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Guest post: Jigsaw’s Duke Street Emporium is a 3D shopping experience



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Jigsaw has opened a mini department store dedicated to what it calls ‘social shopping’, putting the 3D back into retail. DRG contributor ALISON BISHOP takes a tour with CEO Peter Ruis

“Retail brands have the authenticity to create something unexpected, at Jigsaw we like shops to be slightly off-pitch,” CEO Peter Ruis told me at the launch for Jigsaw’s Duke Street Emporium in Mayfair.

The Emporium name comes from the idea that Jigsaw’s new multi-label, multi-concept two-floor store is like a journey of discovery. “It’s a bit of fun, it’s a bit of curating, the rooms are like catacombs of discovery,” says Ruis. “You can travel through the store finding new products and displays, it’s intended to be very fluid and you can spend as much time as you like going from room to room. They are quite small and merchandise is not overloaded so you can always find things to be inspired,” he says. (more…)

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Guest post: Mr DRG loves the Kaweco AL Sport fountain pen



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A GUEST POST FROM MR DRG…

DRG was recently gifted a rather fine Kaweco AL Sport fountain pen, ownership of which has rapidly transferred to me…

How I wasn’t aware of these pens I’ve no idea. They’re a design classic that has remained pretty much unchanged since the 1930s and are the absolute embodiment of the minimalist, utilitarian German industrial design that I love. (more…)

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Guest post: Levi’s says ‘Good Things Take Time’



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Branded content is all the rage now, from etail sites with blogs and themed edits, to fully-formed in-house magazines from brands like Topshop, Acne and Cos. Levi’s Made & Crafted has gone about things in a different way, as guest contributor, LSN Global retail editor ALISON BISHOP reports… (more…)

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Guest post: Is your product eco enough? Nike’s free ‘Making’ app will tell you



Guest contributor LSN Global retail editor ALISON BISHOP reports on how Nike’s ‘Making’ app puts sustainable design front of mind for fashion and sportswear creatives…

Ever the innovator, Nike is building on its sustainable product design credentials by sharing its in-house Materials Sustainability Index for anyone to learn from and use – in the form of its new Making app. After collaborating with students at London College of Fashion’s Centre for Sustainable Fashion, the new app helps designers and product creators make more informed decisions about the environmental impacts of the materials they choose. It works by ranking textiles and other materials used for product design based on four environmental concern areas: water, chemistry, energy and waste. For example who knew that the manufacture of silk uses 50% less water than cotton?

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“It’s the start of a conversation,” Lee Holman, Nike’s vice-president of global apparel design told me. “Innovation is in Nike’s DNA, and sustainability is an integral part of Nike’s design process. We’ve created the Making app to empower any designer around the world to make better materials choices in the early stages of the design process. Ultimately everyone wants to create products that are better for the planet, and we want to be able to facilitate that idea.”

It’s quite a statement from the sports giant, especially considering it’s not a selling tool and it’s not connected directly to any Nike product. It’s just for the good of the planet. We call it ‘Brandstanding’ at LS:N Global. Sustainability is the new battleground for brands that want to resonate with disillusioned Millennial consumers (25-35 years old) and brands with cast iron credentials will win the vote. Now I might even design myself a version of Nike’s Flyknit trainers…

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