Color Forecasting in Real Time

Is it possible to forecast color trends in real time around the world? Pimkie Color Forecast thinks it is. They show you in real time what people are wearing in Europe's fashion capitals.

 High definition cameras were installed in Milan, Paris, and Antwerp (Europe's fashion capitals). The cameras are connected to Mac Mini's with color tracking software developed by Pedro Cruz. 

The software analyzes the passing colors and shows in real time which colors are worn most. A ll colors are then complied in nice infographics, so you can follow how the cities evolve and how trends change.

 What is even more fascinating Pimkie even suggests clothes to purchase based on the current color trends. You are just one click away from being  on trend when it comes to color.

There is even an archive of the past color trends that where seen from the previous day or month. This is a unique concept for retailers and color forecasting. 

You can even take your color forecasting on the go. Download the app on iTunes here.

Check out how it works...

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Pantone + Gap

Pop up stores have become a popular trend in the retail industry. Last year, Gap and Pantone partnered together opening a pop up store on 5th Ave. Combining the iconic and popular Gap t-shirts with the vibrant hues, created a energetic color filled t-shirt shop. Who doesn't love color? The store featured Gap's upcoming spring collection in the true Pantone Colors, including a limited-edition tee in Mimosa (Pantone's color of the year 2009). 

“We wanted to create an explosion of color and bring some warmth and optimism to our customers,” said Patrick Robinson, executive vice president of design for Gap Adult and gapbody. “Mixing Pantone’s vibrant colors with Gap’s signature t-shirts gives everyone an opportunity to find the perfect tee they can mix and match for their own personal style.”

“We are thrilled to be working with Gap to bring PANTONE Colors to life in such an accessible way,” said Lisa Herbert, executive vice president of Pantone’s fashion, home and consumer division. “We recently selected Mimosa as the 2009 color of the year because yellow, more than any other color, best expresses hope and reassurance. During this time of economic uncertainty and change, we are excited to bring optimism and joy to consumers by offering products in this imaginative color at the Gap & Pantone T-Shop.”

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Second Annual Student Competition is Coming Up

Re-Thinking Retail: Anti-Malls

"People today want to have more of a relationship with their purchase. Creating an environment for communication and interaction will allow retail to act as an agent for social change with the SoCal community, beyond weekend farmer's markets and evenings out in the surrounding affluent neighborhoods," says Shaheen Sadeghi. Sadeghi spent almost 20 years building a successful career in the sportswear retail industry. He was the president of the world renowned  brand Quicksilver, executive LABve vice president at Gotcha Sportswear, and merchandise manage at Jantzen/VF Corporation. Sadeghi successfully created "community-oriented" retail shopping centers in Southern California; the LAB and the CAMP.

"When I started my career in retail, I saw a lack of community. There were only large air-conditioned boxes sprawling around Orange County," says Sadeghi. "I was 20 years old with a surfing industry background, frustrated with the limited retail spaces I had available." The traditional mall has become of a large box with many stores inside. In today's society, people are interested in having an unique shopping experience. This need for and unique and individual experience has people flocking to anti-malls.

The LAB Anti-Mall

It all began in 1992 when Sadeghi built the LAB (Little American Businesses) Anti-Mall. The LAB is an Orange County, California retail destination with the urban youth in mind. Orange County was on the brink of bankruptcy, Shadeghi transformed his first Bristol Street venue into a lively, arts-focused indoor-outdoor retail and restaurant mecca. "I'm selling culture, not fashion. We're moving away from being a 'mass nation' to a 'niche nation,' declares Shadeghi--who believes we're currently experiencing a paradigm shift where consumerism is based on smaller, niche interest groups rather than everyone chasing the same ideal.

The CAMP

In 2002, Lab Holding opened the CAMP retail complex. The CAMP caters to eco-conscious Orange County families, environmentalists and outdoor-sports enthusiasts. There a great environmental conscious features like a grass roof, on site watering system of the grounds, use of California redwood trees and indigenous landscaping. The award winning venue showcases like-minded, one-store retailers and restaurants, which target healthy living in an unique, green-oriented environment. "Sadeghi labels his ventures as “retail activism” but is keen to emphasis the link to “real things beyond just a philosophy” as part of his long­term vision. He reiterates his belief in the capacity of innovative retail areas to affect both social change and provide positive business results for retailers such as The SEED People’s Market – a shop dedicated to handmade, sustainable and local products plus a full­stock of leading brand Patagonia (of which it is consistently the largest seller of the major brand’s products outside of the Patagonia home stores). It also hosts classes, such as jewellery making in an upstairs workshop setting, and a monthly Handmade Fair. Since initiating these kinds of activities, the store has also seen an overall 45% increase in sales."

Revamping an Iconic Brand

The doors to the newly revamped PUMA on Carnaby Street opened on Friday, March 23rd. The PUMA brand embodies an active and healthy lifestyle. With a new active, innovative, and sustainable design to the retail environment. The store offers PUMA's performance lifestyle collections with cutting-edge technology to their customers. PUMA's strategy to revamp their stores to appeal to their customers in key markets (including Amsterdam, Munich, Barcelona and New York). Londoners will find some iconic London emblems given a PUMA twist.

