Ted Baker, London

We haven't, strangely, ever included this brand on this site.............bonkers, eh?  This Christmas Ted Baker (no relation) have produced their usual 'shaky' installation.  It is great fun, does what it says on the tin and here it is.  Or, one would think so...............check out the convex mirror on the left hand side of the image below.

Hermes, London

We really quite like this scheme at Hermes right now for the Christmas season.  They haven't always produced great stuff at this store throughout 2011, well,  at least we think so, but does that matter?  Anyway, props produced in the brands signature colour fill these windows along Bond street.  Planes, trains and balloons create these small narratives within which the product has been placed.  What do you think?

London College of Fashion: Absence of Complexity

Were you at the digital catwalk show last night at The London College of Fashion?  Incredible night..!  Of  course, the London College of Fashion is one of the leading fashion education establishments in the world and the designs showcased were from a group of the latest and greatest talent who were showcasing their current innovative designs to a wider audience. The show, titled 'Absence of Complexity' showcased clean, minimal and unconventional pieces which illustrates the immense richness and wide range of students emerging from this hot house of the enormously talented.

Burberry, London

We really love what Burberry are doing right now and it seems they can do no wrong with their massive profit increase.  Gone (at least for now) are those dreadful motifs and here we have this incredible crystal-like scheme twinkling its was through until Christmas.  We were really drawn in to take a closer look at this store on the corner of Conduit and Bond Street as it does look really beautiful from across the street.  Even the fabulously photographed graphics seem to have been given second place which is quite a relief and here we have amazing product strategically placed amongst the crystal props.  These windows ooze the luxury and quality that this brand is about so it really is no wonder that they are doing so incredibly well when they get it so right.

Lane Crawford, Hong Kong

Images Courtesy and Copyright Angel Ko

In a hurry?  Then why not splash out on a new pair of gorgeous shoes with a rocket attached?  Simple solution but clearly rather effective, don't you think?  Here at Lane Crawford in Hong Kong, courtesy once again of the lovely Angel Ko, this brand, who we don't really know much about (but think Harvey Nichols for a comparison) are delighting us with their brilliantly fun scheme.  Shoes are notoriously difficult to show well and in an interesting way so this is a great leap forward in providing a creative solution.  In a scheme created with a large Black and White graphic and White painted models of space ships and aeroplanes, this must be a teenage boys fantasy - maybe without the shoes of course?  In a monochromatic scheme where the only colour is provided by the merchandise itself we are immediately drawn in to focus on it.  Great fun and job well done.   

Loewe, Madrid



Images Courtesy and Copyright Anhara Alvarez



Its not often that we have the chance to see whats happening around Europe (even if we are part of it) so thankfully our wonderful contact Anhara Alvarez captured the latest scheme at Loewe along Serrano Street in Madrid, Spain's incredible capital city to share with us all.  While we are familiar with this brand, we don't really see very much of it, however, we have seen some great schemes from them in the past.  Here, for this years Christmas scheme they have created this giant wooden toy train carrying the merchandise.  We would love to see more of what these guys do, so many thanks Anhara for sharing these.

Harvey Nichols, Hong Kong

Images Courtesy and Copyright Angel Ko

Wow, have you seen the latest Harvey Nichols scheme in Hong Kong?  Our ever fabulous contact Angel Ko has sent us the latest offering from this very cool brand which is clearly rocking Asia right now...!  A dress created from Red coloured pegs, giant shoes comprised of CD's, a giant key and enormous teddy bear covered in dummy's (pacifiers to those of you reading this state side).  Its no wonder this brand remains top of its game and a massive thank you to Angel for sending us these to share.

Matches Fashion, London

Images Courtesy and Copyright Nathan Hicks

Have you seen the scheme at Matches yet?  This incredible luxury retailer has been working in collaboration with Jotta production and have commissioned emerging artists to create unique installations in each of their London stores for Christmas 2011. Each window features a festive three dimensional illuminated artwork by artists Chloe Bonfield, Puck Collective, and POS Textiles, surrounded by a display of gifts decorated with bespoke wrapping paper designed especially for Matches.  This is an incredible move forward for retailers tapping into the resources of London/UK's finest and creative Artists which we support 100%.  After all, both Warhol and Dali began their careers in this industry and so much potential is lost if we're not behind the new, fresh and talented.  We love Matches philosophy, don't you?

Banana Republic, London

We wrote about this scheme a short while ago here at Banana Republic.  Unfortunately, we were rather hasty and on the ball....or bauble (!).......and wrote about it before it had been completed.  The guys here have worked incredibly hard, this scheme looks absolutely fun and we keep going back for more and more views.  From across the street (Regent Street) this scheme, in conjunction with other retailers looks absolutely superb.  Well done guys...........sorry we got there before you had finished, however it really is fantastic.

Desigual, London

Desigual have continually amused and entertained us throughout 2011 and possibly their final scheme for this year is no exception.  This scheme is quite ghostly in some respects with their glowing Santa head and so on.  The mannequins look very icy in this scheme and dressed in the merchandise from this brand which has a huge personality.  We can only wonder that, if these guys had a much bigger space to work with, what they could possibly do, although we are teasing ourselves to even think of this notion considering they have a relatively small space to work with at this store along Regent street.  In the meantime we read today that,  apparently the words 'thank you' have been replaced with the more commonly used 'cheers' here in the old U of K, so in the same as our fellow countrymen and women, Cheers Desigual for making our work ever more interesting and fun. 

Sebago, London

Were you are the Sebago launch last night?  If not, never mind, just pop by and take a look at Regent streets new addition to the high street.  The store was so rammed last night that it was difficult to get some decent shots to show you without loads of people in front of everything.  As you know, we don't do people in our images.  However, here are a few at least.  With their ocean liner interior space this is actually quite a beautiful store.  On the 'lower deck' gorgeous leather chairs and references to all things nautical.  As you can see, from the middle image, port holes illuminated from behind highlight the product.  This is quite a relatively small space by Regents street standards, although the guys here have really open this up and down stairs (or lower deck) you would have absolutely no idea where you were - pure escapism.  Upstairs, we love the old leather sofas and in particular the small props supporting the product.  Thanks guys for a great evening and hope the store is a great success.

Esprit, Hong Kong



Image Courtesy and Copyright Angel Ko

Our wonderful contact in Hong Kong, Angel Ko, continues to delight us with the very best of whats happening on the other side of the world (from us) right now.  Here at the incredible Esprit store, and no doubt a flag ship of the company, glows like a beacon to the masses on the high street.  How could anyone not be drawn to this?  The moving digital screens delight and entice us into the space, and so much so that we are dying to see what happens inside what Venturi called, in his book 'Learning from Las Vegas', the decorated shed.

Jack Wills, London

We haven't always been fans of this brand (and goodness knows one of their VM team reminded us last time we included this brand)  although, hands up, they seem to have grown into their skin.  Gone, it seems at least, is the American freshman / super senior 'look' and faux brand heritage (well we never really believed it all - with an office in sunny Salcombe in Devon, the cache was lost, so who would anyway?) and here we have the brand tapping into the latest of London's nostalgia, post-Royal wedding and pre-Jubilee 2012 trend with street party an' all.  We really do quite like where they are going with this but we guess its going to take just a little while longer until they really get this brand right.  We'll just keep watching from the sidelines anyway, but in the mean time we're just telling it like it is.