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Nordstrom’s Tech-Powered Menswear Store, NY

Nordstrom’s Tech-Powered Menswear Store, NY Nordstrom: High-Tech Menswear Store Luxury American department store chain Nordstrom has opened its first men's only store in New York – where tech innovation takes centre stage alongside aftercare services and convenience-focused concepts. The emphasis on exceptional service reflects a recognition by high-end stores that they must work extra time to cosset and care for customers, particularly if they are to offer a long-term alternative to online shopping.

Depop’s Hybrid Store Doubles as Brand Comms HQ Depop’s Hybrid Store Depop, a British reselling platform inspired by social media, has opened its first mixed-purposed retail format in Los Angeles.

Shiseido’s Tiered Beauty Playground Spoils Loyal Consumers

Shiseido’s Tiered Beauty Playground Spoils Loyal Consumers Shiseido’s Tiered Beauty Store Japanese beauty brand Shiseido has redesigned its flagship The Store in Ginza, Tokyo, creating a tiered retailing ecosystem that reinforces brand loyalty.

Writing Robot Transforms Any Wall into Digital Screen

Writing Robot Transforms Any Wall into Digital Screen Robot Transforms Wall into Screen Italian design studio Carlo Ratti Associati (CRA) has unveiled Scribit, a writing robot that can draw and erase digital content on physical surfaces, enabling a wall to act as a screen.

Budget Retail’s Quality Drive

Budget Retail’s Quality Drive Budget Retail’s Quality Drive Budget and off-price retail are changing radically as consumers demand both quality and low prices. Stylus highlights new innovation in the sector worldwide, including e-commerce ventures, store concepts and online tools to help the shopper.

Advertising & Branding

Colour Direction: Evolving Ultra Violet

Colour Direction: Evolving Ultra Violet Colour Direction: Ultra Violet This report tracks the evolution of purple, including a focus on practical applications of Pantone’s Colour of the Year, Ultra Violet. We highlight its rising popularity and significance within the creative industries, focusing on fashion, beauty, automotive, packaging, consumer electronics and interior spaces.

Colour & Materials

Milan Design Week 2018: Preview

Milan Design Week 2018: Preview Milan Design Week 2018: Preview New furniture launches and sensational installations await visitors at Milan Design Week (April 17-22) – the leading event on the international design calendar. Ahead of the publication of seven reports on April 27, our editors list the not-to-miss presentations by city area. Follow our team on the ground: @wearestylus on Instagram.

Banking Beyond Stereotypes: Cross-Generational Design

Banking Beyond Stereotypes: Cross-Generational Design Retail Banking’s Empathetic Focus British mutual financial institution Nationwide Building Society is rolling out a new open-plan interior design to make its banks less intimidating and appeal more to a broad demographic.

How Will We Manage Co-Living in 2030?

How Will We Manage Co-Living in 2030? The State of Co-Living Brooklyn-based design incubator A/D/O hosted the panel Shared Living, Better Living? in New York on March 28 to discuss co-living's future. Moderated by Irene Pereyra of New York design firm Anton + Irene in partnership with Danish think-tank Space10, speakers reflected on findings from Ikea's project One Shared House 2030.

Consumer Lifestyle

Consumer Attitudes

Nap York: NYC’s New Nap Café

Nap York: NYC’s New Nap Café NYC’s New Nap Cafe Located in Midtown NYC, new 24/7 nap café Nap York offers nap pods, workspaces, healthy meals and wellness classes for people to recharge on the go. Unlike other nap cafes, it acts as an all-encompassing healthy living hub.

Food, Beverage & Hospitality

Health & Wellness

Group Buying 2.0: Pinduoduo – China’s Social Commerce App

Group Buying 2.0: Pinduoduo – China’s Social Commerce App Group Buying 2.0: Pinduoduo, China Chinese social commerce app Pinduoduo (PDD), China’s fastest-growing e-commerce app, is driven by the appeal of a discount linked to buying in a group.

Digital Commerce

Retail City Guide: New York, April 2018

Retail City Guide: New York, April 2018 Retail City Guide: NY, April 18 In April, the city that never sleeps pauses to recharge at two new nappable spaces, then revs up for an immersive fragrance pop-up, a gender-neutral concept store and Hudson Yards’ inaugural dining destination. Cultural must-sees include a foray into the history of sculpting eerily realistic human forms.

