Rent the Runway Pop-Up
Part 1: Rent the Runway Research
Research document: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iWYI3XXyZhQXOwWG-3uOt-fwvoNvR7x3/view?usp=sharing
Presentation:
10/11/2021
Part 2: Rent the Runway Pop-up
Jiaqi and I decided to continue to work together. We met to discuss which site would work best for our pop-up. We decided Schenley Plaza seemed to fit best as it has a young demographic constantly passing through and its busy, but more open, giving some leniency with our pop-up.
We went to take pictures and were pleased to see lots of diversity in age. There were moms with their young kids, lots of college students (probably both undergraduate and graduate), young adults, and some older people out meeting friends for coffee. There was lots of movement, along with many people sitting at the tables near The Porch and people laying on the lawn.
It was very pleasant and we were excited with the opportunity/potential that this plaza held for a pop-up.
10/14/2021
Jiaqi and I started by finding inspiration and creating a moodboard. Below is my inspiration board, and Jiaqi had her own that led to a discussion of our ideas and possibilities.
I also did some research into the importance of physical spaces rather than digital (as RTR is more a digital service).
- physical spaces allow digital companies to bridge the gap and allow customers to interact with their products which in turn can drive online sales.
- helps attract new customer!
- create memorable experiences that a digital interface can’t really do
- growing trust
- further building brand!
Moodboard
While we can see this evolving, our moodboard was to explore the use of mirrors and geometric patterns, while still reflecting RTR’s sophisticated, elegant branding.
10/17/2021–10/18/2021
My first thought was having a long mirrored screen that as people pass by it would AR outfits onto them. The long structure would reflect a runway and the outfits oufits would change, emphasizing the infinite closet idea. This would grab people’s attention and be fun for anyone.
I also was thinking about the overall structure of the pop-up and thought about maybe using the cloud shape to match their closet cloud idea and maybe bring jiaqi’s 3 level outfit mirror idea into a space that reflects the cloud.
I also used this time to propose a lot of questions to help my thiniking.
- What if.. the pop-up initiated a pass it on to create a fun sense of community?
- What if… the pop-up compared RTR to fast fashion and took a sustainable stance?
- Is it a more digital of physical experience?
- How do you heighten their brand and position in the fashion industry, while avoiding a store-like pop-up?
Jiaqi and I met to talk through our initial ideas. She had a lot of great ideas. One of which was taking photos in front of scenes that match different occassions.
While discussing we thought of combining our ideas which we drew out with some rough sketches that we planned on refining for the next time we met. We thought it would be cool to give people a photo booth like experience that emphasized the infinite closet and having something to wear for every occasion. People would take photos in front of scenes matching a specific occasion (wedding, night out, etc.), and the camera/screen would AR the outfit of the person’s choice on to them for the photo. We thought this would be a fun way for people to experiment and have a photo to remember this experience and RTR.
10/19/2021–10/20/2021
The next time Jiaqi and I met, we liked the photo booth idea, but were struggling for what the rest of the environment would do. We were thinking maybe a lounge area where people can visit and maybe watch a fashion show on a screen on RTR clothes?
Jiaqi’s sketches
Daphne came over and brought u the idea of maybe having a physical runway where there would be a real fashion show or people could have a private party and dress up with their friends. This got the wheels turning and we started thinking about how our phtobooth idea could be paired with a stage of some sort for a fashion show at the end of the day (and each day the style would change).
Would the stage be seen from all sides? Or just from one side? And would only having a photo experience be enough during the day? Jiaqi and I went back and forth and were not really which direction to take so we decided to go back to the drawing board and think about these thing, but be open to new ideas.
…
Between these two classes, I had the idea, from a sustainability POV, of having photoshoot setups where the garments are completely made from plants and flowers to emphasize RTR circular economy and smaller ecological footprint compared to the rest of the fashion industry.
Along with some sketches for this idea, I also sketched out the previous idea just to have some content for when the seniors came to help give crits.
