Escapist retail - 01-07-2021

by JWT Intelligence - Wunderman Thompson Intelligence - https://intelligence.wundermanthompson.com

Escapist retail
by JWT Intelligence - Thursday, January 07, 2021

https://intelligence.wundermanthompson.com/2021/01/escapist-retail/

Reisinger Studio

Digital fashion and virtual spaces are getting dreamy, engaging shoppers’ imaginations—and dissolving
the traditional boundaries of retail.

The Fabricant

The future of retail is moving beyond the bounds of transaction, offering imaginative, immersive reveries
alongside products. Virtual fashion house The Fabricant produces one-of-a-kind designs that only exist
digitally. Using 3D modeling software, it meticulously creates outfits for customers’ avatars to wear in
digital environments such as social media or gaming. The brand presents its creations against dream-like
settings such as intergalactic terrains and pink sand deserts, which reflect its level of visionary
craftsmanship. The company has seen a spike in interest during the pandemic. “I’ve never dressed so
many people in my life,” cofounder Amber Jae Slooten told Dezeen in October 2020.

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Escapist retail - 01-07-2021
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Escapist retail - 01-07-2021
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The Fabricant x Puma

In March 2020, Shanghai-based digital platform Xcommons partnered with retailer ICY to showcase a
virtual runway show. The immersive 3D showcase for emerging designers transported viewers to a
parallel universe of cavernous pink rooms and winding sage-green paths.

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Escapist retail - 01-07-2021
by JWT Intelligence - Wunderman Thompson Intelligence - https://intelligence.wundermanthompson.com

Reisinger Studio

As well as being used by fashion houses to present their collections, fantasy digital renderings are also
seeing a rise in popularity in interior design—pointing to a future format for all-encompassing digital
stores.

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Escapist retail - 01-07-2021
by JWT Intelligence - Wunderman Thompson Intelligence - https://intelligence.wundermanthompson.com

Reisinger Studio

Reisinger Studio created a whimsical, open air structure bathed in lilac, with a metallic pillow-like
creation and modern acrylic chaise as part of its Terrace North project. Digital designer Charlotte Taylor
collaborates with a roster of 3D artists to realize her soft, utopian virtual spaces, including villas featuring
minimalist furniture and homeware objects.

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Escapist retail - 01-07-2021
by JWT Intelligence - Wunderman Thompson Intelligence - https://intelligence.wundermanthompson.com

Stefano Giacomello. Images courtesy of Instagram

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Escapist retail - 01-07-2021
by JWT Intelligence - Wunderman Thompson Intelligence - https://intelligence.wundermanthompson.com

Featuring the Triangolo chair by Per Holland Bastrup

for Frama.

Multidisciplinary designer Stefano Giacomello envisions transportational spaces, placing high-design

furniture and objets d'art against dreamy natural backdrops of peaceful cloudscapes and warming sunsets.

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Escapist retail - 01-07-2021
by JWT Intelligence - Wunderman Thompson Intelligence - https://intelligence.wundermanthompson.com

Paul Milinski

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Escapist retail - 01-07-2021
by JWT Intelligence - Wunderman Thompson Intelligence - https://intelligence.wundermanthompson.com

In his Dreamscape series, Loftgarten creative director Paul Milinski imagines ethereal and playful virtual
destinations. These spaces “are designed to transport you along pathways that illustrate inspiration for a
potential future and offer a chance to wonder and escape,” Milinski told Designboom.

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Escapist retail - 01-07-2021
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Paul Milinski

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 Escapist retail - 01-07-2021
by JWT Intelligence - Wunderman Thompson Intelligence - https://intelligence.wundermanthompson.com

“The desire for escapism is at an all-time high,” Taylor told Dezeen. “These utopian and fictional spaces
feed into people’s imaginations and appetite for a change of scenery, be it completely impossible or not.”
This desire has further evolved the rise of immersive spaces and experiential stores in bricks-and-mortar
retail over the past couple of years, translating them for digital application. Whether IRL or URL, a store
is no longer just a vessel for retail but an imaginative reverie in its own right, offering whimsy and a
dreamy escape.

Main image courtesy of Reisinger Studio

Escapist retail
by JWT Intelligence - Thursday, January 07, 2021

https://intelligence.wundermanthompson.com/2021/01/escapist-retail/

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