manifesto in the late 60s in their use of raw, poor materials to make a statement. Te results in evidence are of an artificial raw concrete environment in contrast to the high price tags of the collection, and closer to their recently launched deliberately dirty trainers. Te design approach projects the Balenciaga brand into a new future, somehow downgrading the luxury image by making the effort to make it look rather poor and harsh. Is this a return to a Blade Runner look? Te store of the future is also an environment that should reflect attributes and values going beyond the physical store presence. It is not just technological integration and style theatricalities becoming part of a retail staple diet, as much bigger issues are taking priority. Sustainability and


environmental concerns are in everyone’s brand manifestos. Embedded in the production line, materiality, packaging and presence in the environments, the provenance and distribution system and carbon impact is defining the future of stores in a big way. Retailers and designers ignore these at their peril, or otherwise risk quickly becoming the shops of the past. Tese big issues can’t be just a brand posture used as a marketing tool. Tey require an in-depth rethink in the way retailers operate, particularly in the physical design of store environments and how shoppers engage. It asks for changes of thinking at board level, and a greater flexibility and agility in responding to change and innovation with creativity, rather than wasteful ideas and


costly revisions of identity to stay ‘on-trend’. Today, and in the future, we expect to experience shops and commercial environments not just as a brand marketing asset, but as places that talk to us at an emotional level, contribute to our well-being and that of our communities, encouraging us to believe in a new and positive way to confront our world. carlos@carlosvirgile.com carlosvirgile.com


Above By focusing on their products as a design centre-piece, Apple stores have cemented their place as leaders in store design


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