LONDON — Selfridges is tuning into the wellness and mental health zeitgeist with an in-store takeover campaign called Superself, part of the Superfutures creative theme for 2022.
The focus of the campaign is on self-care, positivity and what the store is calling “feel-goodness.”
It will invite customers to listen to positive podcasts and music and step into “A Safe Trip” pods by Sensiks, which offer an integrated, multisensory experience aimed at reducing stress. Lifestyle and beauty products will be curated for a “future-ready mindset.”
The windows of the Oxford Street flagship will invite passers-by, via QR codes, to “try a new kind of retail therapy,” “pick up some good vibrations” and “have a safe trip.”
Over four days in February, the French artist Juliette Minchin will take up residence in one of the store’s most prominent windows, on the corner of Orchard Street, and create a work-in-progress installation.
Emma Kidd, Selfridges‘ acting creative director, said Superself is about exploring ways to help customers “live brighter,” from feeling good to living more sustainably.
“We’re reconsidering retail therapy, connecting our customers with self-development therapy and coaching sessions, from sex therapy to confidence coaching to gut health and nutrition,” said Kidd, adding that the store wants to help people be their best selves via fitness, food, sustainability, beauty and creativity.
The store is working in partnership with the entrepreneur Sharmadean Reid and her platform The Stack World, which wants to promote gender equality, and increase the global gross domestic product of the “women’s economy.”
In the next weeks, Selfridges will be inviting DJs to create “feel-good sounds” in the beauty hall, and organizing a run club, self-help sessions, confidence coaching and “sex life reboot” classes.
The store is also introducing 15 ingestible and vitamin brands, and putting a focus on beauty and relaxation rituals and light therapy.
Superself recalls another Selfridges takeover from nearly a decade ago. That one was called “No Noise,” and was aimed at getting frazzled shoppers — and the general public — to slow down, breathe deeply and sit still.
There was a Silence Room, a dimly lit carpeted studio with soundproof walls and benches where people could sit and meditate during store opening hours.
Selfridges also dotted private meditation “pods” throughout the store — including the staff canteen — where people could sit and take part in a guided, 10-minute meditation session wearing headphones.
There was also a Quiet Shop, which was stocked with products, such as Vaseline jars and Levi’s jeans, that were stripped of their branded packaging.
A year later, in 2014, Selfridges was leading the conversation once again with the launch of The Beauty Project, a forward-thinking takeover that was all about body positivity, size inclusivity and diversity in beauty, fashion and lifestyle.