Three Wins from Paris: Reflections on Maison&Objet Pulse and NRF Europe 2026
By Cynthia Ortiz
Paris in September gave me three big wins, and I’ll admit I didn’t realize how remarkable the tip would be until I was in the middle of it. I went, I saw, and I learned. What made it exceptional was sharing it with members of the Retail Design Institute Europe Chapter. These are brilliant retail minds, and each of them brought their own perspective to the shows and stores we visited, and to what influenced them most. That exchange may have been the best part of the week.
Design, like art, is subjective. Seeing retail design, furniture design, and everything that goes into them through the eyes of some of Europe’s most talented design professionals shaped what I learned more than I ever expected.
Maison&Objet Pulse: Design That Feels Discovered
I went into Maison&Objet expecting mostly furniture. Instead, the show set aside its usual furniture-showroom energy for something warmer and more human. It was organized into seven reimagined lifestyle sectors, it followed a philosophy of design that feels “discovered rather than designed,” and it put a real spotlight on global design, visible in the colors, the booths, and nearly everywhere you turned.
The aesthetic has shifted too. It’s quieter, warmer, and more sculptural, and texture is doing the talking instead of decoration. For anyone designing retail environments, that’s a meaningful signal. The spaces that resonate now are the ones people want to touch and linger in.
NRF Retail’s Big Show Europe: The Next Now
I’ve attended and spoken at NRF’s Big Show in New York, so I was curious how the relatively new European edition would compare. The central lesson was clear: stores aren’t just transactional anymore. They’re where trust gets built.
Kate Ancketill's futurism talk was a standout. AI came up in nearly every conversation, but the consensus seemed to be that adoption is outpacing strategy. Retailers are moving fast on the tools while many are still working out what role those tools should play in the customer experience.
The Common Thread
Across both shows, one idea kept surfacing: craft, trust, and human connection are beating scale and convenience as the real differentiators, in design and retail alike. The physical store, and the people and materials inside it, remain among the most powerful tools a brand has.
Welcoming the Retail Design Institute Europe
It was also a great week of collaboration. I was proud to see the launch of the Retail Design Institute Europe and to welcome its members into the fold for the first time Walking these shows alongside them made clear how much the chapter adds to our global community. It brings new perspectives, new markets, and a design culture that challenges all of us to think differently. I'm looking forward to what we'll build together.
From Maison&Objet’s quitter, more tactile design language to NRF’s focus on trust, Paris reminded me that great retail design still comes down to genuine human experiences.
What trends are shaping your next store? We'd love to hear what's on your radar.
