The Fashion Show is an ephemeral and mesmeric performance that transforms and transcends space and time using narratives to enact a fashion brand’s attitude into a collective spectacle. Spaces are transformed via scenography, choreography and atmosphere. From Chanel’s extravagant shows in the grandiose Grand Palais in Paris, Gucci’s surreal surgical themed runway to the corridors of Paul Bert Serpette Antiques Market for Vetements, fashion brands curate memorable experiences through the frame of the interior.

This presentation seeks to celebrate the relationship between fashion and interior design. The performative nature of the runway show is the vanguard of the fashion world’s gaze and a speculation of an imagined future. As 20th century retail formats become extricated from the traditional retail landscape, our shopping behaviours and expectations are shifting in a dynamic and evolving consumer society. How can retail design preserve the physical interior yet mediate the virtual and real shopping experience in a post-digital world?

Citing examples such as Dover Street Market, Gentle Monster, Maison Margiela, Acne and other emerging fashion retail interiors, I will examine how the synthesis of narratives and performative spaces are translated into experiential mise-en-scenes framed within retail to initiate new experiences of shopping.