Skip to main content



White Out | Retail

application

In retail interiors, White Out is used for emphasizing product on display by creating an entirely white, neutral backdrop. The effect is achieved through white display fixtures, furniture, and planar surfaces, leaving the product and people as the only sources of color in the space.

research

White Box, arising in the late 1920s and becoming the dominant gallery aesthetic following a 1930 MoMA exhibition, was identified in the house, museum, workplace, and boutique hotel practice types, as well as in the previous study of archetypical retail design practices.While retail borrows from the museum display aesthetic in its use of White Box, many retail installations instead leverage White Out as a strategy for an even more exaggerated distinction between container and contained. White Out so far has been found in resorts & spas, restaurants, boutique hotels, and now in retail.In the resort & spa practice type, White Out creates a pure, almost sacred environment that functions as a backdrop for self-reflection, relaxation and healing.White Out is utilized in restaurants to focus visual attention on the food and patrons.4 Each of these applications of White Out informs its use in retail interiors.

White Out in retail is a multi-faceted strategy. Much like resort and spa's use of White Out for creating a certain atmosphere, retail employs White Out on a macro level to craft pure, ethereal retail interiors that convey simplicity, cleanliness and sophistication. On a smaller scale, White Out provides high contrast between the product on display and the background in a similar fashion to White Out's ability to direct focus on the dining experience when used in the restaurant setting. For retail, White Out interiors frame products in a way that portray the objects as art, similar to the display techniques used in fine art galleries and museums. Outfitting so much of an interior in white also adds an element of luxury to a space due to the inherent difficulty in maintaining pristine white surfaces. Most instances of White Out are exceptionally bright spaces, considering how well light reflects off of white surfaces, and especially the glossy white surfaces that so frequently are used in retail design.

Historical precedent for White Out and the theory behind the use of white inform the analysis and understanding of White Out in the context of the contemporary retail interior. Although white admittedly has a long tradition in architecture and design (being integral to Egyptian and Mediterranean vernacular, for example), several of Scottish architect and designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh and his wife Margaret MacDonald Mackintosh's early 20th century interiors were likely some of the earliest examples of White Out in professionally designed interiors.One way the Mackintoshes utilized white was as a means for gender-coding, having worked during a time when rooms in homes were thought of being either masculine or feminine. They often used white as an expression of the perceived feminine quality of more private spaces, including bedrooms and tea rooms, while more public spaces, such as the dining room, were considered more masculine and therefore featured darker furnishings.It is interesting to note that many (although certainly not all) retail applications of White Out are in women's clothing stores, perhaps retaining this association of white and femininity.

An early instance of White Out in the Mackintoshes' work was the master bedroom of the Hill House (1902-1903).7 Although a residential project, the design strategy was in alignment with retail applications and deepens the understanding of White Out through analysis of the practice in its infancy. The bedroom did have some areas of color, namely a faint rose stenciling pattern on the white walls, fireplace surround, built-in seating area, and on several of the furniture pieces. Despite these minor accents of color, white walls, white-painted furniture and a white bed dressed in uniform white sheets dominated the interior, contributing to an overall impression of White Out. The relationship between the points of color and the white backdrop infused the space with a delicate dynamism: "The contrast of this richly pallid atmosphere with the hard black lines of the two ladderback chairs creates a fine dialogue of line and form, black calligraphy on a white sheet of space."It is this interplay between the form of objects in the foreground and the white in the background that retail interiors seek out in using White Out as a display technique. Retail also draws upon the Mackintoshes' use of this contrast in order to exaggerate the whiteness of the bedroom, creating "a curious mix of harmony and disruption."9 While the overall impression was one of peace and serenity, purposeful introductions of color disrupt the whiteness. For them, this balance between white and disruption of white enabled him to highlight both geometric and organic form in a way that spoke to the fusion of masculinity and femininity.10 Retail design, too, toys with this tension between harmony and disruption in its desire to create a pure environment that directs focus towards product on display.

The Mackintoshes furthered White Out in the master bedroom of the Mackintosh House in Glasgow (1906-1914), containing even less color than the Hill House bedroom. Important to note is the white ornamentation and detailing on the furniture and casework that caused the room to read as if the entire space had been given a coat of whitewash.11 On the cusp of when the Modernists became vocal about the rejection of ornament, this treatment of ornament was novel: "...what was so striking about [the Mackintoshes'] work at the time was that its white surfaces cannot be separated from its ornament. The ornamentation is itself white and seems to grow out of the white surfaces that might, at first, seem to merely frame it."12 Whereas the Modernists viewed their use of white walls as a means for erasing ornament, the Mackintoshes used white to integrate ornament into the overall scheme of an interior. As an architect, interior designer and furniture designer, he approached design from a holistic spatial perspective.13

It was almost as if White Out functioned as a tool for expressing total control over an interior environment. Rather than using white to strip a space of ornament, many retail installations follow the Mackintoshes' lead: furniture, display fixtures and open ceilings are all rendered in white, unifying ornament and decoration rather than eliminating it. This encompassing aesthetic is partially to credit for White Out's ability to elevate an interior beyond the ordinary, as German architect Herman Muthesius described of their interiors at the time: [The Mackintoshes'] "interiors achieve a level of sophistication which is way beyond the lives of even the artistically educated section of the population. The refinement and austerity of the artistic atmosphere prevailing here does not reflect the ordinariness that fills so much of our lives...[and] transcends everyday reality."14 Retail certainly interprets the White Out interior, both in the need to communicate sophistication and refinement, and in the desire to craft an experience for customers that is unlike their other experiences in their day-to-day lives.   

