Mathew Williamson, London

Gosh, we haven't looked at this brand in a very long time.  Well, hands up we are struggling to find something interesting to look at right now as literally everyone is in Sale.  The weather is strangely hot here in the centre of the world and while most of us are probably enjoying this freakishly warm weather (unless of course you happen to be travelling on the tube which currently is like wearing clothes in a sauna - we're not talking from personal experience of course). If we ruled London then Transport for London would be hiring some buff boys wearing only a hand towel (obvs..!) at every station to issue passengers with cool towels, and some soothing drinks, possibly drunk from a coconut with an obligatory umbrella? We are so not beach body ready but who cares if you arent either, be proud of your fidoobiders, flash your welcome mats and hairy backs but don't travel in the same carriage as us - please.  This brand is sporting a collaboration with Mehta Bell Projects and presenting an installation by Tsai and Yoshikawa.   

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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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Mathew Williamson, London

We have seen the use of these kinds of masks around town recently, particularly in the mid-range brands so it was a bit of a surprise to see the being used at a luxury brand simultaneously.  Clearly the time lapse of trickle down effect has become a lot smaller?  The only problem is of course is making sure that these silent sellers have them firmly stuck on.

Mathew Williamson, London

We've really enjoyed following this installation for several months now and this is the third change since its installation in April with its Easter eggs.  What a great concept and fantastic from a sustainability point of view.  In fact we thought this was so innovative that we have even included it in our first book Fashion Visual Merchandising due out later this year, published by Bloomsbury press.

Mathew Williamson, London

If you are a regular follower of this site then you may remember that we included this installation recently complete with coloured Easter Eggs.  The tree of course will change throughout the year with various additions to it according, we guess to the key trends, seasonal changes or simply at the whim of the the designer. who knows?  The jury is still out whether this is a clever concept in line with sustainability or simply a solution to avoid having to think about what to do next.  We're really not sure yet.

Mathew Williamson, London

We've been huge fans of Kyle Bean's work since we spotted it ages ago in Selfridges windows.  On this occasion an interesting collaboration is now in place at Mathew Williamson's store in Mayfair here in London.  Anyway, with this year long collaboration which will evolve throughout the seasons and change every two months we cant wait to see what they do next.  This store is not always known for its innovative Visual Merchandising (the product of course is superb), however the mannequins always look as if they have argued with each other and haven't changed in three years (at least) and the installations always appear as they are an after thought or a sticky plaster on the wound of bad visual merchandising.  Come on guys, closer groupings and bigger statements.  We love Kyle Bean's work so lets do it justice?

Mathew Williamson, London

We adore the colours here at Mathew Williamson, aren't they stunning?  Unfortunately the scheme itself is not very strong and we can see that the usual mannequins have been dusted off and represented as if they've all argued with each other.  Of course, the mannequins are the highest quality, as is the product but sadly nothing ever seems to happen in tandem.  There is such enormous mileage in this scheme but it just doesn't work as one.  What a missed opportunity.

Mathew Williamson, London

We dont often see very many schemes at the Mathew Williamson store here in London, although on this occasion, and clearly picking up on the Olympic theme we have been presented with these three podiums (or is it podi??  podia??. ....oh who knows) in a natural wood finish and with flashes of colour, above which are the suspended bust forms with this stunning product.

Mathew Williamson, London

Aren't the colours used here at Mathew Williamson just so wonderfully vibrant?  Over the past few months we've seen an increasing use of balloons in schemes around the world from Loewe in Paris to French Connection here in London. We've placed them all under a kind of 'air trend' in conjunction with the use of clouds that we've seen at places such as Zara (globally), the Bon Marche in Paris and even being used at the Apple store.  Schemes at this brand can be a little 'hit and miss' although this one does look rather cool, dont you think?  We would had far more of these balloons in place though ourselves however and added in some giant ones at that.  Still, the product looks superb and is of course after all, king.

Mathew Williamson, London

Well, we guess its that time of year again.....groan......we're not huge fans of heart motifs...well motifs anyway just make us nauseous, but luckily the scheme at Mathew Williamson is actually rather cool.  Now, in order to appreciate this we had to make a video.  While it is in HD, this scheme rather confused the camera so it does blur a little while it finds its points of reference.  Anyway, check it out here:  http://youtu.be/egyRFZQNPRs

Mathew Williamson, London

We never really know what to say looking at the brand.  Sometimes they get their schemes looking really amazing and other times, we just shrug and think 'so what'.  This scheme of course is absolutely on trend with its taxidermy and a 'typical' Christmas scheme.  However, as the mannequins are same ones used for every single scheme (and we mean every single scheme) there's no real surprise left here apart from where are they going to position them next.  Its a bit like watching an episode of Big Brother.  The people are the same only just in ever so slightly different positions each time we view them.  Anyway, the product is beautiful and of course we know the quality is here, but come on guys, tease us a little with some kind of variation, will ya?

Mathew Williamson, London

We haven't included this brand for quite some time although we have been willing them to do something rather more exciting than they have for while.  OK, well of course the merchandise is stunning and the most wonderful colours, but the schemes are, well, just rather dull, don't you think?  The same mannequins in virtually the same positions are used over and over again.  Cu'mon guys, lets see some effort and entertain us, pretty please?

Mathew Williamson, London

We're always just that little bit disappointed with this store's visuals.  We don't know who does them and no-one ever contacts about what we say about them, and while we do love the thinking behind them, they just don't quite ever work?  We would have thought they would be a little more adventurous than they are considering the brand it is, although they just don't seem to get it right?  We love the hot air balloon concept, but when one sees how the ropes are attached and can be seen in full view, it really seems to kill the idea.  The lighting is rather ferocious too, whitewashing over the whole scheme.  A little bit of atmosphere would have helped at least.

Mathew Williamson, London

We really do want to LOVE this scheme at Mathew Williamson, but viewing it from a wider perspective, we can only just like it - and even then just sort of.  Of course the theatrically lit Love word does look fun and the merchandise,  particularly for men is amazing.  Finally, for males someone has moved beyond Grey, Brown, Black for boys which is incredible.  However, the presentation of this stuff is pretty weak for the calibre of this incredible brand.  Doesn't anyone know how to group mannequins these days?

Mathew Williamson, London

I mentioned recently about the use of Copper as a trend in store windows and how this has been translated from places such as Mango into trends in Interiors at the likes of Zara home.  Interestingly enough we are seeing a whole lot of schemes reflecting this trend and none more so than designers such as Mathew Williamson.  I haven't always included the schemes from this brand on this site as some of the uses of the product and the vehicles which carry them have not always been used in a particularly creative way, however it was worth noting that this scheme in particular had clearly picked up on the Copper trend through its merchandise.  Georgina Goodman around the corner on Bond st. has also picked up on this trend with the use of their shoes placed within these spinning spheres - although as from yesterday the merchandise has now changed.

Georgina Goodman