abundance of it’s consumers and their taste for luxury would draw them to such a strong and unique location. The Valentino name will hold enough reason for customers to return to this new store while it’s modern update will cater to a new contemporary woman.

Rick Owens, London September 23, 2014

Rick Owen’s claims one of his favorite combinations is “elegance and depravity”, a concept that is aptly shown in the new collaboration with Selfridge’s. The World of Rick Owens is an all-encompassing experience within the London based department store. Beginning with a giant sculpture of Owens mounted above the main door, expanded boutique areas, window displays, a curated space, and an exclusive collection, Selfridges has completely redone their department store to entirely feature the designer. The giant sculpture features the shirtless designer with his signature black hair while holding a blazing torch. The symbolism of the torch is extremely significant in the ever growing success of Rick Owens. While his aesthetic is vastly different from any other designer, his innovative mind and otherworldly designs have grown to be widely anticipated Done in black and white, the entire store perfectly captures the uniquely weird mind of Rick Owens. The designer was given four windows to transform and chose not to feature any clothing within the given windows. Choosing images and creating installations that showcase the unsettling mind of the designer.

One of the four windows features the figure of a woman with glowing eyes and “vomiting black blood”. A silent film plays above the figure while a hologram of the words, “the moon”, are displayed on a constant stream. The moon is featured in multiple windows with sculptures meant to showcase the surface texture of the moon. No matter how different these are from the typical window display, it’s what sets it apart that allows it to be so dynamic and innovative. The designs of these windows are exactly what would catch the eye of the consumer. Through their depiction of Rick Owens and his unique mind those who wouldn’t have been aware of his name before, now have the ability to be completely immersed in the world of Rick Owens.

Louis Vuitton, Paris 4, 2014

Nicholas Ghesquière introduced his Spring/Summer 2015 collection at the opening of The Foundation Louis Vuitton, a massive monument built by Frank Gehry, and gave his audience the ability to travel anywhere in space and time. Showcased in the futuristic building designed by Gehry, Ghesquière opened his show with images of many faces speaking together lines from David Lynch’s 1984 film Dune in unison, describing the building and the journey they were about to take together. The introduction of film into fashion and runway shows is extremely important to the development and advancement of the fashion industry as a whole. With the introduction of new technology, innovative designs and materials, the presentation of a collection has grown to be so much more than a runway show. It’s about an experience, an experience that captivates the audience, puts them within the mind of the designer, and takes them on a journey that completely encompasses the collection. Ghesquière created a mirroring effect with the placement of these projection screens, it allowed the space to seem so immense that this spacial exploration would be never ending.

GhesquiĂ¨re then continued with his presentation of the collection yet utilized lighting and the space to further emphasize the otherworldly atmosphere of the show. Creating a display of lights that closely resembled the spotlights of an alien encounter, the garments took the audience back in time while taking shape within the modern spaceship they were inhabiting. Nicholas GhesquiĂ¨re knows how to transform an audience. He knows how to capture an idea and how to present it in the most interesting ways. This presentation is the kind of show that the audience remembers, and this is the most appropriate form of technology that captures their attention. Something that is all encompassing, larger than life and takes up your surroundings that allows you to fully experience the mind of the designer is the kind of presentations that should be made during runway shows. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s moments like this that showcase how, as an industry, we are incorporating the advancement of technology and truly embarrassing the modern lifestyle.

“A beginning is a very delicate time…Day zero in the heart of the project, code-named GEHRY014…A ship surrounded by a gigantic woodland, a ship made up of 3,600 glass panels and 15,000 tons of steel, a ship that serves as an incubator and ignites our fellow creative minds…Oh, yes, I forgot to tell you, today, October 1, the LV house wants to explore the ability to travel to any part of the universe without moving. The journey starts here.”

ALEXANDER WANG, NEW YORK OCTOBER 9, 2014

Every few months, Alexander Wang transforms his New York Soho flagship store with a new installation that reflects his products and collections of that time. The area known as “the cage” holds each installation and utilizes materials and colors that are used throughout the rest of the store. Past cage presentations have been black Christmas trees for the holidays, stacked televisions all showing different images, while his most recent update features cyborgs. While wearing the heat sensitive garments from his Fall/Winter 2014 collection, these cyborgs are featured within a large light box. Wearing all black clothing, these machines wear helmets that display a moving heart rate monitor on the shield. Displaying life and the passage of time, such a simple yet unique detail takes the installation into a modern age. It’s showcasing these machines as living beings. The introduction and innovation of technology is the future of fashion and we have to embrace the change that’s taking place, there’s so much growth and opportunity in technology and Alexander Wang understands that. Alexander Wang has always been a designer to embrace the innovation of technology and fashion. Designing garments for the modern woman, this store installation provides an overall sci-fi attitude that works perfectly with the garments. Given the material, leather mixed with the hard plastic of the mannequins, Alexander Wang creates an atmosphere that is perfect for the 21st century consumer. The introduction of technology into fashion isn’t a new concept, yet now it’s up to the creative minds of designers and industry professionals to take it to the next level. By creating this display and pairing it with his most innovative garments, Alexander Wang proves that fashion is ready to take the next step into a new technological era.

yme, oslo

October 16, 2014

YME is a concept store uniting curated items in fashion, accessories, books, interiors, and artwork from a host of popular Scandinavian and international brands. Designed by the architectural firm SnĂ¸hetta, the space is located in a multi-faceted property that also includes an art gallery, bookshop, restaurant, and rooftop garden. Artists such as Haider Ackermann, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Bjarne Melgaard and Dash Snow are featured in this unique space that offers such a wide variety of items for an eclectic and modern lifestyle. The property itself is very interesting in that each room is designed to show different sides of their customer. While one room is featured in all charcoal concrete, very clean lines, and simple black clothing racks, another room can feature all natural wood and exposed brick. Each floor offers a different variety of merchandise and includes a rooftop garden opening in 2015 for a relaxing break from the city.

