From a façade embedded with a 3D holographic billboard to an extraordinary Web3-integrated retail, art and entertainment space, next-gen buildings signal thrilling mixed media opportunities to wow visitors in real life (IRL). They reflect how the capacity for awe-inspiring out-of-home advertising to spark conversations is fuelling a flourishing sector, with global expenditures on such ads predicted to rise from $39bn to $45bn from 2022-24 (Statista, 2022).

With fighting climate change a clear imperative for all, eco-centric store design evolves further this winter. Concepts focus on minimising waste and stretching resources (see South Korean outdoor brand Kolon Sport’s incorporation of locally salvaged marine debris), as well as aesthetically communicating a pushback against excess (as evidenced by Chinese clothing label Beaster).

A grittier, deconstructed aesthetic counters the prevalence of cinematic-level production values in Chinese and South Korean flagship store designs. In many, interiors appear to be a work in progress and often involve colonising post-industrial city spaces. In others, the lack of frills combined with monumental materials provide an almost spiritual sensibility.

In an ultra-literal nod to providing safety in volatile times, several fashion brands have reinterpreted their puffer jackets and accessory-based quilting for pop-ups resembling giant inflatables in dramatic, often supersized ways – playful to the point of appearing cartoonish.

Continuing the trend of putting art and culture at the centre of the retail experience (see Creative Connection: Art of Influence in Global Store Openings: Autumn 2022), a wave of brands are demonstrating total or at least serious devotion to art in their stores – often with a localised bent.

The rise of hybrid working – particularly working from home – is fuelling a certain yearning for the office space of yesteryear. New openings from fashion and chair brands present fresh takes on workstation nostalgia, from the seduction of mid-century design to playing on the reborn pleasure of neat, orderly layouts.

Acknowledging the increasing need for agility at street level to keep brand spaces feeling fresh, designs with a more ingenious vision of modularity are evolving this season – leaning into luxury and away from the genre’s low-fi-only roots.

The luxe vintage boom (see Retail: New Luxury Frontiers 2022) is fuelling novel strands of retro interior styling. The two key directions are sweet, gentle and somewhat sentimental, versus hedonistic, surreal and sometimes psychedelic. Craft looms large in both.

Evolving the ideas introduced in Creating the Contactless Store, agile new tech is connecting retail channels for extra experiences – from apps to pre-book trial rooms, to scanning QR codes to send garments straight to a pick-up zone for purchasing.