While the Mackintoshes' early 20th century examples of White Out serve as enlightening precedents to the intype's use in contemporary retail design practice, discussion of white in the Modern architectural discourse of the 1920s and 1930s painted a vivid portrait of the color (or lack thereof) in the context of architectural and design theory. White played a significant role in the Modern ideology and was theorized about by many important minds, Le Corbusier being one of the most vocal.15 Mark Wigley's White Walls, Designer Dresses examines the white phenomenon in architecture. White is often associated with notions of cleanliness and hygiene, as can be seen through associations with doctor's white coat, white hospital walls, white bathroom tiles or freshly cleaned clothes. The Modernists interpreted this concept spatially, in "a cleansing of the look, a hygiene of vision itself."16 Adolf Loos' adamant opposition to decoration in his landmark essay, "Ornament and Crime" (1908), captured the sentiment with which the Modern movement whitewashed exteriors and interiors alike in order to erase ornament and decoration as a mark of modernity.17

The aspect of Modern theory about white that is perhaps most important to an understanding of White Out was this notion of white as anti-fashion. As an expression of the tabula rasa ideal, Modernists used white as means for removing style following "endless cycles of fashion sustained by the 19th century's eclectic turnover of styles."18 White was their means of rejecting the continual borrowing and reinterpreting of tradition that was characteristic to other aesthetic movements at the time. It is in this vein that White Out whitewashes and neutralizes any existing style from the backdrop of an interior, allowing the intended focal point to be emphasized. If "the white wall is meant to precede fashions rather than participate in them," retail interiors take advantage of the removal of style by letting the product make the dominant statements on fashion and style in a space.19 Although, with such discussion about white as removal of style, one has to wonder at what point expressions of white as bold as White Out become a style on their own.

Contemporary fashion house Maison Martin Margiela, known for their use of white both in their fashion and interior design, has indirectly attempted to answer that very question regarding style. Most of Maison Margiela's boutiques had White Out interiors. The Los Angeles store was rather poetically "whited-out," complete with furniture draped in white slipcovers, whitewashed brick walls and white neon signage.20 The sales associates in Margiela's stores contributed to the White Out effect, wearing informal uniforms of white work coats like those worn in the fashion ateliers in an unprecedented extension of White Out even to the people in the space.21 The act of cloaking the staff in white represented an act of demoting both interior and sales help to background and therefore secondary to the fashions on display. Interestingly, Martin Margiela recently designed a suite in French hotel Les Sources de Caudalle that emphatically rejected this notion that White Out erases ornament and fashion for the purposes of backdrop.22 Most of the surfaces and furnishings in the hotel suite were white, except for a bright red, lip-shaped loveseat. Upon closer examination, the two-dimensional detailing applied to the walls and closet doors became apparent almost jokingly rejecting white as erasure of ornament by deviously reintroducing it in a white-on-white scheme. Although Margiela's stores exemplified the use of White Out to deemphasize the store interiors so as not to distract from the clothing, he simultaneously challenged White Out's cleansing effect with his injections of superficial ornament.

Margiela's antics aside, Le Corbusier's writings reiterated the neutrality of White Out as a backdrop. In The Decorative Art of Today, he explained that "the white of whitewash is absolute: everything stands out from it and is recorded absolutely, black on white; it is honest and dependable."23 His understanding of the relationship between foreground and background when using white referenced the intended relationship between product and store interior in retail applications of White Out. In addition to this separation, Wigley added that white "keeps and eye on all objects it frames. But, before that, it keeps an eye on itself, watching its freshly laundered and neatly folded fabric for the stain of color."24 Not only does white separate focal point from background, but it simultaneously encapsulates and isolates objects in space. Wigley also included a reminder of white's susceptibility to becoming dirty, reinforcing the multi-faceted nature of White Out. It has excelled as a strategy for highlighting display, exuding luxury and creating seemingly other-worldly experiences.

In addition to theories behind the strategy of using white, Le Corbusier's writings also contribute to the understanding of the definition of White Out in the retail context. Wigley is credited with uncovering a paradox in Corbusier's rhetoric on white; a paradox that addresses a fundamental aspect of White Out: "In Le Corbusier's intoxicated rationalism, the rhetoric of order, purity and truth is inscribed in a pure, white, blinding surface. So blinding, in fact, that the discourse of modern architecture has almost entirely failed to notice that most of his buildings are actually coloured."25 All of Corbusier's discussion surrounding the importance of white distracted from the fact that he did use color in many of his buildings. White's true power was demonstrated in the way that Corbusier was able to play up its necessary role in Modern design in such a way that white is the aspect on which people fixated, even though color was being used simultaneously. White is "an aesthetic...so intense that it produces a blindness to colour, even when colour is literally in front of your face."26 This blinding characteristic of white pertains to the definition and effect of White Out, since most applications of White Out in retail do contain color. Even if interiors contain parts that are not actually white, such as neutral non-white floor planes, White Out is successful when there is enough white for the space to project the impression of white. It is also this blindness to color that allows White Out to have its desired effect. On one hand, the interior is able to appear to be entirely white despite having colored product. Alternatively, the product stands out for the very reason that the remainder of the store is able to read as being entirely white.

