I am a child of the 1980s who came of age in the 1990s when mall culture was everything. I spent nearly every weekend of my childhood within the walls of a suburban shopping center in my hometown of Calgary. (My parents weren’t outdoorsy people.) I was a Skee-Ball champ in the arcade, a toy store browser and my mom’s sidekick in the never-ending quest for the perfect bargain. As a teenager, the mall became my social hub—meeting friends at the food court, catching movies at the attached theater and shopping for the latest trends at all the jewelry and teen clothing stores of the decade.
By the time I reached adulthood, malls had become my happy place because they were a familiar spot to unwind. Every city I’ve lived in, I’ve found the mall that spoke to me. When I unpacked boxes in my Minneapolis apartment in 2007, it didn’t take me long to discover Southdale Center. Back then, it was always buzzing with energy. There was music in the background, and shoppers hustling and bustling. But over time, those once busy, chock-a-block halls of Southdale grew quieter. Stores closed. I found myself heading to the Galleria or Mall of America instead. When I would venture back to Southdale, it felt like visiting an old friend who’d lost a little bit of their sparkle. But I kept coming back because it has a special place in my heart and in the lives of many Edina residents. After all, it is the world’s first enclosed shopping center.
So imagine my delight when I heard Southdale is getting a facelift, complete with a new luxury wing. I’m reminded of what Coco Chanel once said, “In order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different.” And this new mall is indeed different, but underneath are the bones of the mall that we all know and love. We take a walk down memory lane and explore what’s ahead for the next generation of Southdale shoppers. It’s a fitting story for our annual beauty and fashion issue.
Happy October and Happy Halloween,
—Feroza Mehta
