Another Year’s End

VMSD’s ANNUAL “NEW YORK” focused November/December issue is always an inspirational one: The Big Apple remains the fashion capital for retailers and designers alike. From its epic holiday windows to its luxury apparel stores to its immersive restaurants, there really isn’t anything quite like New York City.

And this issue proves that with our extensive coverage on the latest and greatest store openings there, from Dior (pgs. 14, 24) to Nordstrom Local (pg. 10) to Aesop (pg. 20) and others. (The only exception in this issue is Guess Jeans’ latest Tokyo outpost that sports a studio/exhibition vibe and design lab, pg. 26.)

And it wouldn’t be our last issue of the year if we didn’t include our Year in Review/Top Stories annual feature, penned by longtime contributing writer and former VMSD editor Steve Kaufman. This cheeky review takes a look back at the highs and lows of 2025 – from Cracker Barrel’s logo fumble to glitzy store openings and mournful store closings. Be sure to read this piece, illustrated by VMSD Art Director Danielle Sy, on pg. 34.

And if you weren’t able to join us this year for the 2025 International Retail Design Conference (IRDC) Oct. 22-23, I’ve got to say you missed a good one. Between the opening WaterFire welcome party (also doubling as the closing reception for Shop! Ideation Conference & Retail Challenge), the Level 99 offsite experience, the exciting 19th annual Iron Merchant Challenge co-hosted with ZenGenius Inc., and the amazing line-up of speakers, as well as our wonderful attendees and sponsors, it was a meeting of retail minds meant for the record books. You can read more about this year’s event in Providence on pg. 40.

In the coming months, there’s a lot to look forward to, including our January/February “Look Book” issue featuring the latest retail products from across the industry, as well as our annual Holiday Windows recap, penned by VMSD Managing Editor Olivia Taylor. VMSD will also be attending the annual PAVE Gala in New York this December to honor students and educators across the industry; NRF’s “Big Show” as well as the Markopoulos Award celebration in January. We’ll also be at EuroShop this February with post-event coverage appearing in our May/June 2026 issue.

Stay tuned to vmsd.com for all this upcoming coverage and happy holidays from the VMSD crew. Here we come, 2026!