LUXURY RETAIL AND THE SHIFTING DESIGN PARADIGM
The retail industry has gone through highs and lows, buffeted by the fortunes of the businesses themselves and the behaviours of the shoppers they rely upon. Physical stores suffered their biggest threat when e-commerce boomed a decade ago, further emphasised when the pandemic and lockdown kept people at home. While some predicted the demise of bricks and mortar entirely, retail has instead reinvented itself, emerging stronger and more resilient.
Physical stores have held their ground by building on their greatest strength – the tangible experience of shopping. After so long being confined to a screen, the joy of seeing, touching, holding and trying on products has come back to the fore and retailers are responding with those shopping experiences that consumers increasingly crave.
The Luxury sector has always understood the importance of the physical store and the opportunity it offers through exceptional store experience and service. Not that luxury retailers have ignored the digital shift, rather the changing consumer behaviours and heightened expectations have spurred a re-evaluation of store design. In the past, luxury brands like Gucci and Chanel adhered to a uniform and understated aesthetic. Today, store designs have become more distinctive and expressive of the individual brands’ creative design. They’re adopting bolder design language to differentiate in a competitive market.
As online targeting via social media and other digital channels has elevated shoppers’ expectations, this too has impacted what they want from physical stores. People now seek exceptional products and memorable retail experiences. If they are making the effort to visit a store they want an experiential reward. In response, luxury brands have adopted innovative design strategies including pop-ups, artistic collaborations and full brand takeovers. These initiatives enhance the experiential aspect of retail, transforming store formats into unique, immersive environments.
We have seen luxury brands embrace more cultural and historical elements into their stores, adapting global concepts so there is more local resonance. Hermès now has four stores in New York, each located in distinct cultural neighbourhoods like Brooklyn and Williamsburg and each with its own locally appropriate design, combined with the distinctive Hermès style. This localisation is important for building visitors and sales. It helps brands connect with diverse audiences and integrate into their cultural contexts. Apple has followed suit by restoring historic buildings for their stores. This demonstrates a commitment to sustainability and community heritage and means even the biggest global brands can feel grounded in a neighbourhood. They become part of a place’s distinct culture, not separate from it.
To offer unique experiences that impress their customers, brands are blending physical and digital elements. Louis Vuitton’s collaborations with contemporary artists, like Yayoi Kusama, showcases the fusion of art and retail. Although quite a few decades ago, Prada’s Epicentre stores designed by architect Rem Koolhaas, merged art, technology and innovative architecture. Similarly, Gucci’s transformation of its stores into eclectic, museum-like spaces filled with vintage furniture, art and customisable products reflects the brand’s innovative spirit.
Luxury retailers are maximising their physical spaces, becoming more than places of commerce and instead canvases of the brands’ creativity. By imagining engaging and experiential brand interactions and using digital and physical touchpoints, retailers can connect with shoppers in exciting new ways. This approach allows brands to simultaneously uphold the core of their luxury proposition of exclusivity and quality across products and service.
Luxury retail and the shifting design paradigm: Ewald Damen, Creative Director and Managing Partner at Virgile and Partners
