Visual Merchandising at Topshop

I regularly get asked for tips when people are going for job interviews as Visual Merchandisers and I find it difficult to always reply because there is literally so much to be said but I've decided to write up the basics.

I have been a visual merchandiser at Topshop, Mango and for Mary Portas' Creative Marketing Agency so my experience is a bit mixed but since I mainly get asked about Topshop, here's a quick guide of some of the basics(I'll probably add to this as time goes on as this was done in haste).

At your interview they will most likely have you do the following 3 things:

1. Style a mannequin to one of the current Topshop trends which they will tell you. STUDY STUDY STUDY the trends on the website 'til you know them off by heart. Go into a Topshop store before the day of your interview and really look at how they have styled the mannequins. You will likely be given a time limit for each task so visit the store before your interview and really look at where the trends are in the store as this will help you save time when it comes to styling them.

2. VM an area. Again they'll give you a trend (different from the previous one) and probably a few empty different types of fixture/rails. They'll give you a bunch of clothes on the rail and again prob give you 20 minutes to sift through the product to select the best product for that trend and style the rails accordingly. The way I always used to try do it would be to style the first rail in a strong colourway, have the second a step away from the previous colour way but perhaps still using one of the main colours from the first and have the third a different colourway altogether but again perhaps using one of the key colours from the second. I'll give you an example:

Fixture 1 - BrightPink SeaGreen Black White

Fixture 2 - BrightPink DarkBlue Black Cream

Fixture 3 - PalePink Cream Black

So basically keep strong colours together. e.g. Cream and White should be kept seperate. In this case, even though there might be 2 pinks in the trend, since one is BrightPink and the other is Pale, they are kept to seperate fixtures.

On one arm, try to think about an outfit build. The product at the front (in customer's eye line) should be a key trend piece so say it was a dress, you might want to add leggings or a jacket behind it but always be aware of everything a customer sees in their key line of vision should look great. ie. don't put plain black leggings at the front of a rail.

You'll also be expected to add accessories to these rails. Keep it simple but add at least one prong arm to each fixture.

Colour balance is one of the key things to remember, don't over saturate a colour. Spread it around the fixture (or wall) so that from all angles the trend looks strong.

3. Interview. Topshop mainly look for 2 things in their employees: People who have personality and people who've got the customer in mind. Let your personality come out. If you are creative, let them know that but always bear in mind that the aim is to create a great customer experience and help them see how the trend translates into something wearable for them (and therefore commercial for the store). In Topshop they regularly look at key products performance to make sure they put these products in key sightlines for the customer. Be cheery and happy and keen to learn and show what you can do and they'll love you.

Westfield Carboot Sale

I did this:

Lunch With An Old Bag 2011

Last week, as a volunteer for the Prince's Trust, I worked at a fabulous event held at the very grand Prestonfield House in Edinburgh: Lunch With An Old Bag 2011.

The event - currently in it's third year - brings together 50 of Scotland's most high profile ladies who each host a table of 10, enjoy a beautiful lunch and fabulous entertainment (this year in the form of singer Russell Watson) and bid on some of the most sought after handbags of the season. Luxury design houses, designers and celebrities donated a selection of bags which were auctioned to the highest bidders in aid of the Prince's Trust who are aiming to change the stereotype of disadvantaged young people.

Yours truly was asked to style the bags on stage, sell raffle tickets then prepare the designer bags for auction. I then also somehow ended up on stage "modeling" the bags as they were being auctioned. See below for me (in a fetching red Prince's Trust t-shirt) and a fabulous Prada bowling bag.

Images Copyright of Alan Simpson

Louis Vuitton window bag display.

Very cool.

All Saints, Westbourne Grove, London

There really is something quite wonderful about the props and way All Saints clothing is displayed. Simple VM at its best.

Christmas window displays

Set designer Shona Heath designed Topshop's Christmas window displays and they look fabulous. 

I have to say that now that I work for MANGO, my eyes have been opened up to visual merchandising techniques outwith the Topshop way of doing things. Both styles are great but very different. Topshop is very much suited for a UK creative audience whereas Mango - being a Spanish company - have a much more European, mature appeal. 

Here's our shop window Christmas display complete with Christmas trees, fairy lights and snowflake stickers. Prior to this, we had a very Chanel-like display with over-sized chandeliers. I was fortunate enough to be able to takes some of these chandeliers home with me once they were done with them. 