White was naturalized as part of Modern architecture and design, becoming generally accepted as a neutral background with the canonization of the International Style in 1932.27 Only a few years prior, a 1930 MoMA exhibition had crystallized the white gallery space as a museum standard.28 Since White Out can conceptually (but not temporally) be viewed as a further iteration of White Box and exaggerates the white gallery aesthetic, it is valuable to explore the concept of the white cube gallery. Brian O'Doherty's Inside the White Cube: The Ideology of the Gallery Space analyzed the implications of the white cube, especially focusing on the impact a white gallery has on the works displayed: ""The ideal gallery subtracts from the artwork all cues that interfere with the fact that it is "art." The work is isolated from everything that would detract from its own evaluation of itself. This gives the space a presence possessed by other spaces where conventions are preserved through the repetition of a closed system of values. Some of the sanctity of the church, the formality of the courtroom, the mystique of the experimental laboratory joins with chic design to produce a unique chamber of esthetics."29 White Out similarly removes any distractions that would draw attention away from items on display. In the retail setting, White Out has the added benefit of whitewashing any other extraneous items in the space in addition to planar surfaces. These extra applications of white serve to eliminate distraction, but also establish a similar air of formality and sophistication to O'Doherty's description of the white gallery.

O'Doherty also discussed in detail the power of the white cube to elevate virtually anything to the status of art, referring to the white gallery as a "chamber of transformation."30  This ability is important to White Out in its retail applications because the items on display are not actually works of art, but benefit from being presented as such. O'Doherty explained that "the gallery becomes...a transforming force. At this point, as Minimalism demonstrated, art can be literalized and detransformed; the gallery will make it art anyway."31 The neutral white backdrop's transformative power immediately portrays the product as being more extraordinary. Furthermore, with a gallery aesthetic already established, the interior elements that have been "whited-out" also appear more exceptional. Part of the gallery's transformative quality is derived from the concept of alienation. As O'Doherty explained, "it often feels as if we can no longer experience anything if we don't first alienate it. In fact, alienation may now be a necessary preface to experience."32 Although he was speaking about alienation and the experience of art, the thinking is relevant to the act of designing a retail space. White Out even more so than White Box isolates and alienates not only product, but the entire retail experience, in a space that feels out of the ordinary and almost other-worldly. 

In spite of all the discourse surrounding the Mackintoshes' white interiors, the Modernists' infatuation with white or the role that white has played in the gallery setting, White Out had not yet appeared in retail interiors. Early appearances of White Out can be traced to the late 1970s, but discussion of white and White Out applied to retail surfaced during the 1980s when "the culture of shopping [turned] Modernism and Minimalism into the perfect background for the brand" in retail interiors.33 Calvin Klein's partnering with British architect John Pawson in the mid-nineties marked some of the strongest expressions of the minimal retail interior.34 Most of Pawson's flagship stores for Calvin Klein were minimal White Boxes with darker wood furniture or natural stone display fixtures.35 One room in the Paris store (2002) was an application of White Out, having white display fixtures, white bed and a light floor.36 A portion of the Tokyo store (1994), too, was White Out.37

Most important to the study of White Out is a discussion of Pawson's influences and design philosophy. "Pawson has always seen his work as belonging to an aesthetic strand that links the Cistercian monasteries, the Shaker and Japanese ideas of austerity and contemporary simplicity-which is anything but the denial of the importance of the artist's touch implicit on Minimalism as an art movement."38 His minimalist aesthetic can be traced to Japanese influences from time spent living there, however his use of white drew upon his Shaker influences. Although white plays a role in representing holiness, purity and peace, among numerous other qualities, in other religions, the Shakers were especially articulate about the meaning behind their use of white in their architecture. Exploring the Shakers use of white in their interiors is a fruitful endeavor for the purposes of understanding White Out.

The Shakers, at their peak in 1840, were a utopian, craft-based society that promoted simple, basic living. Their architecture can be described as simultaneously functional and pragmatic yet spiritual and transcendent, manipulating natural light in ways that dramatically transformed otherwise minimal spaces. This approach can be seen in White Out's balance between the utility of highlighting product with the creation of almost ethereal retail experiences. Many of the Shakers' interior spaces were characterized by white walls that spatially interpreted nothingness and void, allowing them to become tangible. Out of all of their design principles, it is probably the combination of this use of white-to make nothingness tangible-with their use of contrast that is most relevant to the discussion of White Out. In a principle known as the "pure white cavity," Shaker architecture used white to purify rooms, representing perfection, absolution of darkness, and reduction to sheer light. The notion of the pure white cavity was slightly misleading, however, since dark molding and trim characterized these spaces as well, based on the principle of "framed whiteness."39 Partly out of practicality, the Shakers applied darker detailing in their interiors, in places like banisters and railings, in order to prevent smudges or dirt from showing on the pristine white surfaces.      

