The next retail and hotel design trend?

So what’s next you ask? Well, minimalist Jill Sander’s new SOHO store in Manhattan might have raised the bar. Why? At first glance, passers by may think the store is empty or not yet open. But its not. The street level entrance opens to a creation by Dutch artist Germain Kruip, which she calls a “mind space.” It’s a conception room of space, reflection and light – in all white. “It’s a project room that can be reconfigured every six weeks,” says Raf Simons, Jil Sander’s Creative Director. A set of stairs to the back of the room eventually leads shoppers to the retail showroom upstairs.

Can this also mean that the next thing in hotel design will be a concept room? Will less really be more? Ultimately, consumers will be the judge of this project’s success.

To read more about Jil Sander’s new retail space, click here. (Image courtesy of Germaine Kruip)