When avant-garde designer Rick Owens celebrated
the 20th anniversary of his eponymous label this fall, he did so on a grand and
unusual scale, installing a towering replica of his torso, 25 feet tall and
painted stark white, one arm raising a fiery torch, above the entrance to
Selfridges in London. Created by frequent Owens collaborator Douglas Jennings
and set against the department store’s columned facade, the sculpture, part of
an art-meets- fashion collaboration called The World of Rick Owens, was a striking
if slightly unsettling sight. Besides the designer’s likeness, Owens’s “world”
also included elaborate visual installations in store windows, a capsule
collection and a curated space featuring furniture and design pieces offering
insight into the designer’s wonderfully weird mind. All told, it was one of the
boldest displays yet of the merging of art and fashion outside of a museum
space. And it was at the fore of a growing phenomenon, spurred by an effort to
lure customers, generate buzz and compete against edgy online retailers nipping
at traditional retail’s heels: the department store as art gallery.
"As luxury and retail is an extremely
competitive space, it’s important for brands to continuously innovate in order
to keep their relevancy,” says Dalia Strum, a digital strategist and instructor
at The Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. “Online shopping is on the
rise and brick and mortar locations need to provide a value-add for potential
consumers. These installations have proven to continuously draw attention and
traffic due to their quick turnover.”
Merging fashion and art in the department store
isn’t an entirely new phenomenon; retailers such as Bergdorf Goodman and
Barneys in New York have historically collaborated with artists on their window
displays during the holidays, says Georgie Stout, founding partner and creative
director of New York-based design consultancy 2x4. Selfridges is treading
lightly into the New Year with its January street window takeover termed
“Bright Old Things,” which spotlights an eclectic mix of well-known and
under-the-radar artists, from an architect-turned-topiarist, to a punk
musician/artist, and a furniture designer, all ranging in age from 40 to 80+.
Luxe retailer Bergdorf Goodman, meanwhile, has
taken to elevating fashion as art in its legendary Fifth Avenue store windows
all year long, starting this past May with a celebration of the Costume
Institute’s Charles James exhibit. Bergdorf’s enlisted contemporary designers
such as Ralph Rucci, Mary Katrantzou and Rodarte to put their own spin on
James’ structured creations; those one-of-a-kind pieces, surrounded by
historical references to the couturier’s work, could be purchased directly from
the windows. In September, Bergdorf’s partnered with Sotheby’s to preview the
auction house’s Contemporary Art Sale and created gallery-esque windows
featuring works by the likes of Damien Hirst, Andy Warhol and Dan Flavin,
serving as a backdrop to showcase the store’s fall fashion. Even Bergdorf’s
recent holiday windows highlight art in all its forms, from architecture, to
sculpture, painting and dance.
“Department stores have been transforming
themselves from a merchandise-driven environment to an experiential setting of
lifestyle goods, epicurean offerings and even services,” says Tom Julian, one
of the directors of New York-based The Doneger Group, a retail and
merchandising consulting firm. “Art can allow a traditional retailer to become
more historical, more cultural, an edgy retailer can be more directional, and an
emerging retailer can be seen as an innovator, all thanks to the art theme.”
Those experiences are progressively making the
leap beyond the window display and inside – or, in the case of Selfridges’ Rick
Owens exhibit – outside, the department store environment. In May, London’s
Harrod’s department store presented the “Pradasphere,” an in-store exhibit
taking up a wide expanse of store real estate on the fourth floor, tracing the
Italian design house’s inspirations ranging from art, architecture and film.
Iconic looks from the past 100 years were housed in glass cases, and a
Prada-inspired café was created in which to ponder the brand’s intellectual
approach to fashion. “Creating social spaces inside of retail, where the public
can engage with a brand at a more intellectual level, and connect artists and
other collaborators work to the fashion brand as well,” says Stout. Continue
reading…
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