Dueling Masses

There is the theory that for every trend, there is an anti-trend. On a very basic level, for example, look at the movements in fashion; one season, it's all about Victorian frills; the next, 1960s Mod dominates the runway. And the same principle applies to trends that last longer than one season. In addressing this theory, Reinier Evans, director of www.trendwatching.com, coined the terms Mass Class and its anti-trend, Massclusivity.

The idea behind Mass Class is simple: luxury is being democratized. That is, quality consumer goods and services are decreasing in price. Examples include couture knock-offs at H&M, Michael Graves-designed housewares at Target, and posh leather seats on budget-friendly JetBlue. "Most hotels, restaurants, shops, and offices have invested in design of the luxury kind, and it has now become something consumers, poor and rich, expect," claims Evans. Massclusivity is one of the reactions to this trend; the more access consumers have to quality goods and services, the more they want exclusivity and status—the kind that visibly sets them apart from the masses. For example, a VIP section in a movie theater already outfitted with stadium seating and a wide screen (increasingly standard Mass Class features) answers to the need for Massclusivity.

Airports may be one of the most interesting examples of Mass Class and Massclusivity coming up against each other. Luxury is democratized in that shopping and dining options, as well as well-designed waiting areas and wireless Internet access are available to all travelers. New terminals may even outdo members' lounges of the past. Rethinking the designs of spaces for jet-setting, frequent flyers, then, is one of the new challenges for designers.

Take, for example, the Maple Leaf Lounge at Pearson International Airport in Toronto, designed by local firms II BY IV Design Associates and Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg (KPMB). Bruce Kuwabara, partner at KPMB, explains that in order to give the area a distinct sense of luxury, emphasis was placed on creating an oasis, and that included taking the findings from a focus group with elite travelers. "There was this comment that members' lounges always felt like it was 3:00 in the morning because they were so dark," Kuwabara notes. But rather than merely solving the problem by ensuring that natural light is abundant, there are elements in the design that change with the time of day. The dining area with a communal table shifts from having a breakfast-pantry feel to a decidedly different bar area at night (thanks to a convertible wall). And how do members know they're in a special place? For one, says Kuwabara, the boutique hotel-like front desk sets the tone.

Jennifer Barrett, senior group director for Fitch in Powell, Ohio, reminds us that experience, an intangible, is part of the Massclusivity trend. "As economic centers grow, consumers start to switch from needs—because all their needs are fundamentally met—to wants, which are product-based. The reward is not often from the product so much as it is from the experience." And wants, she says, call for experiences. Therefore, retail design is an area affected by this theory. One of many instances where Fitch created an experience-based concept is for Lego. Rather than have a "one-time interaction" experience in the store by simply viewing product and interesting structures pre-built by Lego (the old concept), Fitch created the "Pick A Brick" wall. Here, customers load up on Legos in all shapes, sizes, and colors, and take them to platforms where they can build whatever they want. It's a simple idea, but the effect is impressive.

Barrett summarizes: "Part of the ability to have the feeling of exclusivity is simply by doing things differently. One of the elements that we talk about all the time is starting from a consumer-centric approach versus an operational approach. So instead of creating an experience around environmental parameters, we try to wipe the slate clean and think about how to approach it from the consumer's angle first."