It’s always interesting when a store can cater to two different personalities of their customers, it allows for the opportunity of more people coming into their store but also caters to the different styles they are attracting. By having one floor be the all black visuals and detailing while having the other floor be wood furnishings and deconstructed surroundings, YME is catering to the style of two different customers without creating a sense of discord. I think it’s important for stores to have different scenes within them, whether it’s split up by room or by floor, because one customer isn’t centered around one lifestyle anymore. Especially a customer that would visit a concept store. People are multi-faceted and can appreciate the different worlds that are created for them and the merchandise chosen for that specific theme.

Bally, London October 22, 2014

Swiss luxury retailer opened itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s newly relocated Bond Street location that perfectly encapsulates the Bally brand. Designed by architect David Chipperfield, this new store mixes exceptional woodwork with modern industrialization. The chosen materials allow the space to seem very warm and inviting while creating a sense of mixing the old and new ideals of the brand. Taking inspiration and cues from Marcel Breuer, Chipperfield created an innovative use of stock walls and display grids that successfully showcase the merchandise within the store. By creating shelving units with their own lighting within them, each product shown is given the right amount of light and presence to create a successful display. By placing fluid yet modern all-white shelving units against the dark wood of the walls, it reiterates the idea of showcasing the traditional Bally materials with the modern age.

I especially love the dichotomy of the warm wood with the harsh lines of the concrete used within the stairways. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m often drawn to the pairing of hard and soft elements and find that the mix of these materials work really well with the lifestyle of their customer and the duality of the past and the future. The products themselves are very staple pieces that hold a high importance on luxury styling, they easily fit within the space that was designed to showcase them. The space itself is meant to serve as a highly functional area; thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a lounge area for visitors with couches and chairs for them to sit in, a special services area that caters to tailoring, and innovative fixtures that showcase the items according to Bally standards.

Shang Xia, Shanghai

October 31, 2014

Backed by Hermès and run by Renaissance woman Jiang Qiong Er, Shang Xia is a well combined mix of contemporary style and the traditional Chinese craft. With the introduction of its new flagship within a 100 year old colonial home, Kengo Kuma, designer and master of open light and architecture, has created an area that is to be considered a home away from home for its visitors. With tea offered on every floor, a barefoot lounge, and a gallery of painted silks by Pan Xi, Kuma has incorporated elements of the past and the future to invite the modern and traditional consumer into its walls. Whether it’s the honeycombed walls of translucent faceted fabric, or the silk screens and bamboo details, this confine perfectly encapsulates the Chinese consumer. Given the country’s dedication to its rich history while being a forefront of the modern age, it’s the perfect dichotomy of old and new. Shang Xia has introduced a space that defines the simple luxury of its consumer with products in materials like Tibetan yak’s wool and zitan wood. In celebration, a new line of cashmere capes, hand-woven like those of the Han Dynasty Mongolia, and a collection of vegetable-tanned leather goods to mimic the texture of bamboo have been unveiled for the flagship opening.

Each material chosen is reflective of the modern and traditional elements of Chinese culture. Whether it’s the silk screens paired with dark wood, bamboo details, or the all-white scheme with light brown wood. Each curated piece fits perfectly with the atmosphere of the space. The items aren’t clustered, but shown very minimalistically, reflecting the simple luxurious aesthetic of the brand. There’s no excess, but a sense of purity that begins with the items chosen that bleeds into the fixtures. It’s up to the retailers of today to create a home for their consumers, a space where they can feel at home and have a sense of security and comfort. A place they can escape to. Shang Xia does an amazing job of curating to their customer, with the barefoot lounge and tea offered on each floor, it becomes much more than a shopping experience. It becomes a sort of mecca that offers fashion, culture, and a sense of escape from the world around them. Given the market this flagship is in, it perfectly contributes to tradition while progressing further into the modern age.

cos, los Angeles

November 5, 2014

Since the COS launch in 2007, the brand has opened stores worldwide to create designs that live beyond the season. COS, Collection of Style, is for men and women who want modern, functional, well considered design that are instant classics. This location is the first COS store in the US; the brand carefully chooses locations that preserve the buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s original features while creating modern gallery spaces that perfectly encapsulate the surrounding location. Opened in Beverly Hills, the store front emits a perfect California vibe while maintaining the minimal aesthetic of the brand.

The two story location houses mens and womens merchandise, with clear pathways for the consumer and clean, minimal displays the layout is easily maneuvered by consumers. All of the merchandise is placed around the perimeter of the store allowing it to be free of clutter and remain open and inviting. With very few mannequins in use, it allows the store to maintain itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s modern aesthetic by having a heavier focus on props and fixtures.

VISUAL COMMUNICATIONS MACKENZIE DAKIN PROF DANIEL GREEN