Following the Klein/Pawson partnership, architect and interior designer Michael Gabellini used even stronger expressions of White Out in several retail interiors in the late 1990s. His discussion of the theory behind its retail challenged White Out's relationship with White Box. Gabellini's first instance of White Out was in the Munich flagship for Jil Sander (1997).42 Sander desired a retail environment that would "fuse austere drama with a sense of welcome."43 The use of the word "austere" to describe the intended atmosphere for the store echoed the intent behind the Mackintoshes', the Modernists' and the Shakers' use of white. Given that Jil Sander was considered to have a cult-like following, such an aesthetic that channels a place of worship seemed fitting. Gabellini's discussion of the conceptual direction for the interior indirectly addressed the application of White Out: "Our concept,' says Gabellini, ‘was not to overwhelm or intimidate, but clarify [the space] like a frame does for a painting. I wanted to create a neutral space similar to a black box in theater. This was to be a white box-free to adapt-but it was not to be museum-like."44 His use of white for framing purposes reflected O'Doherty's argument for the white gallery's ability to frame objects as art. Although he described the interior as a white box, it actually was White Out by Intypes definition. It is interesting to note his clarification that the space was specifically not supposed to be museum-like, despite his use of the white gallery aesthetic. 

Gabellini's Vera Wang boutique (2009) in New York perhaps served as a clarification for what he meant by the anti-museum aesthetic comment and furthered his concept of the "black box theater" for retail.45 The space was entirely white, aside from the clothing and Color Flood of lavender light at times. Similar terminology was used in discussing the conceptual direction of this boutique, with the Gabellini Sheppard website describing the space as being "infused with light and based on the dynamic qualities of a white box theater, an infinitely changeable space that shapes a variety of narratives."46 This particular retail interior's use of White Out elevated it far beyond the gallery aesthetic of White Box. Analysis of the chronological evolution and trajectory of White Out in retail interiors differentiates the practice from White Box as a distinct intype in its own right.

Chronological Sequence

Black and white photography makes it difficult to find historical examples of the practice. Although Charles Rennie and Margaret MacDonald Mackintosh used White Out in the beginning of the 20th century, the earliest retail application of White Out found was Italian clothing boutique, Filippo (1979).47 This installation was a relatively pure example of White Out, having a glossy white floor, walls, ceiling, and display fixtures; the clothing was the only source of color. This particular photograph was taken at night, but one can imagine the intensity of the bright white interior with sunlight pouring in during the day. A modular system of lacquered white rectangular forms made up the display system. The boutique offered highly personalized service, reminiscent of the days of old haute couture. The flexible display system allowed for an easy means of showing only one of each garment rather than massing out racks of clothing.48 In this case, White Out was a strategy for facilitating customer service and personal attention by isolating each piece of clothing as something that is precious.

Another early, noteworthy occurrence of White Out was the non-traditional boutique, =mc2 (1985).49 Of particular interest was the way the intype was strategically used both for highlighting product and defining space. The store was based on the Japanese concept of "antenna stores," where the wholesale office and retail component shared a space for the sake of efficiency and direct customer-to-wholesale feedback.50 Given the more complex program than a traditional store, White Out was used for zoning and spatial definition in this application. The all-white retail space visually separated itself from the office space upstairs. Within the retail zone, the product was again the only source of color, isolated in niches or on low-lying forms. The undecorated white backdrop allowed all attention to be directed towards the product on display.

Bally's Chicago boutique (1989) was a case of White Out where the entire retail interior was not white, but the intype was similarly manipulated for spatial definition.51 The perspectival view down the central aisle of the store read as White Out, having a white floor, walls, ceiling and Plinths. Even though the floor was comprised of shades of off-white stone and carpeting, the overall impression was one of white, reflecting back on Mark Wigley's argument that the "blinding" nature of white can downplay instances of color.52 The clothing hung on the walls, arranged in Marching Order, offered an excellent example of white's ability to frame objects, making them seem even more valuable. This view lent glimpses into the spaces between the walls, revealing that the furniture was not white, but instead another light neutral. It is interesting to note how the interior successfully used White Out to define the central circulation area, and Marching Order to isolate pockets of color in each of the smaller zones.

Jasmin by Appointment (1990), a San Francisco fashion salon, was probably the first example where the use of White Out truly created an ethereal, other-worldly retail experience.53 The concept behind the fashion salon was that clients could make appointments with Jasmin for personal styling and fitting of hand-selected European prêt a porter brands. Despite the yellowish appearance of the photographs, the space was described as "layered with white-on-white tonalities."54 White began with the façade and continued into a first-floor reception area outfitted with white and clear glass furniture and a white Showcase Stair. Consultations took place on the second floor, consisting of all white lounge furniture, white walls and ceiling, white drapes and even white carpeting-a mark of luxury in itself, due to the ease with which it would have become soiled. The all-white interior exuded extravagance, creating a retail interior that reflected the high level of service and product offered at this boutique. The white-framed tri-fold mirror in the fitting area suggested that White Out also provided a neutral backdrop within which to try on the clothes. 

