On the Road Again

 

MY RECENT JOURNEY to Australia began several decades ago when I answered an advertisement for a display trimmer; a temporary position for the holiday season. After graduating from college with a degree in fine art, I set up a painting studio in Brooklyn, that magical borough of New York City. All was fine with the world, but to support my painting, I wanted to find a job related to art.

In those days, of course, there wasn’t Internet, so I grabbed a copy of the Sunday edition of The New York Times and opened to the classified section looking for an opportunity connected to the art world. As I poured through the columns row by row, I found little that inspired me. And then suddenly there it was: An open position for a display trimmer. I wondered what that was. It sounded cool so I gave it a try. I loved it, it loved me, and the rest is history. Thus began my career in retail design and my journeys across the globe. And once again all was fine with the world.

A few months went by, and I became restless. I asked myself, “What are you doing? I’m just trying to sell a pair of jeans. I want to be an artist.” And then I had an epiphany. I realized that retail design is an art form.

My reasoning was that art serves three purposes. One: Storytelling. What is the story? It’s the story of us, of who we are. Two: Art documents any point in time, serving as a bookmark and commentary on history and culture. And three: Perhaps most importantly, art enriches our lives. My epiphany: The well-designed retail environment does all three.

After further consideration, I wondered, when does any skill, craft or vocation, enter the realm of art? My answer: When it moves the emotions and when it strikes a responsive chord. And I realized, that’s what retail design is all about – striking a responsive chord in all who enter our stores. Emotion elevates the dialogue, the interaction and the connection between the retailer and the customer. The success of a retail design concept isn’t measured by the beauty of the environment but, rather, by how it makes the customer feel. Customers might not remember what they bought, but they will always remember how you made them feel. This is art.

Salvador Dali told us that a true artist is not one who is inspired but instead, one who inspires others. The role of a store’s design and visual merchandising is to inspire others by creating moments of joy and translating that joy into participatory experiences with the store, the brand and the label.

Miuccia Prada was asked if her work as a fashion designer was an art. Her response: “Whether fashion design is art, or even if art is art, doesn’t really interest me. Maybe nothing is art.”

When asked the very same question years before, Elsa Schiaparelli said, “Art is the way we live.” Retail design reflects the way we live, our society. If you hold a mirror to the face of retail, the reflected image would be us. (Retail’s other contribution and, perhaps, given the state of the world, its most important contribution, is an in-depth immersion into diverse cultures.)

Early in my career, as I took my first baby steps into an incredible industry as a visual merchandiser on Long Island, little did I know that I was embarking on a journey that would take me across the globe.

I took my first international trip when I was the Director of Visual Merchandising for Walker/Group CNI, an architectural consultancy in New York City. I packed my bags and was off to Ulsan, South Korea. As I sat comfortably in the lounge of the 747 on a 16-hour flight, I thought to myself, “When in my life would I have ever gone to Ulsan, South Korea if it wasn’t for my work as a visual merchandising artist and retail designer?”

What followed during the next several years were trips to Santiago, Chile; Lima, Peru; Bogota, Colombia; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Hong Kong; Guangzhou, China; Fukuoka, Japan; Milan, Italy; Dusseldorf, Germany; Istanbul,  and so many other places in between. We are in a global community, and one constant in this turbulent world is retail. Stores across the world are the showplaces for new ideas, new concepts and new products. From the coolest designer jeans to the latest cutting-edge technologies, people across the globe want a piece of the action.

 

And now, as I sit aboard a United Airlines flight for a 22-hour journey from Melbourne, Australia, back to New York City, I reflect on another cultural immersion to a faraway place. Retail somehow makes the world feel a little smaller.

During this recent trip to Australia, I observed that storied retail establishments such as David Jones and Myer are enticing magnets to Melbourne locals and visitors to this alluring city. After perusing the local retail establishments myself, I wanted to take a deeper dive into Australian culture. My first stop was the Koorie Heritage Trust located at Federation Square in the cultural heart of Naarm (the traditional, Aboriginal name of Melbourne) near the banks of the Birrarung Marr (a.k.a., River of Mists, Yarra River). The featured exhibition during my visit was “Stitchin’ Stories: Blak and Threadly.” The Blak Design program is an Australian first that fosters First Peoples’ cultural innovation within Victoria’s design community, providing a platform for sustainable indigenous design practices.

The First Peoples of Australia are the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, who have inhabited the continent for tens of thousands of years. The exhibition featured over 30 fashion and textile pieces with accessories designed by artists whose work provides an insight into the rich culture and traditions of First Peoples from South-East Australia.

Entering the gallery, I was greeted by a sign that simply read, “Wominjeka” (Welcome). Walking through the exhibition aroused my retail design instincts as I was greeted by a grouping of mannequins dressed in fashions inspired by contemporary Aboriginal design sensibilities. Aunty Joy Murphy Wandin, a Wurundjerin Elder, said, “When I see a work of art by one of our people, I see an invitation to join them on a journey. I take myself inside, attempting to unwrap the layers. This art is precious, and I want to understand what it is trying to tell me. I want to feel the message it contains … Blak Design is critical and integral for remembrance and reflection.”

Just as Aunty Joy Murphy Wandin was invited on a cultural journey, retailers should also invite their customers on a journey of discovery to another time, another place and another state of mind.

A store is a tool of communication, and visual design is the spoken vernacular. When designing a store, we must design more than just a store, we must design an experience. We must move the emotions of all who enter our world. When customers cross the threshold of a retail environment, inspire them, fascinate them, and inform them by celebrating new ideas, new concepts and introducing them to new cultures and new ways of life. Retail design is a vital function; it’s a roadmap to the world.

Photography: Eric Feigenbaum (15 images)