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BODY MOVEMENTS IN SPACE

I’ve been to both of these places before.
ANSH46
The way you move in the space is mostly slow and “calculated”.
The other people present were young people: teenagers and young adults, of different ethnicities, mostly coming in pairs of two or groups. The majority were men. They would also move slowly and point out and discuss certain pieces among themselves.
There is a feeling of needing to “blend in” otherwise you feel out-of-place. I previously visited this store with a friend who frequents it and it was my first time being there. I felt like the way I dressed then made me look out of place with the place or the usual clientele. The second time, when I went to take notes for this project, I dressed in a way that would make me be perceived as more wealthy so I would be comfortable, which was the case. I thought it was peculiar that simply being inside a store can have such an effect on your perception of yourself or feelings of how you’re being perceived.

PRIMARK
The way you move is mostly fast-paced.
The other people present were diverse in terms of age, ethnicities, etc., presumably majority being middle class or low income. Majority of groups were actually multiple members of one family; parents or grandparents with teenagers, kids or even babies in strollers. A small part of social groups consisted of middle school aged children and teenagers.
There is no feeling of pressure such as anyone analysing you or your fashion choices; everyone is focused on only looking at the products.

THE SPATIAL SETTING

ANSH46
The store is pretty small; it’s divided in two sections by a large glass encased display in the middle of it, displaying bags inside it.
There were geometrical/cubist art pieces hung as decoration on the upper walls.
The first section had a wide metal display in the middle of one of the sections, displaying bags, shoes and small potted bonsai trees.The second section that had the register had a wall covered fully in wood and shelves displaying shoes and contemporary art pieces.
There are spotlights with warm light installed on the upper wall, directed at the clothing racks. The clothes were only on racks placed against the walls and organised by colors/palettes in a cohesive, logical way.
There is a nice smell throughout the store that smells like a soft perfume.
The music is what would be considered as appealing to a young audience; pop and rap.

PRIMARK
The store is big and has two floors. There are no art pieces or installations, only racks and shelves with the products. There is no perfume or “mood” lighting; there are no employees walking around waiting to approach you to discuss whatever garment you’re interested in.

THE WIDER CONTEXT

ANSH46
The street (Van Oldenbarneveltstraat) or specific area the store is located in has multiple other similar stores (high end).

PRIMARK
This specific store is located in Zuidplein Winkelcentrum. Zuidplein is known for being the more “poor” side of the city, a lot of people (especially students) gravitating to this area for the cheaper rent.

What are your observations and conclusions on the conditions of the location researched starting from the reason and question at the heart of the research?

I chose to focus on the stores from this perspective based on an experience from 1-2 months ago. When walking into ANSH46 with a friend who frequents it quite often and seeing the prices/items I immediately felt extremely out of place. I was strongly reminded of the difference in lifestyle and possibilities based on our difference in financial status and income the entire time I was there and kept thinking about it afterwards. I thought it was peculiar that simply being inside a space can make you feel small and like you don’t belong there.
In contrast, it’s quite impossible to get this sort of feeling when being inside a Primark; indeed, the prices are so low because of it’s unethically produced fast fashion. But as a low income individual you can’t make the “responsible” choice of buying the 200€ t-shirt produced by a contemporary designer.
In this sense I feel like while there’s an unseen power dynamic between the high end retailer and you as a poor consumer, there’s a less felt dynamic between you and the underpaid workers creating fast fashion garments. If you break down the sentiment, you might feel bad in Ansh46 for not affording any of the garments and feel bad in Primark for affording them only because the people making them work in unfair conditions.