DKNY's London flagship (1996) was one of the first occurrences of White Out that read as a spatial whitewash.55 Having a light floor and white walls, partitions, display fixtures, hardware, and ceiling, the raw-looking space appeared to have been given a figurative coat of white paint. Details such as the painted-out Pompidou ceiling and the white-painted industrial piping that was used for railings made the appearance of whitewash especially strong. Designer Peter Marino explained that the interior was conceptually based on the idea of a white photo studio.56 This concept was apparent, offering one of the strongest examples of the manner in which the contrast between the colored product and neutral backdrop allow the product to really stand out from the background. All attention was on the clothing.

Forum (2001), a Rio de Janeiro clothing boutique that was considered Brazil's version of Calvin Klein, rings true to its comparison with the notoriously minimalist brand in its relatively pure expression of White Out.57 The planar elements were all truly white. The clothing was isolated within white, built-in, recessed shelving. Since many retail interiors had white display fixtures but did not necessarily have any furniture, the presence of all white furniture in this example made the White Out effect especially strong. This example also demonstrated the power of pairing a colored Showcase Stair with White Out retail interior. The wide, red staircase within the context of the all-white space exaggerated the dramatic impact of the stair, making it impossible for customers not to proceed upstairs. 

In Carlos Miele's New York flagship (2003), White Out was applied to large-scale, space-defining organic forms rather than to planar surfaces, furniture and fixtures as in most of the previous applications.58 Architecture firm Asymptote described the white organic forms that were woven through the space as a "spatial narrative" that captured the essence of the brand's background, channeling Brazilian culture, landscape and architecture.59 The forms delicately choreographed and guided customers' progression through the store. Clothing was featured against white walls along the perimeter and on Mannequins highlighted at various points in the organic form. This expression of White Out was different from the proverbial whitewashes seen in previous examples. Rather than selecting white as the color of choice for all non-product objects in the retail space, a white sculptural element was boldly introduced in the space, arguably making a louder statement than all white furniture or display fixtures.

A similar use of white-out sculpture was seen in Romanticism (2008).60 An oversized sculptural mesh wrapped from the exterior of the store into various organic formations within the interior, including forms that highlighted particular areas of display. The mirrored ceiling reinforced the White Out effect by reflecting the many white surfaces. Shifting light conditions as day became night also exaggerated the effect, the white sculptural mesh sharply contrasting the darkness outside. Most importantly, White Out was employed as a means for refraining from adding further layers of complexity to the already complicated geometry of such organic form.

White Out as a technique for complementing complex sculptural interiors with a simple color palette has been a trend in the most recent decade, evident from the similarities in strategy between stores like Carlos Miele, Romanticism and Patrick Cox (2009), a small handbag and accessories boutique in Tokyo.61 In another pairing of intypes, this interior featured white sculptural display elements that are also examples of Split Column. The combination of a neutral white backdrop with three-dimensional forms that isolated products on individual pedestals allowed for extremely concentrated and directed attention on the product being featured. As seen with the pairing of White Out and a Showcase Stair, the interaction between two intypes used together enabled them to strengthen one another's effect.

Conclusion

Reflecting on the various iterations of White Out over the past few decades, the theory and historical precedent behind the intypes' use becomes apparent. The extravagant consultation space in Jasmin by Appointment channeled the Mackintoshes' use of White Out for coding feminine spaces, with white being used in a delicate, airy fashion. Most of the installations utilized their "dialogue" between the form of carefully placed items of color against otherwise neutral backdrops. The cases that read more as whitewash, such as the DKNY flagship, spoke to Le Corbusier's declaration of white as anti-fashion, or removal of style. Especially in clothing store examples, the intentional erasing of style from the interior promotes the fashion and style of the clothing on display as the center of attention. One has to wonder, though, at what point such use of white becomes a style of its own, rather than a non-style. Although white walls can be perceived as a passing trend, their underlying essence is long-lived. The concept of anti-fashion is what perpetuates the fashion cycle, constantly challenging what is currently in vogue. White is but one anti-fashion strategy that fluctuates periodically in and out of popularity.

One of Corbusier's analogies between design and fashion can help inform this tension between white as a neutral backdrop versus white as an aesthetic statement. "The textureless white wall is associated with the generic man's suit, organized around the ‘smooth white shirt.' Its austerity is tacitly opposed to the seductions of women's dress."62 The analogy highlights the true spectrum of white, ranging from the basic white shirt that serves as background to other components of an outfit, to a white dress that makes a bold statement in white. For White Out, this means that sometimes it can function as an extension of White Box, offering a neutral backdrop, and other times, it is used to make statement of its own.

