Trending Windows (Color): Turquoise x Store Analysis: Rimowa

One of the questions that I get asked by friends when I tell them I want to be a visual merchandiser is this: 

"So is it only about fashion/clothes?"

Of course not! Visual merchandising is very simple terms is all about ARRANGEMENT, with the purpose of making it APPEAL to the customer, and SELL! So besides your general clothing store, every single item that can be sold can hire a VM! Even when it comes to supermarkets selling food, there's a lot of thought into which items are place where and which level of shelves. Okay I digress. But my point is when windows are not about clothes, more creativity can be explored! Because clothes usually require mannequins for appeal, whereas items below can be positioned in interesting manners or employ certain themes to bring out the emotional appeal.  

Jewel tones have been trending for a while now. And I must say, for me, my favorite has to be turquoise because it reminds me so much of the sea! (Probably has got to do with my horoscope...) And Rimowa and Mont Blanc used it best!

I loved the voyage theme with with the lighter turquoise as the backdrop with fairytale-like wind patterns. So everything is pretty monotonous except for the contrasting dark grey metallic suitcases which makes it so much more attractive! Had it been placed beside black and navy suitcases I wouldn't have liked it so much.

This is actually the extended right side of the long window with various sizes of turquoise luggage they are selling. Lovely right? The color appeal here is very strong, with the contrasting flame red mats adding onto the focus. I believe the second luggage from the left is purposely left horizontal (i.e. lying on the broader surface) to open up the view of the consumer to the multi-colored display of luggage at the back.

Now look at the right side. Instead of just normal layers of shelving like those boring supermarket shelving, the levels are half-alternated, with some boxed up lit shelves to highlight some key products, which make all these similar looking rectangular luggage display way more interesting than those just stacked together from small to large, and by singular colors. During the time while I was taking the photos, a few passerby had stopped to look. SUCCESS! Making a shopper a stopper!

In the Mont Blanc window below, the use of the color is more subtle. Instead of having full coverage of the color, it is used as font of the poster with black illustrations and light brown feathers, all having the flow and color of ink. But this striking color makes it hard to ignore, and brings the viewer down to the similarly illustrated book at the left before drawing attention to the product. A clever one!

xoxo,
Yuhan