First of all I have to say this Visual Merchandising was not made in a big city (its not London, Paris or New York) but in Leicester UK. On the bright side, now the whole world is talking about this little place because Leicester Foxes won!!!
I did a quick brand scan with 3 brands that I consider competitors: ZARA, MANGO and RIVER ISLAND. I wanted to add top shop but right now they are with its IVY PARK (Beyoncé) line so it was kind of impossible to compare.
So, lets start with MANGO: its summer line is neat and simple. Its white and romantic with really lovely gladiators in camel (nothing new or impressive about it, to be honest). What pops out for me and my memories is the second image: a black trench coat (very UK, very rainy), with jeans and the red scarf. It pops out to me because it reminds me of one of my favorite movies (Only You) which was inspired in other of my favorite ones (Roman Holiday) because its something Faith and Princess Anne would wear. And those shoes would be from now on the statement shoe because they are seriously everywhere. This pointy sort of espadrilles.
ZARA always to the point: showing one of the colors of the year in the middle (cotton candy pink) and (as MANGO) is showing a lot of white (even in the shoes which I have always thought just don´t look nice).
RIVER ISLAND is playing two sides:
- ethnic (playing with deep emerald green, black, what I would call neon peach and white)
- the trend. What I love about this Window Display is that it is literally saying what I predicted: show your shoulders! It even has an image in the back (making contrast the skirt with the 30% off) and the mannequins are speaking by themselves showing us the trend again. Not just that but we also have the color of the year as background, the espadrilles, camel wedges and another accent color that I predicted few weeks back: mustard yellow. Whoever did this: WELL DONE!
And the winner is: RIVER ISLAND. Other winners (that you must have in your closet this season):
- color: white, mustard yellow, camel and, rose quartz (what I like to call cotton candy pink) and serenity blue!
- silhouettes: loose and fit at the same time, if it makes sense…and don´t forget to show your shoulders, promise you won´t catch cold!
- the statement shoe: espadrilles
- Roman Holiday Inspiration
- prints: as a textile designer I love prints, I love flowers, I love ethnic, but that is so predictable. But, to be honest I truly loved River Island ethnic proposal in two tones instead of being a rainbow of colors. You can try that or just go plain with a mustard in a bag, a pair of shoes or earrings.
- the 30% off ❤
kareninamit 