Carlos Miele and Patrick Cox challenged the notion of white as a strategy of erasure, considering the rather loud stylistic statements each of their sculptural elements made despite being white. One interpretation is that, in these recent applications, White Out functions as a three-dimensional interpretation of White Box. Whereas the two-dimensional walls of a white gallery space frame works of art that are hung, White Out, in a way, creates a more three-dimensional version of the white wall that frames the product in space rather than against a surface. Alternatively, White Out could be interpreted as doing just the opposite; Carlos Miele and Patrick Cox certainly exemplify white as a statement. Rather than being perceived as a natural extension of White Box, perhaps the essence of White Out is as a statement in its own right.

end notes

  1. 1) Marta Mendez, "Theory Studies: Archetypical Practices of Contemporary House Design," (M.A. Thesis, Cornell University, 2008), 129-40; Joori Suh, "Theory Studies: Contemporary Museum and Exhibition Spaces," (M.A. Thesis, Cornell University, 2003), 94-98; Shuqing Yin, "Theory Studies: Archetypical Workplace Practices in Contemporary Interior Design," (M.A. Thesis, Cornell University, 2011), 100-15; Mijin Juliet Yang, "Theory Studies: Contemporary Boutique Hotel Designs," (M.A. Thesis, Cornell University, 2005), 9-11; Leah Scolere, "Theory Studies: Contemporary Retail Design," (M.A. Thesis, Cornell University, 2004), 23-33.
  2. 2) Rachel Goldfarb, "Theory Studies: Archetypical Practices of Contemporary Resort and Spa Design," (M.A. Thesis, Cornell University, 2008), 52-59; Jasmin Cho, "Theory Studies: Archetypical Practices of Contemporary Restaurant Design," (M.A. Thesis, Cornell University, 2009), 38-45; Mijin Juliet Yang, "Theory Studies: Contemporary Boutique Hotel Design," 92-94.
  3. 3) Goldfarb, "Theory Studies," 52-59.
  4. 4) Cho, "Theory Studies," 38-45.
  5. 5) Mark Wigley, White Walls, Designer Dresses: The Fashioning of Modern Architecture (Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 1995), 121-22, 165.
  6. 6) Pat Kirkham, "‘Living Fancy:' Mackintosh Furniture and Interiors," ed. Wendy Kaplan, Charles Rennie Mackintosh (Glasgow: Glasgow Museums, 1996), 228.
  7. 7) Master Bedroom, Hill House [1902-1903] Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Margaret MacDonald Mackintosh; Helensburgh, Scotland in Anthony Jones, Charles Rennie Mackintosh (London: Studio Editions, 1990), 159, 161; PhotoCrd. Ralph Burnett.
  8. 8) Charlotte and Peter Fiell, Charles Rennie Mackintosh: 1868-1928 (Köln: Taschen, 1995), 154.
  9. 9) Kirkham, "‘Living Fancy,'" 250, 252.
  10. 10) Kirkham, "‘Living Fancy,'" 250.
  11. 11) Master Bedroom, Mackintosh House at 6 Florentine Terrace [1906-1914] Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Margaret MacDonald Mackintosh; Glasgow, Scotland in Jones, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, 139; PhotoCrd. Hunterian Art Gallery.
  12. 12) Wigley, White Walls, Designer Dresses, 165.
  13. 13) Fiell and Fiell, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, 6.
  14. 14) Fiell and Fiell, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, 92.
  15. 15) David Batchelor, Chromophobia (London: Reaktion, 2000), 46.
  16. 16) Wigley, White Walls, Designer Dresses, 5.
  17. 17) Wigley, White Walls, Designer Dresses, 10.
  18. 18) Mark Wigley, "White-Out: Fashioning the Modern Part 2," Assemblage 22 (Dec. 1993), 8-9.
  19. 19) Wigley, White Walls, Designer Dresses, 36.
  20. 20) Maison Martin Margiela [2008] Johnston Marklee; Los Angeles, CA in "One Size Fits All: Johnston Marklee Fashions Two Different Boutiques from a Single Los Angeles Building," Interior Design 79, no. 4 (Apr. 2008): 250-59; PhotoCrd: Art Gray.
  21. 21) Pamela A.Parmal, Didier Grumbach, Susan Ward, Lauren D. Whitley, & Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Fashion Show: Paris Style (Boston, Mass: MFA Publications, 2006), 164.
  22. 22) L'Ile aux Oiseaux ("Bird Island") Retreat, Les Sources de Caudalie [2010] Martin Margiela, interior design; Bordeaux, France in "L'Ile Aux Oiseaux by Martin Margiela," Frame Magazine (Feb. 28, 2010) http://www.framemag.com/news/994/L%92Ile-aux-Oiseaux-by-Martin-Margiela.html; PhotoCrd: Les Sources de Caudalie.
