• Fashion retail architect Jeffrey Hutchison of Jeffrey Hutchison & Associates spoke recently at the AFINGO Fashion Forum during MAGIC in Las Vegas on the topic of maximizing retail sales. Joined by industry experts from Lucky Magazine, Zappos, CreateThe Group and Community Collection, Hutchison addressed how to build the ultimate retail environment and offered tips for brand space perfection.

• -Stay Focused. When referencing stores who often tackle too many things at once Hutchison quipped, “their eyes are bigger than their stomach, focus, smaller can be better.” Ideally, you want a total brand experience, but don’t allow delusions-of-space-grandeur to cloud the visual path to your product.
• -Mind Your Manners. “Customer service is important, service should be tailored to what you sell,” Hutchison advised. To those who are still apprehensive about investing in physical retail space, Hutchison presented Apple as a brand that has achieved a great number of sales both on and offline.
• -Pop-Up Exhaustion. Hutchison drew attention to the advent of pop-up shops, which he deemed a by-product of the increasing number of empty retail space, due to economic downtown. “There is an opportunity there [pop-up shops], but not every opportunity is going to be the right strategy for your brand.”

For more information on the event, visit the AFINGO site for the “Las Vegas: Get it Sold Recap”

NEW VISUAL DISPLAY ELEMENTS FOR MEN’S ACCESSORIES

Fashion retail architect Jeffrey Hutchison has created The Haberdashery Collection, a trio of unique, sculptural display elements to highlight men’s accessories. Handmade in feel and inspired by the work of Alexander Calder, the collection is constructed of bent metal wire and shaped to reflect an aspect of the human form, giving merchandise scale and context.

Designed for tabletop use, the whimsy of each piece allows products – such as eyewear, neckties, cufflinks, etc. — to become approachable to the customer. Unlike fixtures, the mobility of the pieces intentionally provides retailers with multiple uses and flexibility. The Haberdashery Collection helps to tell a story about the items they showcase while enhancing their luxury with minimal effort for retailers.

New Showroom for HMX Menswear Brands

Menswear group HMX sought out veteran fashion retail architect Jeffrey Hutchison, President of Jeffrey Hutchison & Associates, to design a showcase for the brands under their umbrella. Hutchison retrofitted an existing space in midtown creating a flexible combination showroom-workspace.

HMX Showroom Reception Hall

Working closely with Chief Creative Officer Joseph Abboud, Jeffrey Hutchison balanced the rich heritage of Hickey Freeman and Hart Shaffner Marx with a modern architectural vocabulary of clean forms and simple lines.

“Jeffrey Hutchison has both the talent and taste to interpret our labels’ legacies while simultaneously balancing it with our creative vision for the future of the company” says Joseph Abboud. “He designed a masculine and refined space for us that is both highly functional and quietly luxurious. We’re delighted with the outcome.”

Responsible the interior design of the space, Hutchison oversaw all aspects of the project:

• The rich but simple interior was enhanced through the use and strategic placement of historic oil paintings and original prints, which were framed with modern details but with mattes covered in suiting fabrics.
• The centerpiece of the space iconic Hickey Freeman Crest which had been saved from its original home in Chicago. This copper artisan relief is treated like a sculpture in its burl wood shadowbox with a backdrop of a Hickey Freeman herringbone suit fabric.
• Hutchison incorporated a palate that balances the warmth and richness of Walnut wood paneling with the sleekness of a gray “driftwood” floor and silver taupe grass cloth wall covering.
• Layered within these spaces are upholstered pieces of furniture covered in leather and suiting fabrics of pin-stripes, herringbones and plaids. To anchor the each of these seating areas are hand-made rugs woven in muted colors to accent the fabric choices in the upholstery.
• Accessories and rich details throughout reinforce the luxury that these brands represent.

“This project is a rare opportunity to visually merge past and present, while anticipating the company’s needs in the future,” says Jeffrey Hutchison.  “We created a visual language that respects the brands’ history, while translating and updating it for today — and tomorrow.”