10/21/2021
Before class, I told Jiaqi my idea, and she thought it would be interesting if we juxtaposed this idea with garments made from fast fashion so there would be two photoshoot areas.
Jiaqi also had an idea of showcasing garments in glass cases that people could discover and look at, similar to a museum.
We were kind of stuck with what our concept was and didn’t know which direction to take. We started pinning notes on the walls to help organize our thoughts, but definitely needed some guidance.
One of the seniors came over and gave really great insight! She thought the sustainability concept was very over done and that the biggest thing about the company is changing people’s mindset about ownership and instead focusing on the story and experience with articles of clothing. This was definitely a start. Jiaqi and I thought it would be interesting to somehow express the stories of clothing to share how these objects have collected memories in themselves that people pass on. We started thinking maybe having different articles of clothing that people can spotlight and learn their many stories/layers. And then the end of the experience would bring back the photobooth idea, but allow people to try on these highlighted pieces of clothing and then takes a pictures that they can keep.
We definitely feel like this is a solid direction to take that emphasizes the story of garments and making RTR seem fun and exciting, while creating a sense of community through these clothes.
Our next step is starting to materialize this concept and also figure out how to uncover clothes’ stories. Telling stories through different garments made me think of Monsters Inc where each door contains a different place, child, and story. Jiaqi and I began to think about how we could uncover these layers… would it be digital? or materialistic? I thought of children’s stories where you can lift tabs to reveal information about a story.
10/24/2021
Jiaqi and I went to Creative Reuse to get some ideas on materials for our model. It also sparked some ideas in regards to how can we reflect the memories of these garments.
There were lots of single film images, and Jiaqi brought up what if you had to insert an object for each garment that would then reveal the clothes’ stories. I found this super fun and a more playful way of connecting people to the space and the clothes rather than just pressing a button.
This idea remind me of this image viewers that I had as a kid that tell a story. They create a sort of personal connection to each image as you have the power to flip through and gather something from each image.
10/25/2021
Beginning to think about how we can emphasize the memories of clothes, I started thinking how little garments could act as an artifact to be scanned that would uncover garments’ histories. This would be one room and then the second room would be a photobooth experience. I sketched out some ideas about possible parti diagrams. I had the idea that these mini artifacts would be scanned and then the person would walk and stand inside a pod which would be a storytelling pod.
I proposed this to Jiaqi and she brought up a good point that me want the clothes to be exciting and these pods make the experience separated and isolated… so how can we invoke feeling and keep the space open?
We also ran into how can we showcase garments without it feeling like an exhibit??
I started thinking about these different methods of flipping through items similar to a closet.
Returning back to the idea of the viewer toy, we thought what if there was a spinning circle that has different physical garments at each mark. When the marker lands on one of the outfits, a light would appear and move across the floor to the screen across where a 30 second video would play that just shows glimpses/flashes into the garments memories. This would invoke feelings and be exciting rather than a museum experience.
Following this first part. We will keep the AR photobooth experience.
Also, we liked the idea of the mini clothes artifacts, and Jiaqi and I thought it would be fun to follow the American Girl Doll idea of having mini clothes made out of paper, where as people leave they can look at a selection and pick outfits/garments they like and take the pieces of paper with them. This would be another token to save from the experience and hopefully prompt visitors to look up these garments on RTR. So this would be placed at the end of the experience as people leave.
After finally finding our direction, we solidified a moodboard. Our concept is the “Memory of Garments”. It will have a grand theatre feel, but with creme, a dark raspberry purple, and black. We want there to be warm lights, and a sophisticated, grand feel. A combination of antique with modern.
We next translated these three stages into a parti-diagram and model.
We also decided to split up our storyboards so Jiaqi did the first part, while I storyboarded the second and third part.
Next, we need to start refining the model and the fidelity of each of these experiences.
10/26/2021–10/27/2021
We needed to start also thinking about the structure. How can we make it eye-catching and connect the RTR through shape and material?
