Max Mara, London

I have been looking forward to the new scheme at Max Mara here in London, particularly as I recently got a glimpse of this scheme during installation. Seeing the finished concept is absolutely delightful. Although I am not a huge fan of Gold and Gold leaf per se, I have warmed to it again recently and this scheme works superbly. I think I would have exprimented with a solid surface or an organic form using smaller pieces rather than this type of fragmented effect on a flat surface although the Gold leaf does add an interesting texture. Perhaps it just reminds me of home make over or home staging shows from the 1990's and those dreaded 'feature' walls, I'm not sure. Nevertheless, as usual this scheme absolutely oozes luxury with the use of the Marcel Breuer Wassily Chair and the Meis van der Rohe day bed covered in Gold leaf also. This scheme seems to have been produced so effortlessly. Of course, there is a huge amount of planning that goes in to these schemes, although to make it look so effortlessly elegant, as this does, is the genius part.

Zara, London (Regent Street)

After receiving so many requests for images of Zara windows from readers I made an extra effort this week to record at least another three of the stores for you while on my journey around the city, including Zara home which I will publish later this week. This is the Regent St. store here in London which obviously contains the basic components for this particular launch as in the use of the trees and repetition of the metal discs and covered plinth. What I am really enjoying about these stores is that they each have quite a different personality while keeping the essence of the brand. The styling as ever is beautifully produced in monochromatic shades of grey which works incredibly well with the Green Christmas trees with their caterpillar-like lighting. While the figures are similar to many of the other stores here in London, the wig styling differs quite significantly, in this case another version of the Lady Gaga, Poker face hair bow. If you happen to be at the lower end of Regent St. this week, do go and have a look.

Libertys, London

During my meanderings of the city streets this week I happened upon Liberty's on Regent st. here in London. I remember only just a few years ago the incredible schemes from this store when it had large windows filled to the brim with personality comparable to the mighty Selfridges, Harrods and Harvey Nichols. Sadly, these large spaces were removed in favour of a more open plan store which of course also removed the opportunity for the creative team to install large complex and detailed narratives. The team are now left with some small windows with which to exorcise their creativity, and which, of course they do incredibly well. I have been following the last few schemes recently, however, this one did bring a smile to my face on such a cold wintry evening. Large unshaven male figures in camp 'frocks' is the highlight of this scheme for me - brilliantly funny. A room set crammed full of objects reminiscent of my grandmothers at Christmas in the 1970's. Gobstoppers, Girls world, cakes......my only disappointment...no kerPlunk or buckaroo.

Foale and Tuffin Exhibition, Fashion and Textile Museum, London

While flaneur-ing the city this week in search of elusive and slightly 'unter' store's that become gems one occasionally finds in the tiniest of streets here in London, I came across the Fashion and Textile Museum. Of course, I now this well, although this was only my second visit. I had heard that there was a Foale and Tuffin Exhibition which is currently showing, and naturally this immediately drew me in. Now, I didn't actually know very much about these designers, however after some cursory research I immediately realised what a huge influence they had had in the 1960-70's. This is the 'unter' store that I had been searching for. Of course the original Foale and Tuffin store was on Malborough Court, just off the iconic Carnaby st. During this period, as with Habitat, stores needed to maximise space and wanted the customer to concentrate on the product and therefore the store structure consisted of scrubbed pine flooring and whitewashed walls together with their iconic signage as seen in the image above. I am sure there are the equivalents of Foale and Tuffin here today, sadly very often it seems that we often appreciate them and the contribution they make, far more, retrospectively - or is that just me? (A video of the Exhibition can be found on my YouTube Channel: Jhvefun)

Selfridges, London

This years Christmas scheme from Selfridges here in London is an homage to that great British institution Pantomime. Pantomime is not exclusive to the UK of course and apparently is Greek in origin. That aside, those of you who are not aware of what a Pantomime is, well, each narrative has a principal boy, usually played by a female, Pantomime Dames are usually played by males and each story (I think) has at least one pantomime horse. The experience is quite difficult to describe and the more I think of it the most absurd it sounds. There at least 17 different stories that I can think of such as Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Jack and the Beanstalk - you get the idea. My favourites, of course are the Australian or alternative versions, Little Red Riding Hoodlum and The Adventures of Goldilockpick. Still, whether you like Pantomime or not, do have a look at Selfridges. If this doesn't make you want to see one of the shows named here nothing will. Fantastic stuff. (Videos of some of the windows can be viewed on my YouTube channel: jhvefun)

