Lizzie Velasquez kicked off the 23rd annual conference with her inspirational story focusing on human connection and communication.

Linda Cahan led one of the hands-on workshops this year, focusing on the importance of listening to your intuition and leading with your gut.

Judy Bell’s hands-on workshop, “Messy Creativity,” charged attendees with an ideation challenge inspired by the children’s book “Harold and the Purple Crayon.”

Ken McQuade and Robyn Vogel of Target discussed the retailer’s small format concepts and growth through their insightful breakout session Oct. 25.

Chip Cook of M&M’S and Ashley Randolph of Landor & Fitch explored the brand’s latest rollouts and brand evolution in this breakout session at IRDC 2023.

VMSD New York Editor Eric Feigenbaum and longtime VMSD Editorial Advisory Board Member Tom Beebe discussed the importance of Gene Moore and his window designs during a special lunchtime presentation.

Victoria’s Secret & Co.’s Albert Gilkey presented on the retailer’s Store of the Future concepts during the last general session of the opening day of IRDC 2023.

One of three options this year, retailer and design attendees could take this behind-the-scenes, VIP tour of Mall of America, hosted by Chandler. Another tour of Target’s flagship and headquarters was available alongside a walking tour of the North Loop hosted by the Twin Cities Chapter of the Retail Design Institute. All tours were sponsored by KNOCK Inc.

The evening of Oct. 25 saw the 17th annual Iron Merchant Challenge where teams worked within a one-hour timeframe to create a window display using a secret ingredient unveiled on-site.

The annual Iron Merchant Challenge, co-hosted by ZenGenius and emceed by ZenGenius’s Joe Baer, used displays designed by Axis Display, mannequins donated by Bernstein Display, lighting from Amerlux, digital displays from Cue Gravity, and a little red Corvette and other acrylic materials created by Recrylic. (Target hosted a pre-Iron Merchant cocktail reception.)

This year, teams had to create a window with a Purple Rain theme for a secondhand clothing store using donated and second-hand sourced materials.

The Blue Team was led by Alex Romero of Bloomingdale’s.

The Green Team was led by Amber Bradshaw of Nebraska Furniture Mart.

The Red Team was led by Sharon Lessard of Ensemble. The Red Team took home this year’s coveted sashes – it was Sharon’s second consecutive win.

The Purple Team was led by Diane Spiridoulias of The Retail Duo/Sheridan College.

The Yellow Team was led by Eric Daniel of Little.

The Orange Team was led by Jean-Didier Allongue of Harry’s.

Thursday morning’s Case Study Breakfast, Sponsored by Recrylic, highlighted how grocery chain Lunds & Byerlys reduces carbon footprints across a number of its stores.

Sarah Quinlan of The Consello Group kicked off the second day of the event, Oct. 26, with an in-depth look at the retail economy.

Sara Sullivan of INSA (right) and Robyn Novak of AGAR (left) discussed strategies retailers can take with “intangible” products in this breakout session the morning of Oct. 26.

Jackie Foo of goeasy and Mardi Najafi of Figure3 discussed the easyfinancial renovation and how it was important to consider customers and their needs first.

Kym Midanek of Patagonia accepts the 2023 VMSD/Peter Glen Retailer of the Year award on Patagonia’s behalf from VMSD Editor-in-Chief Carly Hagedon (left) and Managing Editor Olivia Taylor (right).

The Red Team won this year’s Iron Merchant Challenge based on a vote by attendees. Led by Sharon Lessard of Ensemble, the team featured a mix of attendees, sponsors and local-area students.

During the Awards Luncheon Oct. 26, other awardees in attendance were celebrated including the 2023 Designer Dozen (shown), alongside winners from the 2023 International Visual Competition and Retail Renovation Competition.

Samar Younes of Samaritual launched the second half of the last day of the event with her engaging general session focusing on how designers and retailers can utilize AI.

With panelists Savannah Tarpey of Wayfair, Annie Bevan of SMS Collaborative and Phillip Raub of Model No., this sustainability panel session led by Bergmeyer’s Christian Davies, analyzed what retailers can do next to help the environment.

David Kepron led an engaging panel of past NXTLVL podcast interviewees including Dr. Paul Zak, Gabriele Chiave of Estee Lauder, and artist Tracy Lee Stum, before the closing keynote.

Jesse Moyer of Levi’s, alongside Bevan Bloemendaal and Faith Huddleston of NELSON Worldwide, capped off the event with a closing keynote session focusing on the longevity of the Levi’s brand. At the end, the crowd sang Happy Birthday and ate cupcakes in the retailer’s honor.

The event officially concluded with our offsite closing party at The Pourhouse in the historic Lumber Exchange Building just blocks from the host hotel.

Attendees mingled at The Pourhouse, the site of this year’s closing offsite party for IRDC 2023.

The Pourhouse served as a backdrop to the final evening of networking, partying and mingling.