River Island's windows

I'm usually not a fan of River Island but at the moment I am thoroughly enjoying their window displays. The masks are quite suitable for Halloween: 

This is not just a mannequin!

Today I saw the scariest mannequin ever (handless and in a Marks & Spencer shop window of all places!) It's the type of thing you expect to come alive in a horror film. What were you thinking M&S?

Cult Clothing

Hadn't been to Cult in Glasgow in years. The thing that sticks out to me about this shop was that it used to have a pound coin glued to the ground just at the entrance so people used to try pick it up all the time unsuccessfully. Anyway, I liked their recent window display.

Topshop New Season

On my recent visit to London, I of course swung by Topshop Oxford Street. Launching their New Season's collection, the store had everything (and I mean everything) that we can come to expect from Fall '09. 

Shaggy knits, exciting hosiery, lace and sheer fabrics, glam embroidery, oversized bullet proof statement jewellery, thigh high boots, bondage shoes... and this was all just in the window display! Topshop has hit the nail on the head yet again. 

Heavenly VM.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, All Saints know how to visual merchandise. I took this the other night in Glasgow. The window display made me wish the store was open so I could go in and marvel at the distressed yet pretty clothes that I can't afford right now. Sigh....

A glorious day.

On Monday Kirsty and I wandered the city streets in the sunshine the next day popping into vintage shops and charity shops en route from the West end to the centre. 

What interests me is that charity shops these days have picked up on the idea of selling "vintage clothing" and often create a small boutique like area within their shop floor to display vintage product at its best. The thing is I always wondered why more charity shops don't do this to make them more "sexy" and appealing to a younger audience.

In Oxfam on Byres Road, antique furniture and floral patterned wallpaper (of course, no vintage look is complete without it) is utilised along with an old lampshade which acts as an earring stand. I particularly liked this 70s style top on the high-level bust. 

Around the corner, down Dowanside Lane, is an old Glasweigen vintage haunt 'Starry, Starry Nights' which in the wake of vintage fashion over the last 5 years or so, still hasn't lost its 'gypsy caravan' charm.

On Great Western Road, we popped into 'Watermelon'. I saw a saffron cardigan I was tempted to buy but decided it wasn't worth it. 

My only purchases of the day were this scarf from the Salvation Army at 99p and this matching necklace and earrings for just £3.95. Amazing bargains.

Happy Birthday Selfridges!

Selfridges - the Oxford Street department store that made shopping sexy - marks it's 100th year this year. 

On previous occasions when I've had time to kill in London, I have found myself wandering from floor to floor perusing the gorgeous collections on display.  I love seeing when you approach the store, the hoards of people carrying bright yellow (109 pantone to be precise) shopping bags; a massive marketing ploy screaming "Come shop inside."

When you walk into the store - as with Harrods and Libertys - you are always conscious of the history behind the brand. 

Above, an image of a roof garden fashion show during the 1920s, demonstrates Selfridges' fondness for fashion luxury. The image below shows people peering through the famous Selfridges windows at a dress on display just as clothes rationing was began in 1941. 

Selfridges is celebrating it's birthday by calling on a host of designer friends to create limited edition pieces all in the signature Selfridges yellow. 

For this entire month, designers such as Paul Smith, Jimmy Choo, Marc Jacobs and Mulberry will have their designed items on sale exclusively in Selfridges. 

One of the most hyped up pieces is a patent leather dress by Giles Deacon (costing £1500) which many staff members will be sporting throughout May. 

The store has also commissioned British designers Dame Vivienne Westwood, Stella McCartney, Giles Deacon and Paul Smith to design them some limited edition carrier bags. I am tempted to fly down to London just to experience the celebrations - yellow oragami aeroplanes will decor the store and DJ sets from Henry Holland are also on the cards. And perhaps I could get one of those carrier bags - a certain future collector's piece.

Some very cool use of tiling and an old sink in Urban Outfitters Glasgow recently. Just in a small section which was enough. It creates a point of interest for the clothing to displayed alongside. Pretty cool I thought.

Saw these vintage Justin worker boots. Perfect fit, pretty comfortable too. I love how clumpy , masculine and battered they look and they looked perfect with a new pretty feminine dress I was wearing and tights. 

