Jaeger, London

This is an interesting idea produced by Jaegar along Regent Street here in London. I was drawn to it I think because I had seen a similar idea in 2001 in Tokyo in the then new Louis Vuitton store. I particularly like the hounds tooth vinyl on the glass here at Jaegar. The oval form frames the whole image of the store window almost phasing out the area behind and focuses our attention on what is in the window itself. The figures are in the usual groups of 2, 3 and 1 which of course visually works very well and the background large format image communicates the lifestyle and possibly our aspirations? I do feel that this window works very well in its own right but I also feel that having seen the Louis Vuitton store in Tokyo 8 years ago, perhaps more could have been done to create the impact that this wonderful store deserves? The Louis Vuitton store created a kind of strip tease effect that made one go up to it and see beyond the vinyl. After all, as we know (or are prepared to admit), things that are gradually revealed (as in a strip tease) and that we discover are far more exciting than if we are shown a full frontal. Aren't they?

Louis Vuitton, Tokyo, 2001

Juicy's Travels, London

I have never noticed the Juicy store tucked away near Claridges in London before (where have I been, hey?). I usually only veer as far as Stella's as there tends to be little else along the street. Anyway, after flaneur-ing a little further I came across these windows which grabbed my attention. It was so uplifting to see such a complex yet a carefully orchestrated scheme that is entertaining and yet sells the product. Juicy have used tiny soldiers (possibly artists models) and painted and dressed them as the Queens guards of Lilliputian proportions in comparison to the life sized figures wearing the merchandise . This presents a wonderful narrative as your eye moves around the window to find figures unravelling ropes and string and generally giving a mischievous appearance. How wonderfully fun and typical of this brand..!

09/09/09 - A cry for help?

As it is 09/09/09, I was unable to resist giving you all some windows which are clearly a cry for help. If you are reading this outside of the UK, 999 is the telephone number for the three emergency services - Fire, Police, Ambulance. Sadly, in this case, the fourth emergency service are not a team of dressers or designers). Anyway, while I would normally publish the glossiest and best windows and interiors that I can find, I do think it is noteworthy to comment on windows which are equally un-glossy and unkempt. Sadly there are quite a lot of these types of windows that I have come across time and time again and it seems endemic of stores, usually in the suburbs, although not always. These ones have been taken while on my travels and form a small collection from a wider archive. I do feel that it is well worth recording these types of windows if only to understand what not to do. They are all anonymous and deliberately so to save any embarrassment although I think you will all agree that we all know somewhere nearby wherever we are that looks like these. Maybe you can send them in and we can have a light hearted vote for the worst ever?

Mulberry, London

I came across this extraordinary window at Mulberry, here in London the other day. I haven't seen such fun windows in ages. In fact who was it that did the window which had rats wearing jewellery on Saville Row many years ago? (I think it was Simon Doonan?) Anyway, the Mulberry windows consist here of shiny gloss black trees with hundreds of the beetle-like creatures (possibly Stag Beetles?) crawling all around. Such a simple idea, yet has fantastic impact. Merchandise is strategically placed on the torn (burnt?) stumps of the branches with one shoe in the smaller window placed as if the figure who would have been there has been consumed.

I think, perhaps, I would have put a few more on the floor of the main window, even filled the whole floor to create a writhing mass and possibly a whole variety of sizes. But anyway, this is a great idea and thank you Mulberry for the great visual.

Diesel, London

The Diesel store is still one of my favourite places to view while I am flaneur-ing the city. I cannot think of an occasion when I have ever been disappointed with their schemes and this is no exception. I always think of Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Browns Learning from Las Vegas when I see this kind of homage to ancient Rome. The use of cardboard cut out columns and arches always remind me of the gateways to the commercial city that we can see so many examples of Internationally from the Marble Arch here in London, the equivalent can be seen in Rome, Moscow, the Arch de Triomphe in Paris and of course the arch in Washington square in New York. The whole scheme is beautifully illuminated and appears almost like a photo shoot rather than a store window - what a pleasure.

Daks, London

I always enjoy seeing Daks windows along Bond St. in London as they tend to do very sophisticated schemes which ooze quality. I was therefore, a little disappointed with this scheme as while it is executed very well, it is a celebration of 115 years (as I was quite rightly corrected by an anon. follower not 150 years as I had previously posted) - and possibly in the light of Selfridges fantastic 100 years' celebration - I actually found it quite unexciting. The only real indication that Daks is celebrating its Anniversary is is a small decal on the glass telling us so and which is barely visible in my photograph. I couldn't help feeling that a little more could have been done other than the use of the repetition of photographic images in the windows and grey fabric is rather unadventurous albeit very good quality. For a retailer to reach a 115 year Anniversary is such an incredible achievement that I for one would want to shout about this and shout quite loudly. Am I being harsh here 'followers' or would you agree that more could be done visually for such a whopping 115 year Anniversary?

