Birmingham fashion expert criticises Bullring cover-up

CLOTHING retailers should not be removing mirrors, but instead work with customers the old-fashioned way, a Birmingham fashion expert has said.

Alison Rapsey, course director of BA (Hons) Fashion Business and Promotion at Birmingham City University, said covering up mirrors was not the way to overcome low self-esteem.

Her comments come after it was revealed that certain shops in the city’s Bullring centre are taking part in a trial instigated by owner Hammerson to cover over mirrors in their changing room mirrors to see if it increases customer self-confidence when shopping.

“If you have ever worked in retail you know that the fitting room rail at the end of day, in women’s fashion, is always full and the men’s is practically empty,” said Ms Rapsey.

“Women like to try stuff on – it’s part of the fun and part of the experience – we take our mates, get an opinion, but at the end of the day the mirror never lies and we know when something doesn’t look right.

“One size doesn’t fit all and with a myriad of shapes and sizes for retailers to contend with – just removing the mirror is not going to boost self-confidence.”

In a blog posting, she said Paco Underhill, of ‘Why We Buy’ fame carried out retail shopping observations over a sustained period and noticed that if you place mirrors within the retail space on the shop floor, customers would use them, often holding up a garment against themselves to see if they liked it and if they did, then a sale would often follow.

By stepping into a fitting room a person was often displaying more of a commitment to buy, but she said this could often come with disappointment.

With more and more consumers shopping online and retailers struggling with the returns as a result, she said it could be argued that the mirror was the cause. She said people often tried on clothes alone, got a partner’s opinion – which was rarely right, and never got a true representation because things such as lighting were always wrong.

“There is change afoot however, as we have also seen a growth in new in-store technology and magic mirrors with brands like Harvey Nichols in Birmingham and Rebecca Minkoff in New York using these for a more personal experience,” she said.

“It works as a combination of holding up a virtual garment to a mirror image of yourself to see how it fits without the hassle of undressing – faster and stress free – and staff are always on hand to aid the process.

“So should retailers be removing mirrors? NO. Use them to adopt the more personal connection, get staff back in these spaces to work with consumers and build confidence the old fashioned way – service.”

Ms Rapsey’s experience includes eight years in retail working across management roles in Arcadia and Emporio Armani. She has worked for BCU  for 12 years and as course director, teaches 340 students in modules including fashion buying, marketing, event management, trend forecasting and international retailing.