Urban Inspiration: “Your Coolest friend’s new place!”

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Wandering around Urban  Outfitters, for its customers, is like wandering around your coolest friend’s  new pad – their bedroom, their living room, their record collection, their kitchen and most importantly their wardrobe.

 

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The defining attraction of Urban Outfitters is its distinct personality expressed through its often random but always eclectic mix of fashions, home accessories, music and novelties. It is impossible to resist  picking up things that you have not seen before or rediscovering old favourites that you just can’t help touching  again.

The total experience reflects the very  specific taste with innovative and unusual display techniques in a store environment which is all about curiosity and exploration. Store materials and fixtures are often unfinished or distressed giving a feeling of newness and anticipation.

That being said the Urban  Outfitters store is a successful commercial proposition which cleverly combines best selling and profitable lines with strategically selected curiosities, image makers and locally  sourced ranges appealing the regional taste. The brand mix is a careful balance of traditional good sellers such as Levis and Dockers and the more risky but eyecatching new brands which are the core of its proposition.

“Commerciality and novelty in a world of curiosity and exploration.” An inspiration for us all.

 

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“UFO lands in NYC!”: Uniqlo’s Universal Appeal

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Uniqlo is on an  international mission from its Japanese heartland to become truly an  international fashion destination. It is already the 4th biggest fashion  retailer after Inditex, H&M and the GAP.

 

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The new 5th avenue store is  as impressive a brand statement as you could ever wish to see. The store is  spread over 4 floors which are used to create a jaw-dropping entrance where the  full store height is awash with colour and excitement.

The customer is taken on  a definitive journey, firstly up 3 floors on an escalator into the sky. The  customer then enters the main store through an illuminated corridor where best  sellers, classics and image makers are presented with enticing graphics and  flashing LEDs.

The collection is displayed  through a series of rooms where the product grouping is still largely in the  traditional Uniqlo categories.

However silhouettes are brought together on  mannequins and focal displays and the collection also includes coordinated  themes for women.

Hero categories have special status such as the mezzanine  floor dedicated to the Uniqlo T-shirt and displays in museum fashion all of the  designs and characters that have been used on the T-shirts over its  history.

Uniqlo is developing a  multichannel presence where its focus is currently to create an international  fashion community.

On websites and mobile platforms an international audience  recommend and model inspirational ways that customers can mix and coordinate the  range of Uniqlo classics and new fashion pieces.

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Watch this space. you won’t be able to take your eyes off it!

Fashion Forever: Walking in a Value Wonderland

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Forever21 has become  folklore for fun and budget fashion in its native US, and now throughout the UK, Europe and the Far East after its recent and rapid expansion.

 

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Although its original stores  were only 100sqm its concept has blossomed to become “Fashion Wonderlands” of  over 9000sqm. These huge stores are segmented into a variety of sub-brands and  departments.

Forever 21 for the original  assortment of women’s and junior’s clothing, accessories, active wear, swimwear,  lingerie, handbags, and shoes. Forever 21+ carrying women’s apparel in extended  sizes. Love 21 with contemporary lines for women with styles more suited for  women 21 and older. Forever 21 Girls for girls moving into their pre-teen sizes  & 21Men, fast fashion and suited style for men.

The vast spaces are used to  create retail theatre through the use of extravagant and extended mannequin  focal points, introducing each area with distinctive and eye-catching colour,  pattern and displays.

Whilst the store has been  built arrange jaw-dropping category displays with endless racks of dresses,  blouses, T-shirts, trousers, denim and every other kind fashion apparel, the  retailer has worked hard to create outfits and silhouettes, brought together  with its individual and distinctive taste for coordination.

Stand-out departments  include the accessories area with its “boutique” atmosphere and the wonderfully  extravagant fixtures with crystal chandeliers and oversizes  lampshades.

For the fashionista on a  budget Forever21 truly represents a “Fashion Wonderland” of unparalleled scale  and extravagance.

 

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From Knightsbridge to Airbridge: Flying the Harrods Flag

Something has changed in the retail offer at Gatwick airport, South Terminal, as part of the enormous investment in the airport. Centre stage of the new development is Harrods.

