LECTORAAT CHANGE MANAGEMENT – De Haagse Hogeschool

Last Friday (27 03 15) I made an appointment with Anja Overdiek to visit the pop-up store at HHS. The store-project is meant to give students a possibility to experience and develop ideas for a change in the perception and the actual layout of retail in general and ‘shops’ more specifically. More generally, to have a chance to look at the idea of shopping from a different perspective. The lectors and teachers at the education institution could get an insight in possibilities and problems in developing said concept(s).

I had already seen the shop upon its festive inauguration, my first impression was that of any alternative second-hand charity shop on our ever-fading highsteets. The main difference not being the coffee corner, we have all seen that, but, the inclusion of an attempt to integrate an art-project into the concept.

Not very novel, fifteen years ago my haute couture salon in Rotterdam integrated High Fashion, antiques and modern art. In the early 60ties, boutiques at Carnaby Street in London and ‘the village’ in New York Already experimented with similar concepts. In the early 1900’s fashion designer avant la lettre Paul Poiret did display his avant-garde couture outfits but also art, furniture and perfume, all long before Coco Chanel even thought of opening her maison de couture. The list could go on and on.

In this sense my tip to the endeavour would be to aim for originality, to get an insight into the history of retail and all its mad deviations, and to really aim for renewal. We have all seen the second hand shop in galore.

Back to the Pop-up store , I do think the idea to provide a playground to students to experiment with concepts in retail is a laudatory one.

The art project ‘in my life’ (with and about clothes and memories) by Rayke Verhoeven is an extraordinary and well-contemplated attempt to provoke the bemusements of an unexpecting audience. It would be a provoking thought for the students that came-up with the actual concept for this store to embrace and consider aspects of this art project as the base for their retail concept.

Peter George d’Angelino Tap