You don’t need us to tell you that JCPenney is in the news a lot—and not all of it is good.

But, there’s design and visual news worth noting. The Plano, Texas-based retailer unveiled its newly imagined home department earlier this month at a press event. Read all about it or go see great-looking design with good-looking product from Michael Graves, Martha Stewart, Jonathan Adler, Sir Terrance Conran and Bodum boutiques yourself—it’s worth the effort.

Under Ron Johnson, JCP’s recently ousted CEO, the venerable retailer was to be merchandised into a series of in-store brand shops, designed to attract a younger, hipper customer. Continue reading →

Arguably, retail can change a neighborhood, a city or a country, and, of course, the denizens. Diva reported on a plan to eradicate food deserts in Chester, Pa., back in January. Philabundance, a hunger-relief organization located in the Delaware Valley, is poised to open the first nonprofit grocery store in the nation this summer. Called Fare & Square, the store will go a long way to creating a more convenient neighborhood and with luck, a healthier one, too.

Today, there’s much talk about a new Whole Foods opened recently in Detroit. Yes, Detroit—the American city usually in the news for its decades-long dramatic population loss and near-bankrupt status. Continue reading →

We ooo-ed, we ahh-ed, we drank champagne. In case you haven’t figured it out, I’m talking about the After Party for DDI’s Student Window Challenge, presented in cooperation with Saks Fifth Avenue. Last night, the final designs were revealed and the winners were announced! Congrats goes out to winners Corey Ring and Kristen Eichenberg (team No. 4) from FIT. (Their window is pictured here.)

The design competition brought together 12 visual merchandising students (grouped in two-person teams) from the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) and LIM College to compete in a daylong challenge, which took place inside Saks Fifth Avenue’s 49th Street windows at the Fifth Avenue flagship store in New York. Continue reading →

There are only two hours left today in the DDI Student Window Challenge, and soon the teams will have to start painting out of the windows! I stopped by to check in and took some shots of the students in the midst of assembling their designs (check it out below).

The students are frantically working to pull it all together by the stop time of 5 p.m.—will they all finish in time? Will someone have a meltdown? Will their creations wow us? We’ll know soon enough!

Judging takes place tonight at 5 p.m., so pop on over to Saks Fifth Avenue’s 49th Street windows and see the finished product. Continue reading →

The DDI Student Window Challenge, presented in cooperation with Saks Fifth Avenue, officially kicked off this morning! Today in New York, design students from the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) and LIM College are showcasing their visual skills, creativity and talent in Saks Fifth Avenue’s 49th Street windows. The competition kicked off at 7:15 a.m. and the students are busy designing away! Stop by and catch them in action if you’re in the city, or follow DDI on Twitter @DDItweets for live tweets and photos all day long. Check out the photos below to see the exciting, early moments of the competition and check back later for new photos of the finished product—and find out who wins! Continue reading →