Strolling on 34th Street and Fashion Avenue we can see the vogue or mania presented in the window displays all the way to Fifth Avenue. There are many sorts of retailing strategies using a distinctive palette of colors in store display styles featuring many categories of merchandise from women's wear to men's wear to children's wear to accessories. Noted in my analysis are the decorations(lights, props, stickers/posters), the geometric shapes and patterns, the overall color schemes used, and the trend of the fashion pieces in relation to the colors used.
The trending color palette for Fall 2014 as examined in a score of store windows and in store displays is dark neutrals and warm colors with pops of pastels. It's trending in apparel and accessories as well as the wigs on the mannequins.
Colors detect and stimulate different moods, They are the most important tools of art helping to understand, identify, and relate to all types of masterpieces. In the decorations for the window displays that I've seen, neon colors accent the windows, even if the garments are in pastels or neutrals. For example, this video below shows how neon colors accent the black leather shirts (gleaming from its luster) and the gray knit dress.
Other decorations such as the flowers in this Bebe window display. Here the flowers are of intensified colors and they help to make the fashions in the window seem more edgy yet soft enough to not contrast with the overall classy chic and elegant vibe.
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Bebe's Fall 2014 Women's fashion display (34th St. & 5th Ave.) Next on the list, is shapes. These geometric figures definitely help to outline color and emphasize or turn down the effect of a color in a window display which can be useful for sales and promotion for discounted fashions.
H&M is one of the masters of using the geometric design of a window display to play on the effects of colors. In this store window for their Herald Square location, H&M uses the pyramid design to escalate the dark color scheme with deep olives and charcoal blacks all the while dramatizing other textures or lighter colors in the background. This makes the greens appear darker than they actually are, further separating them from the pastel pinks. It also marks separation with different textures. Many retailer place the fabrics with the softer hand towards the rear so that is calms down the entire window and doesn't create a stir of confusion and discomfort for viewers.Other retailers who use this concept for the trend of dark color are
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| An example of the use of geometric designs to emphasize the dark color palette in contrast with pastels and various textures |
With all that being said about the overall color scheme and how tools such as decorations and strategic geometric design can excite or bore certain aspects of a color scheme, the last thing to do is to examine the relation of the types of garments in the displays to the color scheme.The denim is deflected in all of the visual displays and then slightly intensified with posters and the denim trends across the spectrum of light to dark. Fur and other textured fabrics tends to be in the palette the pastel colors. For Fall 2014, black is in for leathers and other fabrics with slight or dramatic hints of luster. In the previous year, it was third to top tier and maroon rouge too the top spot followed by suntan orange. The deep olives are mostly in jackets, one-pieces, and other light outerwear. Other warm colors in the overall scheme splash in accessories, secondary pieces (not the most popular items,the color then draws attention to it),as well as other window/store display embellishments.
womens
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| Auburn hair color in the neutral color palette |
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| Neutral hair colors of browns and blacks |
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| All black color scheme |
mens
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| Trend: Neutrals and warm colors |
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| Neutrals with warm colors |
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| Neutrals and pastels |
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Denim background highlights the denim in the window although saturated other extreme textures like knitted velvet and sweater knit.
childrens
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| Darks & neutrals |
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| Neutrals |
Pastels & Darks
accessories
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| Geox (white shapes outlining the dark neutrals) |
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| Aldo (dark colors) |
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| Gucci (warms and pastels with intricate geometric designs) |
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