Zara, London (Oxford Circus)

Zara seems to be one of the most popular brands amongst visitors to the blog. In fact I believe it is one of the top most searched brands on this site. Well, certainly some of the London stores do exude a huge amount of personality through their creativity and of course it is such a pleasure to see any one persons creativity being expressed and indeed, supported. The Zara store at Oxford Circus here in London (I am naming the site as there seem to be countless Zara stores here in town) represents absolute glamour. This really is the party season and the styling here is wonderfully produced, how could anyone not buy into this? Anyway, I'll leave you to peruse these images while I swing by the Bond St. branch.

Harvey Nichols, London

If there is just one store to visit on your journey in the next few weeks, it has to be Harvey Nichols. The creative team here have installed this absolutely incredible scheme which is a definate must to view in person. The level of detail and the overall impact is staggering. Ethereal creatures burst out of giant glittery baubles, my favourite is the giant chandelier about to crash through the glass. Mannequins with feathered wigs and uber cool make-ups are surrounded on the floor with Harvey Nik's products. Strings of beads, poinsettias, glitter balls and stars, possibly thousands of baubles fill this space. And the list goes on. Pure theatre and a perfectly saleable concept. You simply must see it.

Bershka, London

Bershka, here in London, has installed this interesting concept. The female mannequins look superb and the male figures look like men - real men. This makes a refreshing change from the usual camp figures we can view across the brands. Not that I mind feminine male figures in the slightest, and well, just as shoes for females come in every conceivable range, men are limited to the usual Black, Brown and Grey, and so it is with male figures. Either they look like neanderthals or they look like they would bitch about your make-up, there doesn't seem to a male figure that falls in between these two extremes. However, Bershka seem to have achieved a balanced look that works very well. My only criticism here is the use of the props. i.e. chandeliers and gold sprayed chairs, which while they work very well within this concept they have been used a lot and only recently chandeliers could be seen in Mango just around the corner, Joseph on Bond Street, even currently in Harvey Nichols etc, and FCUK have used a similar type of chair as have other brands recently and throughout the Summer. I feel time invested looking around to see what others are doing or have done when planning a scheme is time well spent.

Harrods, London

Swing by Harrods in Knightsbridge here in London and one can view this extraordinary installation based on the Wizard of Oz. Of course it is the 70th Anniversary of the making of the iconic film (2009 seems to be the year of Anniversaries) Anyway, the team have produced this fantastic spectacle which I have been dying to go and view while on my walks around the city. The usual yellow high energy burning lamps (or light bulbs in lay mans terms) that highlight this Emporium have been replaced with Green ones. This I feel works incredibly well and draws one in to take a closer look. The execution of the windows to which I am ultimately drawn is absolutely superb. The quality of the styling and attention to detail is second to none. Having seen the film many times and so many varied versions of the Wizard of Oz on stage, of course the munchkins are always replaced by children, or in this case child mannequins. I find child mannequins quite sinister, but that's just me. Of course the UK has become so painfully politically correct and Health and Safety bonkers that this is slowly suffocating and killing creativity so maybe there is no alternative. In the mean time, Dorothy does have the whiff of an inflatable latex female friend of some lonely suburban male and there are many 'friends' of hers making an appearance in the proceeding windows. By the nature of this theme I cant think of any way of avoiding this as it is so heavily loaded. Anyway, after months of hard work by the creative team I do feel that anyone who is anyone should go and see this amazing interpretation...........however...........

............. just when you were enjoying this amazing spectacle from the creative team - reading the windows from left to right and following the narrative - this is the final window below. Revenge fantasy of meddling marketing? I will leave you to make up your own mind.

(Videos of some of these windows can be found on my You Tube channel: Jhvefun)

Changing Window Schemes

One of the things we usually don't see as the viewing public are the people working late into the night to bring us the amazing visuals along the high street. These guys work incredibly hard, often all night, often several nights and days in a row until the final schemes are revealed. As we enter the Christmas season, possibly the most spectacular time of the year in industry, this also means an exhausting schedule for the people involved in implementing the schemes. While many retailers have already installed their schemes, there are a few retailers working steadily up to their launch. Here are just a few examples of some of the schemes either about to be launched or just beginning the process. Please remember to spare a thought for all of those people who are working incredibly hard to bring us the spectacle that we perhaps sometimes take for granted.

