Trend Report: Monochromatica

We're seeing a trend! Every corner we turn lately, we see red… green… or purple. Monochromatic retail spaces are everywhere, leaving us wondering - Where did this trend start?

We may have the late visionary, Virgil Abloh, to thank. Before his time at LVMH, Abloh experimented with monochromatic looks under his label, Off-White. In his 2018 debut as Men's Director for Louis Vuitton, Virgil began the show with a series of monochromatic looks (watch here). The show opened with a flood of white. Then khaki gave way to a dreamy, pale green-blue which was pierced by ink-red, and so-on through the rainbow.

To complement Abloh's Fall 2019 collection, Louis Vuitton opened paint-drenched pop-ups in "green-screen" green and vibrant orange (New York and Chicago respectively).

Brick-and-mortar retail is as much about the environment as the products sold, and nothing envelops the shopper like these one-tone beauties. "These spaces make you feel like you've sunken into a can of wet paint." says Elisabeth Hays, Exec. Director of Strategy - Innovative.

For Fall 2023, Valentino announced a collaboration with Pantone, "#MaisonValentino has created a limited selection of items - from coffee mugs and keychains to notebooks, jars, and umbrellas - all donning #PierpaoloPiccioli's Pink PP hue. " To celebrate the collab, the brand is launching a number of pop-ups globally. They're drenching structures in their signature Pink PP hue, from a bodega in SoHo to a beachfront hall in Aranya, China.

It appears this trend will be sticking around for some time and we're not complaining! What do you think of these monochromatic retail spaces?