Autumn 2006

Just what we need: 24-hour shopping

Letter from J.T. Adams

Thanks to Eye and to Malcolm Garrett for the great profile of Alex McDowell. When I saw movies like Fight Club and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory I didn’t know anything about his background as a graphic designer in the UK, but once you know, it is quite logical. It is good (and inspiring) to see that a one-time punk like McDowell can end up having such clout in Hollywood.

It now seems that McDowell’s influence is stretching further, and that predictions like the ‘Futuristic shopping mall’ in Minority Report (picture 16, p.25) are coming true. Last week (9 August 2006), a news item about ‘Interactive window shopping’ at the Polo Ralph Lauren store in Madison Avenue in New York described a 24-hour, touch-screen shopping system. The store claims that it was inspired by Minority Report.

Leeds

First published in Eye no. 61 vol. 16 2006

EYE61

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