Jc De Castelbajac, London

Jc De Castelbajac along Conduit Street in London, I find, quite an odd store. I have seen various incarnations of the store on this site which if I remember correctly is where onkin ee (is that the correct spelling?) once stood. Anyway, I do enjoy what they do with their Windows and they certainly are creative and fashion forward. I was viewing the latest Alexander McQueen catwalk show recently for 2010 where models wore these huge Leigh Bowery-esque lips - am guessing this is where the concept came from. Anyway, I thought the reclining figure is a great prop. Perhaps he doesn't need the sunglasses? I felt this just made him suddenly look too human and therefore I was looking at a naked figure rather than a prop. Anyway, while the merchandise, it seems is perhaps for the very fashion forward / or brave, it is a fun store to see. I particularly like the figure in the perspex chair with the undersized hat positioned strategically on her head - although that chair looks very uncomfortable - well I guess that's just fashion.

Kurt Geiger, London

I think this is the first Kurt Geiger stand alone store that I have ever seen. I am familiar with the brand as concessions within department stores but I dont recall seeing any 'solus' sites anywhere on my travels. Anyway, although I have seen the use of old suitcases in many displays before, I felt that this worked actually very well. Each one has been painted in such wonderfully vibrant Summer colours and the product has been strategically placed creating an old-school-type glamour. I am not sure if this is the first display for this brand, but from across Regent Street in London while flaneur-ing the city it drew me in and I wanted to share it with you. I must admit, I am looking forward to seeing what they do next..!

Nicole Farhi, London

I have been following these Nicole Farhi windows for quite some time. Recently, I recorded some figures reclining in a deckchair with a seagull precariously perched on the back of the chair, only to find 24 hours later while flaneur-ing with my students that the Seagull had 'perhaps' been strategically moved? Anyway, I have seen a lot of schemes over the last year using furniture as props, but I thought this worked quite well. I feel that these windows are quite difficult to visually merchandise and display and the Nicole Farhi team do it very well. On the one side we have menswear with headless male mannequins stood and sat on a large circular table and in the other window we have the repetition of chairs floating on a vertical plane. I couldn't help feeling that the two windows are a little disjointed if I look at the scheme holistically. I am also not really a fan of headless mannequins as I do find them rather generic. However, the scheme is very well executed (as one would expect from a designer store) although I must ask followers, are they lacking something? Maybe something which makes us smile or something clever? There is an opportunity to do something fun here although my emotional response is that while they have been installed extremely well, someone somewhere has missed an opportunity to have fun with the scheme. What do you think followers?

Moschino, London

I came across these Moschino store windows in London recently which I thought were so interesting, particularly after my comments on the previous ones. Although, of course my comments were not negative, I was just questioning what the scheme was about? Anyway, Moschino have recently created these wonderful neon lit bust forms - the likes of which I have never seen before and I thought that these windows work so incredibly well. The neon lit bust forms reflect the merchandise next to it creating a kind of reflection and repetition of form. These windows are so wonderfully simple and yet absolutely communicate the brand and the current merchandise. A great concept, thank you Moschino team..!

Georgina Goodman, London

I must confess that I don't know much about Georgina Goodman as a brand and, of course as a male I don't buy this kind of product (fabulous designer shoes). I have passed this store many times - always at night time - and I have often seen these spinning spherical-like structures in the window that seem to me to present the 'hero's' of Georgina's range and I do find them quite mesmerising. Naturally, simply photographing this and sharing it with you does not really do it justice as the spinning sphere-like structures (that look like something from the Science Museum's collection) need to be shown actually spinning and therefore I have once again included a short video of the window. For some reason my short videos always seem to make London look like Winter time. This was actually quite a particular balmy evening, but I hope you enjoy.

Vivienne Westwood, Conduit Street, London

I don't often write about Vivienne Westwood windows as nothing significantly changes. However, as I walked my city usual walk in my 'flaneur' mode, I came across this little gem along Conduit Street in London. The windows here, contain bust forms which I believe are by Proportion London (the link to them is on the right hand side of this page) in a stripey fabric. Unusually, the windows contain these rosette 'like' structures which act as a kind of backdrop to the figures and merchandise, with an almost confetti like design vinyl on the glass. It is not clear what the story is here other than an abstract concept, however needless to say I did feel compelled to record these windows as ones which have become quite significant in the overall scheme and were therefore a delight to view and worth sharing.

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Museum of Branding, Packaging and Advertising

I recorded this while on a recent visit to the Museum of Branding, Packaging and Advertising here in London, although I cant actually remember what this 'thing' is is called. Essentially it is a concertinaed structure which is viewed through a tiny reveal at the front of the structure which gives the impression of a 'scene' through a space - if that makes sense. The reason I have recorded this is because I thought it was an incredible concept for a commercial space. Unfortunately the images are not very clear due to the nature of how it is viewed, however as commercial spaces, by their very nature are transitory (or at least should be) I thought this was an innovative and useful way of changing the space without the enormous cost of a re-build or re-fit?