I played with paper to experiment with shapes and how the structure could be made up of either curves or geometric shapes.
We also needed to refine our parti-diagram and how the space was split up for each experience. Jiaqi went through a process of drawing a variety of structures and layouts and rearranging our experiences until we landed on a triangle with a runway leading to it. We decided to have the photobooth experience first which would be the superficial, fun experience to get people interested and then they would walk into the “theatre house” and have an emotional experience with the wheel and movie, and then end with the mini cut outfits that they can leave with.
10/28/2021–10/29/2021
We defined that our concept is a RTR theatre premiere.
We talked to daphne and she liked the concept, but felt that the wheel idea seemed cheap/probably wouldn’t showcase the clothes how we wanted so we decided to go home and refine how this memory garment experience could stay similar, but without the wheel.
We met on Friday with our ideas and were definitely on the same page.
Similar to these displays, we decided there would be two glass levels stacked on top of each other. And these levels would be sectioned into boxes that show different clothes. Then there would be some interaction where people could choose a showcase which would send the garment’s memories to the screen. So this would be more sophisticated than the wheel idea, while still creating a fun, emotional experience.
Also, in regards to the facade, we decided it would look like an old theatre with a fun, flashy front that presents RTR and lit up framed posters on the walls, similar to movies.
We also reevaluated the layout and decided to make the wall that once had the wheel into a curved wall that would hold the showcase. This would make more space and dimension. And for the outside, we were thinking it could be one way mirror so people could see into the space, BUT the clothes would be backwards… so we decided that the outside would have digital screens that show clothes similar to the showcases inside. This would be space efficient, make the backside interesting, and light up even in the dark.
For the model, we decided that I could make the “husk” walls and Jiaqi would start making the movie theatre facade and the curved wall over the weekend.
11/1/2021
By monday, this is what we had. While this is a rough draft, it definitely helped us visualize scale and how we wanted the spaces to function. We had added a double door threshold to the entrance to be more movie theatre like that will also protect the lighting inside. We also decided the floor would be a dark raspberry, from the color palette and one wall would be raspberry with black paneling. We added curtains that would open when people walked in to add a dramatic effect. Now, we need to start refining and adding details.
11/3/2021
Jiaqi and I split up the storyboard so we each had a part to do. Then, I would make the parti diagram and she would work on cutting parts for the gallery portion of the model.
I created the storyboards for the beginning and end of the pop up, while Jiaqi created the storyboard for the movie experience portion.
I put together a parti diagram of our space to hep give an idea of the different sections and how people would move throughout. They wuld start at the runway, take some photos at the photobooth, go through the double door threshold, approach the garment panel, pick a garment, watch the short film, go through the door to the paper clothes display, take some, and exit.
We prepared a short slide show for our crit with Ted. We wanted to share our key insights and goals and how we were translating them into our idea.
11/4/2021
We met with Ted and gave a short presentation of our ideas. And he gave some useful feedback which definitely helped us move forward in refining our ideas.
He said that rent the runway is more modern so try to avoid anything that looks old. He also thought we needed to try and bringing more of the brand into either the layout or the look of the pop-up. He gave tips to how we should frame our insights and present our idea to “the clients”. I think he didn’t completely understand our movie idea/the movie theatre theme, but he said having some content for our movies to give people an idea of what we mean would be really useful.
…
After the crit, Jiaqi and I went back and thought through the look of our model. How can we modernize it and make it cool and sleek?
I remembered seeing this picture of neon lights around a theatre and thought that might be a fun direction to take our pop-up.
We could make the facade reflect the geometric Rent the Runway logo, and then trace these lines with pink neon lights, making the theatre more edgy and modern, and relate better to women in their 20s.
Jiaqi and I decided this would be a good direction to take as we wouldn’t need to change our floor plan, but more so the visual elements.
