The Evolution of the Flagship Store. Re-Defining the Design of Commercial Spaces for Fashion

Abstract

The research analyses the evolution of commercial spaces for luxury fashion in the last decades, describing how store design has changed since the beginning of the new millennium and suggesting potential future developments. At the turn of the 20th century, the role of the physical store switched radically from being a container of goods to a much more complex space where consumers’ attention is shifted away from the product towards an immaterial offer originated by interweaving entertainment, culture, and brand promotion. The flagship store, which began to spread mostly among luxury fashion retailers, can be considered as the trailblazer in the creation of experiential environments, that, with certain differences, are increasingly at the centre of today’s retail design practice. This research aims to understand if what is intended as a flagship store today is still the same type of architecture as 20 years ago and, if not, what has changed and why. Through the redefinition of this term, the work will highlight the differences between the past and the present fashion store and contribute to tracing its evolution and describe the multifaceted relationship between fashion and architecture.

Keywords

• flagship store
• retail design
• retail architecture
• fashion and architecture
• store of the future