Meeting of Minds

FOR 25 YEARS in a row, VMSD’s International Retail Design Conference (IRDC) has played host to an intimate gathering of retailers, designers, creators and visual merchandising professionals from across the retail industry, from the U.S. and abroad, always in a different host city. This year’s event in Providence, R.I., Oct. 22-23, was nothing short of an inspirational gathering of the brightest and most innovative minds tackling insightful subjects like neurodivergent shoppers, grocery trends, the impact of influencers and more. The merriment began the evening of Oct. 21 with an opening welcome reception hosted by multi-sensory public art installation troupe WaterFire (also the closing party for Shop! Ideation Conference & Retail Challenge, Oct. 20-21).

VMSD’s New York Editor spoke on the importance of embracing change in the industry.

DAY 1

Start It Up

IRDC 2025 began with an opening keynote from near-futurist Neil Redding, Founder, Redding Futures, who took attendees on a journey through the rapid development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and how it is adapting to markets, supply chains, geopolitics and society. Following the keynote were two workshops – one led by Bevan Bloemendaal, Founder, BB Creative Consultancy, and Mike Roberts, Group Chief Creative Officer, Keane, who used red string to explore how human connection shapes design; the other featured Meg Lefeld, Director of Business Development, ZenGenius Inc., and sensory accessibility advocate, who used simulation glasses with participants in an empathy exercise showcasing how sensory differences affect in-store experiences. The group was back together for a general session from VMSD New York Editor Eric Feigenbaum exploring why embracing change is the pathway to success in retail design. After lunch, attendees broke off into smaller groups for the new experience at IRDC this year: Full-audience roundtable discussions. Led by a moderator, topics of discussion included in-store experience, brand and marketing activation, innovation and the future of retail.

Level Up

This year, in place of a traditional retail tour in the city, attendees were treated to an experience at Level 99, an interactive social gaming space that challenges competitors with mental and physical puzzles. Arriving at Level 99’s location at Providence Place Mall, Level 99’s Matthew DuPlessie and Katie Hood (a former VMSD Designer Dozen recipient) gave a brief talk about Level 99 and why unique experiences create lifetime memories for guests. Art installations from local artists colored the space as attendees puzzled through neon-tinted games.

This year, the Iron Merchant Challenge featured black and white designs.

Black and White All Over

As day one came to a close, Iron Merchant Challenge emcee Joe Baer, CEO, Creative Director, ZenGenius Inc., kicked off the 19th Iron Merchant Challenge by announcing this year’s theme: “The 2-D Black and White Challenge.” Silver fabric provided by Momentum Textiles and Wallcovering was pulled away from faux window displays crafted by Axis Display Group, illuminated with Amerlux lighting and equipped with digital screens by Cue Gravity. With one hour on the clock, the six teams of 10 attendees (retailers, designers, suppliers and students) began creating window scenes that appeared 2-D. The mannequins sporting a black chalkboard finish were provided by Bernstein Display | Silverstri California; the finish allowed teams to draw on their surfaces using chalk markers. The only other colors allowed included the silver plaque commemorating IRDC’s silver anniversary (this year’s secret ingredient created by Recrylic, along with a small hippopotamus) and pink stars (also provided by Recrylic). Teams also engaged the senses of smell and sound – selecting a scent from a Scent Station and music to play on their Sonos speakers.

The Pink Team, led by Jonny Carmack of @vintageshowpony, won the 19th annual Iron Merchant Challenge with a window display that showcased storytelling and playful design. PHOTO: VAIL FUCCI PHOTOGRAPHY/KARA EMILY KRANTZ

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DAY 2

Economy, Grocery and Magic

The second day of IRDC began with an in-depth PAVE and RISD (Rhode Island School of Design) student panel moderated by Cindi Kato of Arcadis. A sponsored case study presentation followed, presented by VCI/Rose Displays, focused on Barnes & Nobles’ latest store concept. After breakfast, the day officially began with Sarah Quinlan, Managing Director of SAQ Economic Advisory LLC, examining the retail economy. From there, general sessions focusing on grocery design (Big Y, Chute Gerdeman and Envirosell); influencers and their impact on the retail industry (Jonny Carmack @vintageshowpony, Meg Cusick @megcusick) moderated by VMSD Managing Editor Olivia Taylor; and two breakout sessions featuring a Gen Z panel critiquing design ideas in real time (led by WD Partners) and nonprofit KultureCity examining the importance of sensory design. Prior to the VMSD Awards Luncheon in the afternoon, local Providence magician and mentalist Jonathan Vale took the stage to wow the audience and prove the importance of human connection. The closing keynote experience, presented by Cincinnati-based agency AGAR (the founders and hosts of BLINK Cincinnati) put on a mini-light projection show and talked about the importance of experience.

Interactive workshops this year were truly hands on and challenged attendees to think outside the box.

Calling All Winners

VMSD’s annual Awards Luncheon during the second day showcased winners from VMSD’s various competitions over the past year, including Designer Dozen, Retail Renovation Competition, International Visual Competition and the VMSD/Peter Glen Retailer of the Year (congratulations to Printemps!). The event also announced the winning team of the 2025 Iron Merchant Challenge – this year, the Pink Team took home the coveted sashes, led by Jonny Carmack of @vintageshowpony.

Party, Party

IRDC concluded this year at local bar Moonshine Alley, where attendees partook in moonshine flights, magic tricks by Jonathan Vale and their final chance at networking before the event came to a close.

The second day of IRDC included a panel about the impact of social media influencers (top image), while the closing party at Moonshine Alley (above) allowed attendees a final chance to network and connect before the event came to an end.

The host city for IRDC 2026 will be announced very soon, so stay tuned to irdconline.com and vmsd.com (as well as our social media channels) for regular updates as we begin accepting speaker submissions for the 2026 conference. See you next fall!

PHOTO GALLERY (9 IMAGES)

PHOTOS: VAIL FUCCI PHOTOGRAPHY/KARA EMILY KRANTZ