Zixin Ren, Duan Wu, Silvia Barbero, Alessandro Campanella, and Haoyue Lei
High-Profile Promotion (HPP) has emerged as a widely adopted form of temporary retail, particularly among luxury and fashion brands. While effective in generating high-impact brand exposure, HPP systems are characterised by short lifecycles and resource-intensive operations, resulting in significant environmental impacts. Existing studies have primarily addressed these challenges at the material level, with limited attention to system-level dynamics.
This study adopts a systemic design approach to investigate the sustainability challenges of HPP systems and to explore pathways towards more circular and sustainable configurations. A qualitative case study was conducted on a high-end fragrance and cosmetics brand (brand D), combining field research, stakeholder mapping, and multi-level complexity analysis. Through a three-phase methodology—system mapping, problem diagnosis, and system redesign—the study identifies key leverage points across material flows, stakeholder relationships, and decision-making processes.
The findings reveal that current HPP systems largely operate under a linear model, with limited integration of circular strategies. In response, the study proposes a set of systemic design interventions, including modular spatial configurations, material optimisation strategies, and a novel service model (PLANTING PLACE) that integrates sustainability communication with user engagement.
By bridging circular economy principles with systemic design practices, this research contributes to expanding the application of systemic design in temporary commercial environments and offers actionable insights for transitioning HPP systems towards more sustainable and value-integrated models.
Keywords: systemic design, circular economy, sustainable fashion, POP-UP Space, new retail HPP