Simon Doonan, creative director of Barneys New York – as well as author, actor and fashion world icon – will bring attendees into his world at VM+SD's second annual International Retail Design Conference (Sept. 18 – 20) in Pasadena, Calif. Doonan will highlight the conference as the keynote speaker on Friday, September 20, also presiding over one of the roundtable discussions during that day's lunch.
Doonan has become one of the best-known visual merchandisers in the country, even to non-retailers. His Barneys windows, especially during Christmastime, draw enormous crowds looking for both his clever touch and the New York in-jokes.
In Doonan's 1998 book, Confessions of a Window Dresser, which will be sold at the conference, Doonan states the following about himself: “My focus, like that of every creative person, was on my own kooky fulfillment.But why did I pick window dressing as a creative outlet, and why have I stuck with it for [now almost 30] years?”
Doonan begins to address these questions below, commenting on the current state of visual merchandising in a tantalizing preview to his talk at IRDC.
Is visual merchandising dead?
Visual merchandising is more vital than ever. In the past, it was about intricate windows and seasonal displays. Now it's less theatrical and more goal-oriented. You must weave a spell around the customer once she's inside your store, make her fall in love with a certain item. Visual merchandising used to be about impressing your customer with your display expertise; now it's about making her buy something in the most creative way possible.
Are Europeans doing a better job of visual merchandising?
I don't think so. Very rarely do I see anything in Europe that is better than in America. People come from all over the world to see what we're doing here, especially in New York, Chicago and L.A. America is a vibrant, experimental place – the capital of visual merchandising. I'm so happy that I live here.
What's the best part of being creative director at Barneys New York?
Our motto at Barneys is, “Taste, Luxury, Humor.” Anything we do here has to exceed our customers'high expectations, which means entertaining them. So, unlike other stores, we occupy a very unique, humorous space in clients'consciousness. Barneys signifies upscale consumption, but it's also a place of ideas.
How do you feel about “Rudolph the Right-On Reindeer” becoming Sir Rudy?
He was actually knighted just before that display, which was a very successful one for us. Of course, when we installed it, we had no idea how it would be received; New Yorkers could have said that we were exploiting what had just happened. But instead, people loved the idea and saw it as a tribute to the mayor's role during a difficult time. We ended up getting an enormous amount of media attention. The mayor even came over and had a press conference at Barneys. He spoke for half an hour in front of the tie department.
Whose work do you admire a lot?
I always look at The Gap to see what's happening there, and I think Linda Fargo of Bergdorf Goodman does a fantastic job. There's a lot of creative stuff happening right now; people seem to be rediscovering visual merchandising as a “groovy” profession. It's actually a very exciting job, very tied to fashion, so it's having its moment again.
After playing yourself in the 2000 movie “Intern,” is acting your next big conquest?
It never ceases to amaze me how much people idolize actors. I idolize brain surgeons, or policemen.