Museum of Fashion, Closer than you Think

Interesting possible paper topic:

The Mall: Fashion's New Museum.

I was walking around the mall today and noticed how many storefronts are verging on theme park-esque displays. Some storefronts don't even look like stores displaying clothing anymore; Hollister, RULE and Anthropology all put up fronts that resemble houses or buildings, mysterious entries made to lure a customer in because they can't merely judge the product from the sidelines anymore. The mall is becoming its own version of Epcot, over-exaggerating details to make their store more than just a display, it's a whole other world.

I'd like to investigate company motives to understand why they would invest so much money into display. Have sales risen because of it? Are these kinds of displays difficult to manipulate otherwise? What have the responses been? What kinds of people do they hire to construct and conceptualize?

Too tired to really go into detail on this one. Be on the lookout though.