A little-known fact is that Autumn technically has two start dates. Whilst meteorologists split the year into quarters with the start of Autumn being 1st September and lasting until 30th November, astronomically, the start of the Autumnal season is marked by the Equinox when daylight and night hours are equal. This happened in the UK on 23rdSeptember 2022. The retail calendar usually signifies the move to the Autumn season aligned to when the school year restarts.
This Autumn what’s your story?
Autumn Colour
With a gorgeous colour palette of oranges, yellows, and reds, it’s easy to create a stunning Autumnal look for your store space. However, colour strength and hue play an important role in how credible a display is. A simple image or products can be equally as strong as a more complex display featuring multiple components.
The importance colour plays is equally shown in this window display, where tropical leaf shapes are used in a twist on the traditional Autumn leaf theme. The viewer is tricked into feeling the window works due to the Autumnal colours used.
Leafy Autumn
Every year, the ‘go to’ Autumn display idea is leaves. Instant seasonal recognition, easy to create a cohesive theme from and the delivery of a strong colour palette that demands attention.
Approaches to the use of leaves and foliage vary dramatically; traditional or contemporary, oversized or small, synthetic & paper to naturally dried …. all can be effective with a little imagination.
Natural applications featuring dried leaves soften the look but still deliver impact.
Hanging or falling leaves are a seasonal favourite. Choose your spin on the look by sourcing synthetic leaves from a craft store, collecting them in nature, or creating them out of a different material entirely, like paper.
Why Not Wood?
In Autumn, a lot of attention is drawn to trees. Their dramatic colour changes and stark contrast to all the winter greenery attracts a lot of attention. Using wood will help you harness this in your displays. The beauty of wood is that it needn’t be an exact match either.
Hay & Wheat – Subtle & Stylish
For a sophisticated, high impact look, try your hand at using hay and wheat to create a natural, neutral colour palette. This will subtly signal the arrival of Autumn particularly if these are used as ‘pops’ of interest to punctuate the store space.
For maximum impact, create bold displays that use bunches of the same product type grouped together. Here, ceiling rafts have been created to enhance the theme further. These can be reused in another season or for another theme.
Pampas – Heightened Displays
Pampas grass is on-trend and an extension of the hay and wheat theme, it delivers retail drama through the use of height. Different lengths and textures of propping are used to complement hero products.
Entrance Decoration
Have fun … Be Creative
Do not feel constrained by what retailers usually do with their displays. One of the best things you can do for your window display is something different. Autumn wouldn’t be Autumn without a nod to Halloween, brooms are an excellent prop to use to tie in Halloween to the overall theme.
For inspiration for every season, check out our other Visual Merchandising features:
