Aizone, Middle East

Images Courtesy and Copyright Arte Vetrina Project

If you happen to be reading this in the Middle East (Dubai, Beirut or Kuwait) then do take a look at Aizone right now.  With Sale season in full swing in many parts of the world in order to get ready for AW2014 (can you believe it already..!) it is refreshing too see so many brands moving away from the usual Red and White.  Check out the lovely lovely guys who produced this scheme for the brand too at http://www.artevetrinaproject.it/IT/index.xhtml

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Diane Von Furstenberg, London

If you want to see a good example of a product led scheme then this is one of them.  If you are not sure what this means then essentially the product has informed the concept which surrounds it.  Its not our favourite scheme from this brand (it also looks very similar to Dior right now too) although it is what it is and these windows are very small at this site so we recognise that it is actually very difficult to do much else. 

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Anthropologie, London

The creativity which we love so much always oozes from this brands windows.  We know we gush by the bucket load when we include the schemes here, but then when everyone else is in 'Sale' we always know that these guys will be doing something interesting.  And here we have it.  A combination of mixed media which sums up the season, all looking a little Monet-esque.  What you are unable to view is the artists bench which is also in this scheme and loaded with years and years of oil paints so thick that is looks like layers of coloured wax.  Anyway, if you happen to be passing their Regent street store here in the centre of it all, then just have a look in and drool too.

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Dover street Market, London

Wow, have you seen the windows at Dover street market recently?  The installation here by Comme Des Garcons which features foamboy monsters by the Artist Niek Pulles looks quite amazing.  Pushing those boundaries ever further this brand (or house of brands) absolutely challenge what we know as Visual Merchandising and really does put the Art back into windows.  Quite literally.  If Leigh Bowery were still alive we can imagine him wearing something like this although of course he would probably still wear his platform boots inside platform shoes which gave him his enormous stature.  Even though he's now sadly long gone the super creatives do live on.  You really must go and see these for yourself.

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Max Mara, London

Max Mara used to produce such interesting schemes but over the past year we have, well, just passed by as we are struggling to find anything interesting about them.  Of course, the product is superb and we guess thats enough for them to trade on although the inclusion of something a little more interesting or rather less ordinary would always be appreciated.  The Black and White images are of course beautiful, in a repetition format using the pyramidal format although is that really all you want to see?  Cu'mon Max Mara beef it up a little?

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Diptyque, London

Picture the scene, Greece Summer 1990......are you there?  OK, that's it really, nice video and great images on the website although we cant help feeling that there are some links missing here?  Well, we understand that this is the discovery of Philosykos and Figuier but unless we are meant to make the connections ourselves then we are not quite getting the scheme right now.  The message is implicit but we would prefer something a little more explicit otherwise we are just smelling you in the dark.  It smells nice but we just don't get it as there are quite a few ambiguous strands here.

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Selfridges, London

Yes, two Selfridges entries here in the same week?  Are we spoiling you?  Well, to be honest we are being a little indulgent as we wanted to share this little gem with you as well as the other parts of the current scheme.  Only really as it is rather exciting and perfect for the current climate here in London.  If you haven't been to Selfridges to see the windows yet which we showed to you earlier in the week then why not? Eh?  You really are missing a treat and who does anything on a Friday afternoon anyway?  The brand are also currently promoting the celebration of 25 years of Magnum.  No, not the 'castro clone' moustached character played by Tom Selleck in the 80's but the gorgeous edible kind covered in 'chocklit'.  And, here you can create your very own personalised version too.  So, go on, its hot in the office, get yourselves down to Oxford street and enjoy the experience.  We wont tell if you wont. 

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Fortnum and Mason, London

Is it hot or is it hot?  It is positively tropical here in the centre of it all and the car fumes are doing us no favours right now while we're out and about on the streets.  Even so, here we go, the latest selection from the gorgeous Fortnum and Mason who seem to be under going some renovations right now so the air around here from the paint(?), it actually smells a little like Amyl Nitrate (we left a little light headed); unless of course the builders were on their way to some dodgy nightclub?  But anyway, beautifully decorative frames surround their perfect products and focusing the footfalls eye view into to centre of each space.  Beautifully presented as always. 

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Smythson, London

Looking very architecturally dynamic is Smythson right now along Bond street in the heart of Luxe-land.  The product here of course is absolutely superb and mostly quite small in what is actually a relatively large space.  There lies the problem.  How do you show small products in such a large space effectively?  Well, no easy task unless you wish to go down the same route as brands such as Tiffany, i.e. small showcase window spaces, although this does mean that you are unable to see inside the main store space.  Here at Smythson, they have overcome this issue by adopting a muli-plinth and multi-level approach where each product has been allocated its own space at varying heights and therefore allowing the passing footfall to scan across multi-potential purchases.  A clean and crisp job we thought. 

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Selfridges, London

If you want to view retail store windows at their finest then you must go and have a look at Selfridges right now and their 'Meet the Makers' narratives.  We know what these windows are all about as not only do the brand write it on their windows, but, and this is quite noteworthy we thought, they also include the information on their website too.  We have of course noticed this before now although it is worth highlighting as so few brands (if any?) actually include any information at all.  In fact some brands appear to completely miss the point of their windows.
If you want to meet the 'makers', whether cheese makers, brewers, bakers or maybe a Gin maker then do swing by and get involved.  Otherwise just check out their website and see what you may be missing out on.  Amazing stuff.

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Dolce and Gabbana, London

Absolutely stunningly detailed merchandise covered in tiny sequins and large ceramic half parasols are being presented here at Dolce and Gabbana, London right now.  We are rather in awe of the merchandise here although the bust forms are doing them no favours at all, are they?  Some articulated arms would help to communicate the elegance of the product rather than presenting it as it was possibly produced in their studios?  Otherwise the presentation is superb.

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Daks, London

We cant quite remember why we took these images.  OK, well obviously it has a link to Paul Weller and our post on twitter of the above image sent it all a bit bonkers because it is Paul Weller, but apart from that, as their website entries haven't been updated for the past 2.5 weeks (very slack marketing for a premium brand) we are actually unable to find references to this promotion apart from a picture of, well, Paul Weller.  Oh its just all so lacking in communication guys.  Cu'mon shape up a bit a just tell us what you are doing?  You are currently waving at us in the dark; you know what you are doing but the rest of us don't??  Its not rocket science.  Oh, the brand are celebrating 120 years, great, OK, we knew that anyway.

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Mathew Williamson, London

We thought we were seeing the end of this Tropical trend but it is still lingering.  Trends of this kind usual flow downwards from luxury to the mind range brands and beyond, although the curve is clearly flattening as we have already seen the tropical trend at the mid rangers, so essentially it would normally have moved on.   This one has to be one of our favourites.  Just look at those head pieces.  Hilarious fun and great to see this brand doing some interesting windows again.  We've missed them.

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Liberty, London

Flowers of Liberty.  Nice concept and your mum will no doubt love it.  We're not sure this brand would want to hear that, but this is what is being projected right now.  Repetition of oven gloves and totes; safe, cosy and mumsy.  Come on Liberty get back in the cutting edge humour saddle that taps into the vibe on the street rather than whiffing of what happened in suburban London in the '70's and the antics of Tom, Barbara, Margot and Jerry?  We've seen some amazing schemes at this brand but sadly not this one.  Cu'mon guys you normally do some really fantastic stuff.

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