The store is about 2,500 sq ft of open retail space showcasing the broad range of PUMA footwear displayed on their "catwalk" of shoes, from the iconic PUMA Suede to the PUMA Speed Cat.

Shopping is meant to be a fun experience. No one wants to have a boring shopping experience. The store has their own unique interactive features. The new PUMA Joypad is 32 synchronized digital touch screens, which allows customers to test their memory and reaction time on regularly updated games. Customers can challenge their friends to get the top score.

The changing rooms have a feature called the PUMA Peepshow. It is a red box that opens with a surprise video inside. "You never know who may be checking you out while you try on some new PUMA gear." Is that a phone ringing? Maybe you should answer it. Who's there? It's the PUMA "UnSmart Phone" and see who is on the other line. They could be calling to speak with you.

The ceiling tends to be the forgotten fifth wall. Not at the PUMA store. Look up and see the various floating images in their digital skylight. You could find yourself relaxing in the clouds or in the midst of a group of hungry sharks!

PUMA is making the shopping experience easier. There are iPads in the store to let their customers purchase products directly from PUMA's European e-commerce website. Now customers do not have to worry about not getting the color or size they want. Shopping directly through the website also lightens the customer's load. They will not be weighed down buy shopping bags. 

The Carnaby Street is a reflection of its surrounding location. From the "Mind the Gap" text on the front of the entrance ramps to the iconic red telephone boxes in the storefront facade. Customers will enjoy being in the midst of all that London has to offer.

"In line with PUMA's mission to become the most desirable and sustainable Sportlifestyle company, the new store, which was first opened in 2002, incorporates several sustainable features. Sustainable innovations include an efficient lighting concept mix resulting in reduced energy consumption, FSC certified wood and certified floor finishes guaranteeing the forest products used are from responsibly harvested and verified sources, and low-emission paint and adhesives. The structure of the existing walls [have] been left [untouched], reducing the amount of building material [waste]. These measures support PUMA's sustainability targets for 2015 and help protect our planet."

Technology Ever Changing

In today's times technology is ever changing. Have you ever thought about a better way to grocery shop? If your really think about it, isn't inefficient for grocery stores to store their products in several different locations? The stores would be able to save money, energy, and space by housing everything in a central location. If this was made into a reality, the question still remains of how to make the product accessible to the consumer.

The world's first ever virtual grocery store opened in Korea last summer. The consumer can see the items on the shelves as if they were in the grocery store. If an item where to catch the consumer's eye they would not grab the item off the shelf. If they wanted to purchase it, they would simply scan the barcode with their smartphone. After the item has been scanned it is placed into the virtual shopping cart (online shopping cart). Done shopping? Pay for your items and they are shipped promptly to your door. Not planning on going straight home? The consumer is able to schedule  when they would like their items delivered. If the consumer has previously purchased an item they simply order it again without have to physical be in the virtual store.

Let's hope that the virtual grocery stores come to the states. Just think you would not have to worry about standing in lines, no more price checks, no more pushing a cart with a squeaky wheel, loading and unloading the car, and no more worrying about shopping carts denting your vehicle. New York would be a great place to test the success of the stores.

Save the Date

Calling all students!

Are you interested in showcasing your work to industry professionals? nextGEN is proud to be hosting its second annual student competition. The competition will be May 31, 2012.  So mark your calendars! The competition is open to ALL interior design students currently attending an accredited design program. If you didn't have a chance to compete last year May 31st is your chance!

Last year's competition was a great success! If you would like to read about last year's competition, you can check out our publication on Issuu. There are also some posts about last year's competition here, here, here and here.

We will be posting more information about the competition, so please keep checking back.

Behind-the-Scenes of Lamb & Flag

Thursday night, members and friends of the Retail Design Institute came together to get a behind-the-scenes tour at the new Lamb & Flag fashion apparel concept from Kellwood brands. Gray Winston, Vice President of Kellwood Brands, spoke of the brand’s inception and how it was translated from a concept into the bricks and mortar environment. The event was attended by key retailers, designers, consultants, and suppliers. Aside from  great entertainment and networking opportunities, the event was a great opportunity to learn more about the brand.

“The most important thing was to create 4 main filters for all design - product, marketings, smell, sound, music through to the store design...everything  you see in very intentional” Gary continued in his presentation to the group.

