Hermes, London

Swinging by Bond st. here in London this week I came across the new scheme from Hermes. This is quite a difficult scheme to describe as a static image, however, to watch this scheme is incredibly mesmerising. Pieces of merchandise appear and disappear from behind an obscured, (possibly) perspex screen contained within illuminated boxes. One has to flick between the two images here to appreciate what I mean, however I have put a video of this on my YouTube channel: Jhvefun for you to fully understand what I mean. Of course, while this works incredibly well I did feel that I had seen this before? On further investigation through my archives I found that Valentino had already used somwthing very similar for a scheme in their store along Sloane st. just a few months ago in August this year. The spectacle here certainly has the tourists captivated but while I do think the execution is superb I am cynical when I see the same thing twice in two different brands. This is, I suppose the equivalent of turning up at a party wearing the same dress as someone else. Whether this is by default or by design I do feel, as I say quite often, that time spent looking at what every one else is doing is very much time well spent.

Zara, London (Bond St.)

Having had so many requests from readers recently regarding Zara windows I decided that I had teased you enough as you are dying to see these latest ones from the store next to Bond st. tube station here in London. The previous images that I have published from this site had the Black barbie doll head dress and the mannequins with huge quiffs and Lady Gaga style glasses. This one is equally fun with figures wearing animal masks and emerging from silver glitter curtains, neon painted fair ground horses and Roman columns. Well it is the party season and I certainly would go to a party with this crew. These windows put the fun back into window display and for such a strong brand with a clear identity it is refreshing to see these kinds of schemes emerging. After all, the most uber cool and fashionable brands are doing this which makes for a far more interesting journey. When there are so many of these stores in town and so close together to it can be quite depressing. However, this really is a treat.

Anthropologie, London

I have been itching to go and have a look at the new Anthropologie store in London along Regent street. I managed to photograph the windows a few weeks ago, but as I walk the city normally late into the night (this helps me keep a clear view of places and spaces without the hustle and bustle of shoppers, tourists and other traffic) I rarely have the opportunity to drop by when places are actually open. Anyway, I certainly wasn't disappointed. For me this has a feeling of those wonderful stores one can find around places such as Greenwich village in New York or even similar to ABC along Broadway where I spend hours just looking stunned by the outrageous price tags, although not as crammed to the rafters. This is now my new home, well at least for the environment. Sadly their mission statement is to make women feel beautiful, inspired and connected so I do feel a little cheated (as a male). Where is the male version of this store? Maybe I want to feel beautiful, inspired and connected? Ok maybe not. Still, I guess I can always just go and look at the home wares - men do buy these too.

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....!