Retail City Guides

Retail City Guide: London, April 2018

Retail City Guide: London, April 2018 Retail City Guide: London, April 18 Our round-up of the latest openings in London includes the expansion of Westfield London shopping centre, the new tech-friendly Benetton flagship, and womenswear label Self-Portrait's luxurious first store. Meanwhile, a survey of graphic design's role in politics over the last decade offers a standout exhibition at the Design Museum.

Retail City Guides

Water Futures: Designing Sustainable Systems

Water Futures: Designing Sustainable Systems Designing Sustainable Systems Brooklyn design hub A/D/O has launched Water Futures, a year-long research programme encouraging designers and scientists to forge cross-disciplinary solutions to water security.

Architecture & Spaces

Letter from the Editor: Edition 003

Letter from the Editor: Edition 003 Letter from the Editor: Edition 003 It’s an exciting time to be a product designer. Creativity thrives when it’s limited by constraints, and today these seem greater than ever before.

Product Innovation

Design Shanghai 2018

Design Shanghai 2018 Design Shanghai 2018 The fifth edition of Asia’s largest international design event showcased established brands, emerging Chinese designers and renowned galleries. From exciting product launches and event highlights to key colour and material trends, we bring you the essential takeaways from the 2018 show.

Shop, Do, Learn: The New Department Store Formula

Shop, Do, Learn: The New Department Store Formula Do & Learn: New Dept. Store Formula “Shop, do and learn” under one roof: that’s the formula for the modern department store, according to Paula Nickolds, managing director of British retailer John Lewis. She was speaking at the opening of a new 230,000 sq ft unit in Westfield London, now Europe’s largest shopping centre. Innovations in the store – the company’s 50th location – include a Discovery Room where customers can learn how to light a room, create a smart home or hang a picture.

Retail’s Sharing Economy: Swedish Shop Rents DIY Tools

Retail’s Sharing Economy: Swedish Shop Rents DIY Tools Sharing Economy: Tool-Hire Service Tool rental in Stockholm has had a consumer-friendly makeover courtesy of home improvement company Don För Person, reflecting retail’s shift towards service-led concepts.

'Super' Wood is Stronger than Steel

'Super' Wood is Stronger than Steel 'Super' Wood is Stronger than Steel Engineers at the University of Maryland in the US have developed a technique that significantly increases the strength of wood – making it even stronger than many titanium alloys. The resulting natural material could be used to replace steel in projects such as cars, aeroplanes and buildings.

Colour & Materials

From Vegas to Shanghai: Modern Telecom Stores Entertain

From Vegas to Shanghai: Modern Telecom Stores Entertain Telecom Retail as Entertainment Two telecommunications brands are exploring new ways of selling mobile tech – ranging from a focus on fun community-centred space to the provision of concierge services.

Burst A/W 19/20

Burst A/W 19/20 Burst A/W 19/20 Burst embraces constraints, transforming them into creative fuel to inspire a digitally native generation. These young people have grown up using the internet and are rewriting the interaction rulebook with an experimental and inclusive approach to design.

Cited in Build S/S 19, the emergence of the ‘prosumer’ – where consumers become active producers – evolves as progressive tech allows for ideas and products to be appropriated, improved and shared globally. The maximalist palette of A/W 19/20 Colour & Materials trend Playful Optimism provides an upbeat backdrop to an energetic aesthetic that is deeply rooted in the urban environment.

Essence A/W 19/20

Essence A/W 19/20 Essence A/W 19/20 Fulfilling the innate human need to reconnect with nature and the self, Essence champions self-reliance and resourcefulness in designs that allude to off-grid aspirations.

Similar to our A/W 19/20 Colour & Materials trend Reimagined Histories, Essence looks at nature through a dark lens – combining its opulence with the earthen pigments of Sacred Earth to elevate encounters with the wild, as first introduced in Activate S/S 19.

Captivate A/W 19/20

Captivate A/W 19/20 Captivate A/W 19/20 In the face of accelerating digitisation, Captivate focuses on analogue experiences, playing to the human psyche and alleviating low-level anxiety with awe-inspiring design.

As concerns about time spent on tech by consumers increase, real-world interactions forge a renewed appreciation for our physical surroundings. We evolve ideas on human-centric design introduced in Circuit S/S 19, and use the glacial palette of A/W 19/20 Colour & Materials trend Evolving Landscapes to inform an ethereal aesthetic.