Something in gold leaf at Max Mara.................................

Ralph Lauren windows - were the chandeliers sat on Bond St. going in or coming out?

Preparation for the launch of Jimmy Choo at H&M

Hermes new scheme in progress

Apologies to the guy in the window at Louis Vuitton....!

Student Visit to Proportion London

As part of my students course I often arrange site visits through my contacts in various companies. I feel that these introductions into the industry are a crucial part of their Education and feedback from students is always so positive. Here you are able to view images taken by one of my students on a visit to the Proportion London showroom in the Farringdon area of London. While I visit this and many other companies quite often myself I do find that what I see tends to blur and meld over time. After all we are bombarded with so much visual information every day. Therefore, what I do find so interesting is being able to see through the eyes of my students what exactly they see for their first time and also what interests them. This is a useful exercise for us as tutors to do, as it does enable us as to tap into what interests students and try at least to pitch our lectures to our audience at the appropriate level. During the visit students had the opportunity hear a presentation from Tanya Reynolds who is the Creative Director at Proportion London and ask all of those burning questions such as the process they go through from initial inspiration to the launch of a new collection and to talk to Tanya about her journey from the beginning of her career to where she is now. While flaneur-ing the city it is very difficult to find a store that does not use a piece from Proportion London. Testament, I believe, that what they do, they do so incredibly well, and the real pleasure for me lies in the fact that not only are they so wonderfully creative they are all so genuinely nice about it too.

Student Work

Following on from yesterday's blog. These are additional examples of our students thoughts as they continue their journey through University.

Student: AM

There are a lot of upside downs and going's on, good and bad, in my life at the moment that's why I chose the images with the tangled wire. I believe these unbalances are ones that cant be subtracted from one's life either now or later because it will make things too perfect. I consider myself rather organized and set, I have no permanent home as I am spread across and between two very different country's. I want things calm in both my 'now' and my 'later' with a tranquil home, easy life style and preferably in a job that handles mannequins and hours behind a window creating something new for people to admire and remember. Generally I just want to be 'head over heals' with the 'later' me.

Student: AN

Where I am at the present time: I am currently working on a zero hour contract as a Visual Merchandiser at Debenhams department store. I am studying Display Design at the London College of Communcation and I am currently feeling very stressed with home and an emotional personal life. I have no money as student which adds to this stress.

Where I want to be: I am hoping to eventually find a senior position in Visual Merchandising for a big department store like Selfridges here in London. I want to be happy whatever I do and I want to afford the things I want, be comfortable, have money and want to be happily married with a family of my own.

Student work

As my students begin the final year of their course I tasked them one afternoon to reflect on how far they had come, what they had achieved and where their aspirations lay. I was quite surprised with their genuine thoughtfulness and candid reflection. As the group are very visual it was clearly appropriate to request that they communicate their thoughts and emotions through a mood board. In addition to this they were asked to articulate these thoughts in order to communicate to a much wider audience. Here are just two examples from the group which they have allowed me to share with you (although I have deliberately only published their initials). These thoughts, I feel are representative of the life of a contemporary student, which is often so difficult and challenging here in the UK in the noughties.

Student: KK

Right now, I live in London studying Display Design at the London College of Communication. Whilst studying I am able to gain a lot of experience within the industry, by taking up various work placements. In the past I have worked at Selfridges, Habitat and Marks and Spencer’s. Recently I have helped in implementing the Harrods Christmas display, which celebrates 70 years of the making of the film, The Wizard of Oz. This has helped enormously in giving me an insight into this world of work and also to help set my goals. In the future I aim to get a job in the Display Design industry, perhaps working for Selfridges or Harvey Nichols and then work as a freelance designer.

Student: ST

Where I am:

This is about what I am doing now and where my mind is. I am a student living with my parents and earn money from home doing babysitting, celebration cakes and styling friends and family member's hair, whether it be braids or just a trim. I am in conflict with myself as I have depression which is depicted in the centre image and so I lack motivation, feel tired and at times am unsure of myself. I have dyslexia which does not bother me as I am in the same group of those who are successful, creative and have some of the greatest minds in world history such as Einstein and Bill Gates. I chose a black background as I am in a dark place because of my depression.

Where I want to be:

This one was a challenge for me as I am unsure of myself at this present time. I can only say I would like my own house to be married with a family and a job I enjoy doing. I will, of course remain dyslexic, but most of all I want to be happy, full of life, self confidence and energetic.