1. Age - While this proof-of-concept is proving to appeal to a much broader demographic, their core target is age 18-24 college graduates.
2. Style - Referred to as ‘Casual Beauty with an Edge’ demonstrated through a meticulous attention to detail. “We would spend time on 10 tiny things but the customer might only notice 1 of those, so in the store we had to create over 100 to ensure this comes across sufficiently, yet subtly enough for the customer to take away with them”. A tour of the store highlighted this wherever you looked and even areas you couldn’t see. A restroom in the back of house area includes their logo spelt out in the floor where only ‘brand reps’ would see it. On the customer facing side, wood floors are recycled from an old military base - a concrete infill plugging the cracks - delivering a unique experience in the dressing rooms where again the branding is featured on the floor, with multiple lighting effects that can be controlled by the shopper while streaming multi media on the embedded screens. 
3. Aesthetic - This speaks to the store design’s 'Wrecked Elegance’ which could be seen in their use of beautiful wallpaper that's been ripped and torn, or the beautiful chandelier that's slightly aged, through to rough plaster walls that show water stains. It’s something ‘Beautiful with a Twist' referred to as ‘perfect imperfection!’
4. Emotional - The most important differentiator to the store design team. “It’s not as tangible as the others but equally important to the experience. The smell, the way the ‘brand reps’ interact with you, the complimentary bracelet or box of water offered when you're in the dressing room... a lot of our time was spent defining what the emotion filters should be” continued Winston. “The brand menu on the front of store defines 'beautiful' in our eyes, the beauty of not conforming.”

To read more about the event click here.

A Social Event @ Lamb & Flag

Join us for a behind-the-scenes tour of the new Lamb & Flag fashion apparel concept from Kellwood brands. Attendees will gain insights to the retail strategy, design and implementation process that delivered this brand new concept to the market place. Expect an evening of education, entertainment and an opportunity to network. Light refreshments and hors d'oeuvres will be served.

Limited Tickets by RSVP only so book now!

RDI attendees will receive a 10% discount to shop that night and a $50 gift certificate will be given away.

Sponsored by:
Lamb and Flag, Retail Design Institute and Infuse Ideas.

Join Us at Global Shop

Please join us at Globalshop In Las Vegas for the Retail Design Institute's Sessions:

Future Store: Do's and Don'ts of Implementing Cutting-Edge Technology into Retail

When:  Thursday, March 1, 2012 at Global Shop Las Vegas, Nevada

Time:   1:30 PM to 2:30 PM

Where Sands Convention Center, Las Vegas 

Join two leaders from the Retail Design Institute as they present a spirited examination of every aspect of technological advancements currently touching the consumer space. The session will touch on everything from mobile payment systems to game-ification, QR tags to AR (augmented reality), social applications to local search applications, SMS to the latest digital scape store window touch systems making impact throughout  the United States and Asia. Included will be live demonstrations and video clips of bleeding-edge technologies that will influence the marketing sectors. The conversation will be rooted in the day-to-day realities of a major retailer such as Supervalu as they balance the need to innovate while examining the ability to roll out and test such advances. Bonus: Attendees will receive a comprehensive “road map” of the current technology landscape, which will be an ideal work sheet for attendees to understand the technology language their clients will be increasingly speaking.

Speakers:
Brian Dyches, FRDI  International President, Retail Design Institute
Sharon Lessard, RDI Chief Design Officer, Supervalu, Inc.

International Store Design Awards Gala

On January 16, 2012 the Retail Design Institute has a grand opportunity for you to be part of the most exciting and significant awards presentation and celebration in retail!

The one night where you can celebrate with the winning teams and key retail design industry players after the most prestigious retail design awards show in the world. For over 50 years, the Institute has set the standard for excellence in store design, and since 1971, in the industry's only peer reviewed competition, we have publicly reorganized those retail projects, which are the best of the year, and the designers and retailers who plan and create them.

The Awards Gala is a one of a kind evening. The event will be held in Manhattan's most exciting venue, the Times Center Stage designed by the world-renowned architect Renzo Piano at 242 West 41st Street at Times Square, NYC.

There will be a chance for networking at the after show reception and buffet with 300+ attendees, award winning architects, designers, retailers and NRF members.

The 2011 Retail Design Institute Member(s) of the year will be recognized. The Award show will also recognize the best stores in the world for the year 2011 in over 18 categories of architecture and design.

This will be a truly remarkable and notable evening! 

Please visit the Retail Design Institute events page to purchase tickets.

Questions regarding this event, please contact Retail Design Institute at LBullis@taminc.com or by phone at 1-914-332-1806 ext. 324

New Year, New Connections

Happy New Year everyone! It's a new year and it's time to make the best of it!

Students are you interested in becoming apart of nextGEN? Join the Retail Design Institute today!

Intersecting Retail & Philanthropy

Who doesn't love design, fashion, and charitable causes? Treasure & Bond wants to generate change for its surrounding community. With every purchase made, 100% of all of their after-cost profits goes directly to those who are in need.

What may surprise you is Nordstrom is the name behind Treasure & Bond. Treasure & Bond opened it's doors in August 2011. Part gift boutique, part art gallery and part neighborhood gathering place, it’s an exciting new experiment in giving that has, at its core, one simple goal: To help people help people—and to do so with wit, imagination and style.

Treasure & Bond has an unique feel. The merchandise itself is used to display goods. The space has a funky, trendy feel that is exhibited in the SoHo neighborhood. The design of the store is flexible with the varying merchandise that comes in.

You can read more about Nordstrom's charity concept store, Treasure & Bond, here.