  23. 23) Wigley, White Walls, Designer Dresses, 31.
  24. 24) Wigley, White Walls, Designer Dresses, 190-91.
  25. 25) Batchelor, Chromophobia, 47.
  26. 26) Batchelor, Chromophobia, 47
  27. 27) Wigley, White Walls, Designer Dresses, 330..
  28. 28) The Interior Archetypes Research and Teaching Project, Cornell University, "White Box," www.intypes.cornell.edu (accessed Feb. 27, 2011).
  29. 29) Brian O'Doherty, White Cube: The Ideology of the Gallery Space (Berkeley, CA:University of California Press, 1986), 14.
  30. 30) O'Doherty, White Cube, 45.
  31. 31) O'Doherty, White Cube, 45.
  32. 32) O'Dohherty, White Cube, 52.
  33. 33) Claudio Marenco Mores, From Fiorucci to the Guerilla Stores: Shop Displays in Architecture, Marketing and Communications (New York: Rizzoli, 2006), 83.
  34. 34) Mores, From Fiorucci to the Guerilla Stores, 76.
  35. 35) Deyan Sudjic, John Pawson: Works (London: Phaidon, 2005), 75.
  36. 36) Calvin Klein [2002] John Pawson; Paris, France in John Pawson, "Architecture: Stores," http://www.johnpawson.com/architecture/stores/calvinklein/paris (accessed February 27, 2011); PhotoCrd: Courtesy of www.johnpawson.com.
  37. 37) Pawson, "Architecture: Stores," http://www.johnpawson.com/architecture/stores (accessed February 27, 2011); Calvin Klein [1994] John Pawson; Tokyo, Japan in John Pawson, "Architecture: Stores," http://www.johnpawson.com/architecture/stores/calvinklein/tokyo (accessed Feb. 27, 2011); PhotoCrd: Courtesy of www.johnpawson.com.
  38. 38) Sudjic, John Pawson, 12.
  39. 39) Henry Plummer, Stillness & Light: The Silent Eloquence of Shaker Architecture (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2009), 2-3, 16.
  40. 40) Plummer, Stillness & Light, 20.
  41. 41) Plummer, Stillness & Light, 5.
  42. 42) Jil Sander [1997] Gabellini Associates; Munich, Gemany in Edie Cohen, "White Magic: Gabellini Associates of New York Creates a Neutral ‘White Box Theater' as the Ideal Showplace for Jil Sander, Munich," Interior Design 68, no. 5 (Apr. 1997): 124-29; PhotoCrd: Paul Warchol.
  43. 43) Cohen, "White Magic," 124.
  44. 44) Cohen, "White Magic," 124.
  45. 45) Vera Wang [2009] Gabellini Sheppard Associates; New York City in Jen Renzi, "There Goes the Bride: Wedding Dresses Are Out of the Picture at Vera Wang's Second New York Boutique, But Gabellini Sheppard Associates Managed to Marry Minimalism and Theatrics All at the Same Time," Interior Design 80, no. 4 (Apr. 2009): 172-79; PhotoCrd: Paul Warchol.
  46. 46) Gabellini Shepphard, "Vera Wang Boutique," http://www.gabelliniassociates.com/index.php/Projects/retail/vera-wang-boutique-5h.html (accessed Feb. 27, 2011).
  47. 47) Filippo [1979] Paolo Tommasi; New York City in Anonymous, "Homage to the Square: Manhattan's Filippo Boutique Designed by Paolo Tommasi," Interior Design 50, no. 5 (May 1979): 208-209; PhotoCrd: Mark Ross.
  48. 48) Anonymous, "Homage to the Square," 208-209.
  49. 49) =mc2 [1985] Haigh Space and Nob + Non Utsumi; New York City in Maeve Slavin, "Question of Relativity: Nob + Non and Haigh Space Fuse Expertise to Complete the Equation = mc² for a New Business in New York," Interiors 144, no. 4 (Apr. 1985): 124; PhotoCrd: Elliot Kaufman and Peter Paige.
  50. 50) Slavin, "Question of Relativity," 122-25.
  51. 51) Bally [1989] Perkins & Will; Chicago, IL in Karin Tetlow, "Elevated Profile: Perkins & Will Picks Up Velocity for the 1990s with Dynamic Momentum from Neil Frankel," Interiors 148, no. 5 (May 1989): 281; PhotoCrd: Abby Sadin.
  52. 52) Batchelor, Chromophobia, 47.
  53. 53) Jasmin by Appointment [1990] Bradley Rytz; San Francisco, CA in Lois Wagner Green, "Jasmin by Appointment: Bradley Rytz Designs a Suggestively Simple Fashion Salon in San Francisco," Interior Design 61, no.6 (Apr. 1990), 182-85; PhotoCrd: John Vaughan.
  54. 54) Green, "Jasmin by Appointment," 184,182-85.
  55. 55) DKNY [1996] Peter Marino; London, England in Edie Cohen, "Peter Marino for DKNY," Interior Design 67, no.5 (Apr. 1996): 116-19; PhotoCrd: Chris Gascoigne.
  56. 56) Cohen, "Peter Marino for DKNY," 116-19.
  57. 57) Forum [2001] Isay Weinfeld; São Paulo, Brazil in Raul Barrenche, "Earthly Delight: With São Paulo's Forum Flagship, Architect Isay Weinfeld Shows That Sensuous Minimalism Can Hold Its Own," Interior Design 72, no. 14 (Nov. 2001): 142-47; PhotoCrd: Tuca Reinés.