We also talked about how we should create the content for the garment movie. We are on the same page about them being short videos of different people wearing the garments at different events, but I’m not sure how we will execute this. I found a video of women wearing the same dress (https://youtu.be/6msqGgZNSxg), but they aren’t really in different contexts. I still like how they all style the dress and wear it differently. I thought maybe putting photos together, but that won’t have the same effect. Rent the Runway does have images of customers wearing the garment for each item, but I’m not sure if photos are enough (https://www.renttherunway.com/shop/designers/jay_godfrey/tany_romper_overlay_gown?lens=classic).
We decided for the weekend to work on our model and also start making the rendering so we can make our visualizations this coming week.
11/5/2021
Jiaqi and I briefly met. I worked on cutting some door for the model walls, while she thought about the lights for the model. She is trying to use wire to cut and spray paint, but I also said if that doesn’t work, we can print off pink neon lights to give a similar effect (except it would be less 3D). Or maybe we layer them together? We also decided the cinema “hood” would be a triangle shape as that better aligns with the visual language of the logo.
Also, we decided I would make the sketchup model and she would do the rendering on the model. This helps break up the work more evenly and helps us communicate what we are thinking.
11/6/2021–11/7/2021
I put together the sketchup model.
I then emailed it to Jiaqi so she could start rendering on to the model.
11/9/2021-11/11/2021
We began refining our rough draft model and digital rendering. Jiaqi took care of the digital part, while I worked on the physical model. We also added some graphics like the front movie sign on the outside, and the rent the runway neon light print out signs
I started making the paper dresses. I used illustrator to layout the front and back and then printed them out and glued to a piece of bristol. I tried to make the print outs more stylized, but it ended up looking more pixelated. The back could also be a little more sophisticated and less boring (change the white background). Daphne also suggested making the dresses stickers to increase their longevity and adding a logo to the front.
Back to the model, Jiaqi added pink wires to act as neon lights. We didn’t love how it looked so we contemplated trying acrylic or print out as another method.
Jaqi laser cut a black grid for the curved wall. I then cut out foamcore pieces to go in each of the spaces in the grid. Jiaqi then started working on the print outs for the digital exterior of the curved wall.
We created a longer pink runway and backdrops for the photoshoot area. The backdrops have a bunch of the logos of brands RTR carries. Daphne suggested maybe bringing the pink color into the background.
We also started planning out next steps to finish by the deadline.
11/15/2021–11/16/2021
I redesigned and put together the paper dresses. I created barcodes that actually work and look better. And added the rtr logo to the front and made the back all pink to better reflect the rtr brand identity.
Jiaqi put together an example video for the memory garment experience. It turned out awesome as she focused it around a red sweater.
I remade curtains so they are flatter and fit better into model. And Jiaqi laser cut and painted acrylic for the neon lights. The acrylic actually turned out really well to reflect neon lights. We also made the white backdrop a light pink that matches the back color of the paper dresses.
Jiaqi also printed off the images for the digital curved wall and taped them and then I glued black chipboard strips in between the images to better frame them and give them cleaner edges.
Jiaqi also 3D printed mannequins to go into each of the slots along with the control table for the movie experience.
Jiaqi made a rendering of the wall of paper dresses for model that I then photoshopped full of outfits.
I also created a visual to show what the camera screen would look like when someone approaches the photobooth to give a better idea of how it would work.
11/17/2021
I put the print out of paper dress wall in model along with a screenshot of movie screen.
I updated the parti diagram to reflect Jiaqi and I’s earlier decision to have two backdrops, along with making the colors go better.
We put our model on faux grass and put finishing touches on model.
Then, for our visualizations, Jiaqi and I sorted out where she would render the shot on blender and send it to me to then photoshop into schenley with silhouettes and lighting. We had some before updated them, along with putting together the rest.
Slides:
Reflection on process:
This pop-up brand experience has been challenging, but fun and rewarding. I enjoyed working with Jiaqi where we were able to bounce SO MANY ideas off of each other and split up the work to be done. I think our experiences achieved our goals for RTR. I’m happy with how our models and visualizations turned out.
