From the Professional Portfolio of Megan Burkham

​Everyday Retail Shopper's In The Presence of Art

For the average everyday shopper who knowingly or unknowingly gazes upon a storefront window, little come to the realization that they are in the presence of art. The natural creativity of the Visual Merchandiser grows from a foundation of knowledge in styling, trend forecasting, textiles and lighting. (Click HERE for resources to explore a career in this field within the fashion industry)

As retailers began to discover the importance of visual merchandising and display, they developed strategies to implement consistency in display among stores and established a visual directive to be implemented at the store. Visual Merchandisers would then have to translate their given direction to most accurately portray the theme concept.

Now, for the lucky few Visual Merchandisers who are able to incorporate their own inspiration for their window display, the Fashion Gods are on their side. The photograph pictured is from my Professional Portfolio, documented during my time as a Visual Merchandiser/Stylist for Forever 21 Inc in Dallas, Texas. Here is one of those occurrences when the heavens open and you are released into unchartered territory filled with new merchandise and endless opportunity!

With this exploration, you must first find your motivation. Inspiration can come from your own personal style or from perceiving the customers personal style (after all this IS a business and the point of visual display is to attract the target customer to purchase merchandise = $$$$$).

Most often I find my muse by observing the women who are shopping in the store. This idea supports a popular ideology learned in school - The Trickle Up Theory. This theory supports the assumption that fashion trends start among the young or lower income groups and move upward to older or higher income groups. In laymen terms, it’s the idea that style originates with the lower class and gains approval with the upper class and inspires to the fashion elite. In recognizing this theory it empowers my motivation to narrow my field of observation. Singling out one woman who exudes her own forward sense of style, allows me to concentrate her influence in creating my final presentation.