 

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In the extensive store there are plenty of brands attracting the attention from Longchamps to Swarovski to DKNY but it’s the clever commercialisation of the Harrods brand that catches the eyes and opens the wallets.

Fabulous food creates the destination wall from traditional teas to tempting treats, personalised puddings to branded biscuits. The packaging steals the show building on the original green & gold into a ornate array of pastels and plums, monochrome magic to seasonal scarlets.

Centrepiece the iconic Harrods bag, blocked in the traditional hues, but also resplendent in pink for the feminine soul, and stylish in black for sophistication.

A veritable lesson in empowering an identity to travel to any destination.

 

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VM-Unleashed monitors, benchmarks and celebrates best practice to provide the most relevant and expert analysis & conclusions.

A Sonic Site for Sore Eyes is Music to Your Urbanears

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The myriad of messages are presented in a beautifully simple and stylish way allowing the customer to select by lilac, lemon or whatever hue is particularly you.

 

Limited editions combine function and fashion, with the superbly subtly coloured Pumpkin capturing amber audio ambiance ideal for your autumn activities.

Environmental credentials are encapsulated by Platten, where every re-constructed headpiece comes complete with coordinates for your own 5sqkilometres of protected Costa Rican forest packed with rare butterflies, beautiful bugs and special spiders.

On every level UrbanEars is a brand to get your head around.

 

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Every hero has a story!
If you have products that haven’t got a story, have you got a product at all?

 

VM-Unleashed monitors, benchmarks and celebrates best practice to provide the most relevant and expert analysis & conclusions.

New Home: West Comes East to be Part of the Furniture

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Style travels well,

 

… and judging from the stunning arrival of West Elm on this side of the pond, the American home fashion retailer is about to make serious waves in the UK decor market.

The essential elements have been transported safely with its distinctive high wall displays, blocked shelving, colour story chic and opulent ornaments still in tact after the journey East. Particularly impressive and more unexpected is the kitchen department where beautiful boxes build authority across cutlery, cuisine, and crockery which flow into attractive displays of herbs, spices and delicatessen delights.

Customer service is special, as expected, from the home design hub to the cozy coffee bar, where the made-to-measure attention is sure to be a hit with the ecelectic mix of London’s home fashion admirers.

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Gyroscopical; Chronological; Cosmonautical: Brilliant Breitling

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Time waits for no-one

…and Breitling have wasted no time at all in propelling itself to the forefront of watch design and manufacturing par excellence. Every face tells a story and Breitling communicates every story with style, with integrity and with a precision that complements the design of its watches perfectly.

The new store environment brilliantly combines the precious, authority of the watch displays with powerful store graphics, cartoons reminiscent of the halcien days of aeronautical development. Add to this the beautifully designed fixtures again drawing from the brands aeronautical and engineering heritage and the store is picture perfect, a ticking timepiece of creativity and design excellence.

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Welcome to the Nike House of Innovation: A Latin Adventure

Nike: Pitching into the World Cup fever that is embracing the globe is an opportunity that doesn’t come round that often, and in regions such as South America which hasn’t had a tournament on home ground for three decades, capturing the hearts and the Pesos of these soccer crazed countries is literally a once in a lifetime challenge.

 

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Nowhere has the temperature been higher than in Chile, with a team to challenge and a journey to Brazil just hours away. The nation has gone World Cup crazy and Nike has responded with a House of Innovation, capturing crowds in Costanera, the capital’s largest shopping centre.  In a space urban and industrial, dark and inviting the duel boots of Magista and Mercurial welcome the curious customer with state-of-the-art technology and football-of-the-table traditional entertainment.

The darkness opens up into an expansive arena with a centrepiece penalty shoot-out pitch where astro turf combines with internet surf for those endless moments between spot kicks. Beyond the internet bar, beneath the cross bar, Nike Football Club stands proud in a dedicated exhibition space where exclusive product rubs shoulders with rare memorabilia in a monochrome homage to the beautiful game.

Let the brand battle commence in a test of endurance that is sure to run and run.

 

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