Colour A/W 19/20

Colour A/W 19/20 Colour A/W 19/20 Evolving from our Autumn/Winter 19/20 Colour Spectrum and Materials Focus, we examine the key hues for our A/W 19/20 Product Design Directions – Burst, Essence and Captivate.

Product Innovation

Design Directions A/W 19/20

Design Directions A/W 19/20 Design Directions A/W 19/20 Examining developing innovations and breakthrough ideas across the design sectors – from architecture and fashion, to consumer electronics and furniture – our Design Directions outline three key trends for A/W 19/20 product design development: Burst, Essence and Captivate.

Product Innovation

Yellow: Brightening Spaces

Yellow: Brightening Spaces Yellow: Brightening Spaces Vivid shades of yellow are proving a popular colour choice for commercial interiors. Daringly applied to floors, walls and ceilings, the bold hue is transforming retail, work and public spaces into friendly and optimistic environments. We highlight the latest most inspiring examples.

Colour & Materials

Architecture & Spaces

Collective Design Fair: NYC 2018

Collective Design Fair: NYC 2018 Collective Design NYC 2018 The 2018 edition of New York’s Collective Design on March 9-11 presented a robust offering of conceptual furniture and art. Designers focussed on pieces that invoked wonder in the natural world, instilled mindful moments and reinvigorated ordinary materials with luxury profiles.

Brand Stretch: How Food Enriches the Shopping Experience The Allure of Food: Brand Stretch For non-food retailers, the addition of a café or restaurant boosts dwell time and can provide creative inspiration. We sum up the latest hybrid stores, Instagram-ready culinary hotspots, and concepts using food as design cues.

Besides encouraging customers to linger in a shop, the addition of a food offer directly entices experience-hungry young consumers. Global luxury food and drinks sales grew 6% in 2017 from 2016, reaching $120bn (Bain & Co, 2017).

Amager Resource Center: Urban Ski Slope on Waste Plant

Amager Resource Center: Urban Ski Slope on Waste Plant Urban Ski Slope on Waste Plant From autumn 2018, Copenhagen's waste-to-energy plant Amager Resource Center (ARC) will include a year-round artificial rooftop ski slope, a hiking hill and a climbing wall for local residents.

Consumer Lifestyle

Connected Space to Hire: Samsung Launches IoT-Enabled Pop-Up

Connected Space to Hire: Samsung Launches IoT-Enabled Pop-Up Samsung: Data-Collecting Pop-Up Kit Samsung has launched an Internet of Things-powered pop-up store concept with data collection and analytics capabilities, available for retailers to hire. Called Connected Spaces, it’s a collaboration with global shopper conversion specialist Barrows, which handles pop-up ideation, location scouting, logistics and fulfilment for renters.

Immersive Exhibition Explores Chromotherapy

Immersive Exhibition Explores Chromotherapy Exhibition Explores Chromotherapy A new London exhibition by British accessories and prop designer Fred Butler explores chromotherapy (colour therapy) as an antidote to seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and the negative effects of urban living, presenting a series of colourful and immersive installations.

Colour & Materials

VM Trend: Retail x Floristry

VM Trend: Retail x Floristry VM Trend: Retail x Floristry A new wave of in-store floristry concepts is engaging shoppers with an appetite for natural delights and green sanctuaries. Flowers and plants promote wellness and a reconnection with nature.

Advertising & Branding

One Shared House: Co-Living in 2030

One Shared House: Co-Living in 2030 One Shared House: Co-Living in 2030 Danish design think-tank Space10 – Ikea’s exploratory concept lab – has co-ordinated an online survey that investigates the public’s perception of communal living spaces.

Architecture & Spaces

Retail City Guide: London, March 2018

Retail City Guide: London, March 2018 Retail City Guide: London, March 18 Our round-up of new openings in London places special emphasis on food this month – from Indian and Thai-themed restaurants, to a showpiece food quarter in Victoria. Elsewhere, retail and entertainment merge at Kite’s Eyebar concept store, while industrial designer Tom Dixon has opened a new showroom and restaurant in hip King’s Cross.

Retail City Guides

Retail City Guide: NYC, March 2018

Retail City Guide: NYC, March 2018 Retail City Guide: NYC, March 18 March in New York sees an array of new destinations, including a mammoth Madison Avenue maison for Bottega Veneta, a duo of shop-in-shop concepts for heritage department stores, and a spate of hospitality debuts in NoMad. Exhibitions include landmark show David Bowie Is and the New Museum’s fourth politically charged triennial.

