WELCOME

As a client or student of Peter Hamer, you’ve been invited to join the i see windows community and gain access to both the VM Archive and the VM Journal. This space exists to nurture dialogue: between the creative and the strategic, between what is seen and what is meant.

Each image and reflection builds on the idea that visual merchandising is not decoration but language, a way for retail to communicate its meaning, intention, and responsibility.

VM Archive

  • A living library of retail windows since 2016
  • Categorized by brand, typology, and message
  • Designed to train your analytical eye

Each image, part of an online collection of over 12,000, is classified by typology, retail DNA, and narrative intent using Peter’s Taxonomy of Displays, developed from the i1 Model. This structure helps you understand not only the what, but the why.

Photo: Peter Hamer
Photo: Peter Hamer
Photo: Peter Hamer
Photo: Peter Hamer
Photo: Peter Hamer
Photo: Peter Hamer
Photo: Peter Hamer
Artwork: Peter Hamer & Giovanni di Modica
Photo: Peter Hamer
Photo: Peter Hamer
Photo: Peter Hamer
Photo: Peter Hamer
Photo: Peter Hamer

VM JOURNAL

  • Monthly essays connecting design, retail, and behaviour
  • Reflections on presence, clarity, and dialogue in space
  • Unsubscribe anytime

Read an entry from the Journal

Il fumetto sulla consulenza VM: Mr. Eye e la Scienza del Visual Merchandising. Concept & Editing: Peter Hamer & Adriano Donato La Vitola.
Photo: Peter Hamer

2024/10 VALENTINO – AVANT LES DÉBUTS

by Peter Hamer
October 21, 2024

I’ve been debating how to approach this one. Initially, it felt like the emotional route was the way to go, but as with anything that excites you, once it simmers down, the truth tends to surface. So, after watching some random C-list Christmas movie on Amazon Prime, it finally hit me.

Alessandro Michele’s first collection for Valentino has officially landed in stores, and I couldn’t wait to see it in person. Sure, I’d already seen the VM concept on Valentino’s Instagram, but experiencing it live is essential for me to fully grasp the details. The display? Simple yet elegant. Floor-to-ceiling cream curtains drape over furniture, giving off a sense of purity and sophistication without pulling focus from the product. And there are plenty of products: men’s, women’s, shoes, bags (small and large), earrings, necklaces, gloves, scarves—you name it. A complete collection through and through. Risky.