  58. 58) Carlos Miele [2003] Asymptote; New York City in Sarah Amelar, "Asymptote Weds High-Tech Fashion Fabrication with Flashes of Vibrant Brazilian Culture to Create the Carlos Miele Flagship," Architectural Record 191, no. 9 (Sept. 2003): 142-47; PhotoCrd: Paul Warchol.
  59. 59) Amelar, "Asymptote Weds High-Tech Fashion," 142-47.
  60. 60) Romanticism [2008] Sako Architects; Hangzhou, China in Mark McMenamin, "All Dressed Up: No Place To Go? Follow the Fashionistas from Paris to Hong Kong and Beyond," Interior Design 79, no. 4 (Apr. 2008): 72-73; PhotoCrd: Nacása & Partners.
  61. 61) Patrick Cox [2009] Sinato; Tokyo, Japan in Benjamin Budde, "Walk Through: The Halo Effect," Interior Design 80, no. 9 (Jul. 2009): 55-56; PhotoCrd: Nacása & Partners.
  62. 62) Wigley, White Walls, Designer Dresses, 17.
  63. 63) Evidence for the archetypical use and the chronological sequence of White Out in retail interiors was developed from the following sources: 1970 Filippo [1979] Paolo Tommasi; New York City in Author, "Homage to the Square: Manhattan's Filippo Boutique Designed by Paolo Tommasi," Interior Design 50, no. 5 (May 1979): 209; PhotoCrd: Mark Ross / 1980 =mc2 [1985] Haigh Space and Nob + Non Utsumi; New York City in Maeve Slavin, "Question of Relativity: Nob + Non and Haigh Space Fuse Expertise to Complete the Equation = mc² for a New Business in New York," Interiors 144, no. 4 (Apr. 1985): 124; PhotoCrd: Elliot Kaufman and Peter Paige; Bally [1989] Perkins & Will; Chicago, IL in Karin Tetlow, "Elevated Profile: Perkins & Will Picks UpVelocity for the 1990s with Bynamic Momentum from Neil Frankel," Interiors 148, no. 5 (May 1989): 281; PhotoCrd: Abby Sadin / 1990 Jasmin by Appointment [1990] Bradley Rytz; San Francisco, CA in Lois Wagner Green, "Jasmin by Appointment: Bradley Rytz Designs a Suggestively Simple Fashion Salon in San Francisco," Interior Design 61, no.6 (Apr. 1990): 184-85; PhotoCrd: John Vaughan; DKNY [1996] Peter Marino; London, England in Edie Cohen, "Peter Marino for DKNY," Interior Design 67, no.5 (Apr. 1996): 117; PhotoCrd: Chris Gascoigne; Jil Sander [1997] Gabellini Associates; Munich, Gemany in Edie Cohen, "White Magic: Gabellini Associates of New York Creates a Neutral ‘White Box Theater' as the Ideal Showplace for Jil Sander, Munich," Interior Design 68, no. 5 (Apr. 1997): 127; PhotoCrd: Paul Warchol / 2000 Forum [2001] Isay Weinfeld; São Paulo, Brazil in Raul Barrenche, "Earthly Delight: With São Paulo's Forum Flagship, Architect Isay Weinfeld Shows That Sensuous Minimalism Can Hold Its Own," Interior Design 72, no. 14 (Nov. 2001): 147; PhotoCrd: Tuca Reinés; Carlos Miele [2003] Asymptote; New York City in Sarah Amelar, "Asymptote Weds High-Tech Fashion Fabrication with Flashes of Vibrant Brazilian Culture to Create the Carlos Miele Flagship," Architectural Record 191, no. 9 (Sept. 2003): 145; PhotoCrd: Paul Warchol; Romanticism [2008] Sako Architects; Hangzhou, China in Mark McMenamin, "All Dressed Up: No place to go? Follow the Fashionistas from Paris to Hong Kong and Beyond," Interior Design 79, no. 4 (Apr. 2008): 72; PhotoCrd: Nacása & Partners; Maison Martin Margiela [2008] Johnston Marklee; Los Angeles, CA in "One Size Fits All: Johnston Marklee Fashions Two Different Boutiques from a Single Los Angeles Building," Interior Design 79, no. 4 (Apr. 2008): 253; PhotoCrd: Art Gray; Vera Wang [2009] Gabellini Sheppard Associates; New York City in Jen Renzi, "There Goes the Bride: Wedding Dresses Are Out of the Picture at Vera Wang's Second New York Boutique, but Gabellini Sheppard Associates Managed to Marry Minimalism and Theatrics All at the Same Time," Interior Design 80, no. 4 (Apr. 2009): 176; PhotoCrd: Paul Warchol; Patrick Cox [2009] Sinato; Tokyo, Japan in Benjamin Budde, "Walk Through: The Halo Effect," Interior Design 80, no. 9 (Jul. 2009): 56; PhotoCrd: Nacása & Partners.

bibliographic citations

1) The Interior Archetypes Research and Teaching Project, Cornell University, www.intypes.cornell.edu (accessed month & date, year).

2) Malyak, Kristin. White Out, "Theory Studies: Archetypical Retail Practices in Contemporary Interior Design," M.A. Thesis, Cornell University, 2011, 202-31.