Retail City Guides

Catwalks A/W 18/19: Communications, Apps & Pop-Up Spaces

Catwalks A/W 18/19: Communications, Apps & Pop-Up Spaces A/W 18/19: Comms, Apps & Pop-Ups The best communication and in-store strategies aligned with the A/W 18/19 fashion shows were democratic (giving brand fans a voice, and open access to brand spaces or on-trend looks) and ideal for social sharing. Digital innovation was used more subtly than in recent seasons.

Classroom Furniture Helps Kids Concentrate

Classroom Furniture Helps Kids Concentrate Furniture Helps Kids Concentrate Nine students from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts have designed and constructed a range of furniture pieces that aim to help schoolchildren stay focused in the classroom.

Airport Retail's Big Transformation

Airport Retail's Big Transformation Airport Retail's Big Transformation Consumers have a growing number of reasons to spend their money in smart airports, which are developing an essential blend of experiential retail and entertainment, wellness retail and services, and technological innovation. We highlight the key ideas that are making a difference.

Tech-Forward Hotels

Tech-Forward Hotels Tech-Forward Hotels After relatively slow uptake, the hospitality industry is embracing intuitive and sophisticated technologies to become more efficient, experiential and guest-centric.

Food, Beverage & Hospitality

Hospitality & Service

High-Octane Hubs

High-Octane Hubs High-Octane Hubs Over the next 20 years, artificial intelligence, 5G and blockchain will power flexible cities that adapt to citizens' needs, cultivate wellbeing and are more resilient to climate change. We show how to harness digital innovation and seize lucrative opportunities across transport, town planning and urban development.

New Metropolitans

New Metropolitans New Metropolitans Urbanites are the driving force of economies, innovation and lifestyle. As more people move to cities and the divide between urban, suburban and rural consumers widens, it's essential to understand the changing profile of new metropolitan consumers. They're demanding, dynamic and stressed out – leading them to seek solutions that offer community, calm and flexibility.

Consumer Lifestyle

Consumer Attitudes

Smart Cities

Smart Cities Smart Cities From new metropolitans to transformative transport and immersive advertising, discover why the smart cities market will be worth $3.5tn by 2026 in our most forward-looking Spotlight Trend.

Furniture Made from Noise-Cancelling Acoustic Fabric

Furniture Made from Noise-Cancelling Acoustic Fabric Noise-Cancelling Furniture Swedish design studio Glimakra’s new Limbus furniture collection explores the use of noise-cancelling acoustic fabric for added functionality in home and office environments.

Architecture & Spaces

Chinese New Year 18: Retail Trends

Chinese New Year 18: Retail Trends Chinese New Year 18: Retail Trends Celebrated by one-quarter of the world, Chinese New Year is a hugely important trading period for retailers across Asia and tourist hotspots globally. This year is Year of the Dog, prompting a host of canine imagery and influence. From mobile app games to retail pop-ups, Chinese New Year for 2018 is full of inspiration for retailers and brands alike. We highlight some of the best.

Service for Millennials: Saks' New Beauty Department, NYC

Service for Millennials: Saks' New Beauty Department, NYC Millennial Well-Hub: Saks' Beauty American luxury department store group Saks Fifth Avenue is to open a new leading-edge beauty floor targeting millennials at its New York flagship. Scheduled to open in May, the new beauty offer taps an increasingly important demographic for department stores (see Next-Level Department Store Strategies).

Nissan Creates Guesthouse with Autonomous Furniture

Nissan Creates Guesthouse with Autonomous Furniture Nissan Creates Autonomous Furniture Japanese carmaker Nissan is opening a pop-up ryokan – traditional Japanese guesthouse – which features autonomous, self-parking furniture and accessories.

Surface Design Show 2018: Highlights

Surface Design Show 2018: Highlights Surface Design Show 2018 Held in London (February 6-8), the Surface Design Show spotlights the latest developments in laminates, conglomerates, textures and finishes across a vast array of materials from Europe’s most innovative manufacturers.

Among international heavyweights such as Finsa were many smaller brands, including start-ups, offering more experimental decorative surfaces with less-defined applications.

Colour & Materials

Toilets Get Humanitarian and Environmental Makeover

Toilets Get Humanitarian and Environmental Makeover Toilets Get Humanitarian Makeover Following devastating earthquakes in Japan over recent years, Japanese studio Nendo has designed a toilet which can be built and used by people living in disaster zones.

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