Looking Ahead: These Retail Stores are Futuristic and Fashionable

Lisa Wright — Fri, 07 Oct 2022 13:00:28 +0000

Like any other industry, retail likes reinventing itself from time to time — whether as a response to trends in fashion, design, and architecture, or simply as a harbinger to a future dominated by high-tech, sleek, and sometimes even meta features. Today, retail spaces around the world are embracing sensorial styles that are focused on looking ahead, rather than behind.

Below are some stunning examples of global retailers embracing fresh, forward-thinking aesthetics to make a big statement:

Hug Concept Store — Chengdu, China

High fashion is the perfect template for this inventive and iconoclastic mashup of neutrality and sparse, avant-garde surroundings from Atmosphere Architects. Stark and spacey with bold pops of the brand’s signature blue hue, the background exudes 2001: A Space Odyssey vibes while serving as a stylish, sumptuously sparse setting that puts the attention squarely on the designer wares.

KIKS — Beijing, China

A rollicking redesign that’s big on planetary power, this stylish streetwear brand’s new store resembles the solar system itself, complete with colorful curved walls dotted with trendy merchandise that seems to orbit the space around you. ROOI Design & Research really pushed the envelope here with a movable, ready-made retail universe that draws in customers with its own kind of gravitational pull.

AKRIS — Washington, US

Swiss fashion brand AKRIS raises the bar with a no-limits layout from David Chipperfield Architects. Here too, the focus is on the clothing and accessories. But these wares almost seem to float magically outside of time and space, thanks to a specially designed system of cables supporting both shelves and hangers from behind the scenes. A trendy neutral backdrop completes the illusion, with a touch of sophistication in the form of chic limestone flooring.

Cris Belos — Belo Horizonte, Brazil

This luxe, elevated boutique by the London and São Paulo-based Carolina Maluhy + Partners is dominated by creamy neutral tones and curvy, imaginative touches that exude a futuristic fashion house vibe. Consisting of four connected rooms (each more sweeping than the last), the sprawling space has no shortage of elegance: simply look to the sweeping staircase or the airy, incandescent ceiling if you don’t believe us.

Bala — Soho, New York City

Consumer engagement and sensory immersion go hand-in-hand in Bala’s first-ever retail space. Designed by Madelynn Ringo of Ringo Studio, the playful space is brimming with pretty pastels and gorgeous geometry. An experiential store where guests are encouraged to embrace the products’ textures, weightiness, and above all, playfulness, the vivid hues and soft, inviting atmosphere embody the brand’s aesthetic perfectly.

These forward-thinking retail stores prove that the industry really is looking ahead when it comes to inspiration. Fun, futuristic, and above all, fashionable, these trendy spots are riding the wave of fresh aesthetics that encourage guests to get lost in the moment.