A Curated Shopping Experience
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Fashion trends come and go. It's the nature of the beast that one season's hot hot pink is another season's hot-no-longer. In the case of fashion retail, however, the scenario of boutiques and buyers has been left relatively unaltered all this time.
Perhaps it's a cause of some excitement that the concept of Curated Consumption, a phrase coined by Amsterdam-based independent trend agency Trendwatching.com, has been getting so much exposure lately. The concept is simply encompassed in three points. One, consumers are getting hungrier for cool and looking for that one product that sets them apart from the crowd. Two, in the process of prospering, they are starved for time to make those kinds of crucial choices. Three, fashion retailers act as 'curators', pre-selecting unique products for these time-constrained, individual minded, status-conscious consumers.
Already, shops are beginning to look like artisan's workplaces, with interiors resembling museums, art galleries, and antique shops. Of note is London's Microzine, a combination of a website, a magazine, and a retail outlet. In their words, "Microzine is a haven for men who will go to great lengths to surround themselves with rare and exclusive items." Typifying the curated shopping experience, the store chooses quirky and chic products, adds related commentary to give it a 'must-buy' character, and changes the product lines as often as a magazine changes issues. This creates a retail mis-en-scene where choices narrow down to a few products, ensuring that consumers stay in the embrace of trendiness and self expression.
Another example of this Curated Consumption is Rei Kawakubo's Dover Street Market (which opens this week in London), as well as her guerilla stores opening (and closing) in several cities spanning the globe. At Dover Street, curated designers include Hedi Slimane, Azzedine Alaia, Joe McKenna, Boudicca, Bruce Weber, Lanvin, Undercover, and of course, Comme des Garcons - all chosen for the feelings of intrigue and discovery they hold for the buying audience that demands something unique.