£75, eek I'm a bit tight on money and I bought a little blue dress from Urban Outfitters last week so I didn't want to push the bank too far. (Went into American Apparel next door though and they had the same worker boots in white in their vintage section for £35!)

Liberty of London

Somehow, despite many London visits, I had never actually visited the Liberty store. 

"Since 1875, Liberty has been synonymous with luxury and great design. Arthur Liberty's intuitive vision and pioneering spirit led him to travel the world looking for individual pieces to inspire and excite his discerning clientele. Liberty's vision... continues today within the iconic Tudor building." 

The distinct difference between Liberty and London's other luxury department stores, Harrod's, Selfridges, Harvey Nichols is the atmosphere of the 5 floor store. First of all, the staff are ready to help with any quiry. But most importantly, walking around from room to room, I kept wondering what treats would be just around the corner. Despite losing my bearings quite a lot, I was very much willing to overlook this confusion for the wonderful displays of antique furnishings, mannequin styling and fabulous merchandising of gorgeous product.

Return to Topshop

As always, a trip to London wouldn't be complete without a quick visit to Topshop's flagship store on Oxford Street.

Before even entering, there were camp visual displays unlike any I'd seen in Topshop before. The window display mannequins sat upon oversized plastic flowers. Walking into the store, I was faced with garden style platforms and a parked vintage van with mannequins sitting in and around it, dressed suitably for the upcoming music festivals this summer. A bit over-the-top but it definitely grabbed my attention. 

I tried on quite a lot of things and fell in love with a pair of vintage Doc Martens and this dress with a cut-out section under the bust.  But I had to behave, I wasn't there to spend, I was there for the conference! *Sob*

Downstairs there was an interesting use of coloured ribbons strung from floor mannequins to high level displays. I have always found it inspiring how Topshop utilise props, graphics and fixtures to define one area/collection/trend from another. 

The window display for some of the in-store collections featured a more subtle colour palette and upsidedown vintage furnishings - a lot more stylish and less garish on the eye.

NOTE: Just visited the Topshop website and came across this behind the scenes video of their latest 'High Summer' photoshoot.

Innovation Showcase: Part 1

My favourite and personally highly anticipated discussion was to be given by John Ryan (Stores Editor for 'Retail Week') and Lorna Hall (Senior Retail Editor for WGSN). 

I had used the WGSN website before to research upcoming trends for this Spring Summer when I did a placement within a M&S buying team last summer. 

John Ryan went straight into looking at examples of great, creative shop floors. There were so many examples but here is one particular one and I shall add more when I have time:

Rough Trade East

With a free WiFi lounge and a cafe at the front (with somewhat uncomfortable looking chairs), it is clear that the record store staff want you to stick around. The store opened in 2008and is situated in the trendy part of the east end, off Brick Lane, near Spitalfields. 

As you might imagine the interior tries to emulate the alternative or underground music scenes with an edgy black and white theme; the rough beaming and pipes kept on view as well as the exposed strip lighting. As with any music store with "indie" credibility, the vinyl collection is extensive. The staff are extremely knowledgeable and complete the service package by writing up their own personal summaries of the records.

A must for any musical connoisseur.

London Calling.

Last night I got back from my very short trip to London where I met up with my ex flatmate (and long lost love) Kirsty and stayed in her student halls. I didn't get to do much shopping but I did get to look about Spitalfields again and went into the All Saints original store to look at what they're doing with their visual merchandising since my last visit.

Kirsty is doing a Masters in Art at the legendary Central Saint Martins (check out her blog of her amazing work) and it was great to go for dinner with her in SoHo and wander past her new uni.

I also managed to pop along to the impressive Marks & Spencer HQ (below) again where I got to speak to some of their buyers about their Spring Summer '09 trends and the current market. I did a placement during the summer with the Buying teams for Ladies Holiday wear and Leisurewear. The whole experience was amazing and I learned a lot. It was great to even revisit the building and be given the opportunity to work inside the building of the UK's biggest high street retailer. 

My only purchase of the entire trip was this vintage dress but I am so happy with it because it was such a bargain. Bought for £8 just round the corner from the M&S HQ. It looks as if it has been hand made. I don't suit long things because I'm pretty small so I am going to have it taken up. I love the sheer sleeves and the back is a great deal lower than the front. Watch this space for the finished garment.