It may even be upon us.

Allison Arieff writes about “Rethinking the Mall” on her blog, ByDesign, (NYT, June 1, 2009), when she was recently invited as a juror to ICSC (International Council on Shopping Centers) for the organization’s inaugural Future Image Architecture Competition, which asked entrants to imagine the shopping mall of the future. She notes that some developers with eyes to the future have envisioned “technology not as some sci-fi fantasy, but as something that could enhance not only the shopping experience but environmental and social conditions as well.” Hmmm, practical application.

by Coleman Architects.

Such as the Retail Galleries concept by Colman Architects (above image) with “its astute analysis and expansion of the customer-retailer relationship. Spaces are delineated for services akin to personal shopping, but go much further. With a nod to current consumer recalcitrance, Colman proposes Accounting Suites, where representatives assist consumers in budgeting for purchases (and avoiding future debt). Recycling Depots deal with the euphemistically brilliant dilemma of “‘after-wear’ management,” while the One World Desk allows customers to donate a percentage of their purchase price to charity.” (we can thank Nau, Inc. for this last thought)

It’s a shame it’s come to that….I mean after all we’ve been through, can’t we reel ourselves in, yet? That said, the idea, one has to admit, has merit.

But there’s more. Cathy Horyn, NYT’s fashion critic, just posted parts of her speech given to the 6th annual Citi Women & Co. event hosted by the Times on her blog, On The Runway. In “The Bigger Picture” she was asked to give her views on fashion and the economy with a backward glance at previous recessions but an eye toward what may signal the future for fashion as a consequence of this current recession. Big job, but she managed to do it and do it well. If I may, in essence, she creates the call for designers to develop “fashion that is not history-minded—this has been the pattern of the past 50 years—but rather future-oriented. It involves thinking of the consequences of technology, and relating these changes more imaginatively to how we dress, how we shop—the design of stores, the potential of online magazines and stores.”

She also brings up the “consumer,” as if this notion is something recently discovered. But, as a colleague of mine and I were also discussing, people in industry, as much as they talk about it, really aren’t doing it–talking to the consumer that is. My colleague suggested it was because manufactuers were so “operations” oriented. Ms. Horyn indicated in this article as she has in past articles, that the fashion industry is too “marketing oriented,” creating the urge without having anything truly meaningful or relevant to today’s consumer behind it.

Another article that is circling the internet is from Forbes and how the internet has forever impacted the retailing environment, giving instances of retailers with business models that are working in spite of the economy (well that’s relative, but nonetheless they will come out okay), vs. those who seem to be flailing: Why Retailing Will Never Be the Same, by John Karonis and Madison Riley.

I agree with some of the observations Karonis and Riley mention, but I don’t agree that becoming vertical as a business model is for everyone. They too bring up the consumer as it relates to offering services. Again, like it’s a novel thought, but as it is currently being “not practiced,” these are at least examples of very thoughtful processes as it relates to “what will make the consumer happy and spend again.”

What I can agree on with everyone I’ve mentioned here, is being forward thinking and working at finding solutions, now that we have come to grips with the fact that the future isn’t what it used to be.

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