Trends in Retail Design

Flipping through trade publications and social sites is a great way to see what retail environment trends are on the horizon. There was certainly a call for branded showrooms throughout malls in 2016. Custom showrooms, once reserved for high-end brands are now crossing over into mid-priced fashion categories.

Single facing product is a hallmark of this modern showroom style. Most shops have used multi-tiered platforms to create a museum style product exhibits. White and muted off-white color pallets are paired with brushed stainless steel or aluminum hardware and framing.

Displaying accessories on pedestals is easy, but what about entire clothing lines for men? Certainly department stores offering less fashion-forward clothing lines require a different approach. For semi-upscale retail stores, the trend has been to create a feeling of the brand resonating with the consumer in a shop-in-shop environment.

Pairing earth tones and organic elements with metallic hardware has been the go-to solution for men’s clothing departments. Here we have an example of Gyford square extrusion and Blox^® connectors creating a display structure. Designers Brad Wass and Dana Gravelle paired a piece of rough-cut aromatic cedar with the aluminum hardware to contrast warmth and strength. The brand message is elegant and masculine using black and grey color pallets in the signage as well.