Hamleys, London

Hamleys has probably one of the most spectacular Jubilee schemes we've seen happening right now; and very impressive it is too.  The image above is made of, we would guess, thousands of pieces of Lego; bonkers, eh?  Do go and have a look at this little gem as it really is amazing.  We would love to know how many people worked on this and how long it took?  Also, how on earth did they get it in this window?  Incredible stuff.  Hamleys are going for it this year with this giant image of Her Maj' against the Union flag backdrop, rotating crowns and and this rather impressive graphic image of the Palace, making us proud to be British.  We can only wonder what these guys will do for the Olympics?  What an incredible year for London and the UK.

Jubilee Schemes, 2012

Well, it looks like London is notching up a few gears with the pending Jubilee and its related window schemes right now.  We're going to show you what we've spotted this week around town so far plus of course a few extra bits.  There are some incredible Diamond Jubilee schemes happening, and of course a few schemes which are a little more 'Diamond Geezer' than Diamond Jubilee.  Thankfully, these events are not only a time for reflection on where we are right now but also a welcome relief from the global corporate schemes we see everywhere else which plague us.  So......goodness knows what the rest of you around the world are doing right now visually?  Its all crown jewels, Union flags, congratulations messages and pictures of Her Maj' happening here.

Lanvin, London

The windows at Lanvin are always so difficult to capture well so we can never really do them justice.  However,  while we are not massive fans of their schemes, this one actually is probably one of their better ones.  Mannequins stood on giant wind-up gramophones in front of large mirrors doesn't shout very  loudly to us or actually make any sense.  Maybe they are so abstract that they are beyond our comprehension?  Well, no, not really, they just don't mean anything, although interesting on some level we guess?

Daks, London

We're not sure how we feel about the latest offering from Daks right now.  We want to love what they do here, but we're not actually sure if we even like it?  This is a difficult one to describe, apart from racquets and balls on a kind of Abacus-like structure.  Maybe the next one will have something a little more interesting or maybe they're saving for a Jubilee extravaganza.....fingers crossed then.

Etro, London

Etro have been producing some fairly interesting schemes recently.  Interesting in as much as they have been producing schemes reminiscent of tableaux very much along the lines of traditional Wax Museums, i.e. telling a story.  Here we have a kind of drawing room scheme complete with 'traditional' paintings and obligatory mirror above the fireplace.  However,  the difference here to tableaux is that the viewer would catch themselves within the scheme via the mirror and therefore become part of this impossible scene.  Unfortunately the angle of the mirror doesn't allow this here and therefore an opportunity is lost.  Still, these guys produce quality schemes (although we don't like the mannequins that they use)

Max Mara, London

Max Mara always produce great quality schemes and of course all of the product dynamics are in place.  While of course the product is key, isnt this a dull scheme?  OK well we accept that the scheme shouldnt be competing with the product, but something a little more interesting would have been appreciated.....what do you think?

Moschino, London

Moschino do seem to like their out-sized props, dont you think?  This is quite a fun scheme with their larger than life fabric boots and shoes placed in amongst these humongous bags suggesting a possible fun girlie evening just about to be had (albeit possibly by drag Queens?)  Anyway, poking aside, this looks great although doesnt the sofa have a little whiff of Ikea about it?

Hermes, London

We are very excited about the new Leather Forever exhibition at 6 Burlington Gardens (think back of Royal Academy or the former Museum of Mankind) which launches today until the 27th May.  Apparently we will be able to see some examples of how their stunning merchandise is created and discover the contributions of several generations to this incredible fashion house.  If you are feeling in a spending mood, why not pick up one of the four unique bags produced to celebrate the exhibition?  We'll see you in the queue. 

Matches Fashion, London

Images Courtesy and Copyright Nathan Hicks @ Matches Fashion

We're regular visitors to Matches Fashion's website and can regularly be found licking our screens and wishing for their products.  Is that to much information?  This is probably one of the finest boutiques in town and we love it.  We're also huge fans of their window schemes too; we loved their recent neon scheme with the incredible references to Vegas and post modernism.  Anyway, their latest offering is of course bringing us into Summer (even though we are still waiting for it to happen here in London).  Anyway, Matches' scheme 'draws inspiration from this seasons floral trend and features designers such as Erdem, Vionnet, Dolce and Gabbana and Emilia Wickstead'.  Another winner from this phenomenal brand we think.

Hackett, London

This is such an interesting move by Hackett right now.  Normally we see a 'bus stop line' of bust forms showing their wares, however this week we've spotted their new scheme of suspended bird cages in gorgeous colours and 'caged' products.  OK, well we could say that we have seen it all before, however what is particularly interesting is to see this at a menswear brand.  These guys are injecting so much interest and creativity that would can only say how fantastic it is to have some entertainment back on the high street.  We now need to work on injecting some clever humour sadly lacking everywhere else and with both the Olympics and the Jubilee pending lets hope we have a few 'winners' out there to keep us all smiling through the agony.

Miss. Sixty, Paris

We love these gorgeous windows at Miss. Sixty in Paris right now.  Beautifully illustrations fill the background creating this stunning Summer scheme.  Another little winner from this brand, we think and many thanks to the anonymous source for sharing these with us.

T.M.Lewin, London

Wow, we love how creative the guys at T.M Lewin look right now....what do you think?

La Rosa Exhibition, Italy

Images Courtesy and Copyright La Rosa

We are so excited to share with you that the incredibly avant garde mannequin company, La Rosa has an exhibition which has just recently launched.  The 'anthological exhibition ManneQUEEN, since 1922 [is] showcasing the history of La Rosa, Milan'.  This incredibly exciting exhibition not only looks at how the human form has changed over the last century but also the impact that it has had on society including the influences of surrealism, realism etc.  This is certainly one of the most important exhibitions of our industry so far in this 21st Century and has been organised by La Rosa in conjunction with Fundacion Cristobal Balenciaga in Milan; curated by Gigi Rigamonti.  We are keeping our fingers crossed that it will tour and hopefully the company  have plans to show in London and New York.  The exhibition runs until 15th July 2012 at the Cristobal Balenciaga Museoa, Aldamar Parkea, 6 Getaria.  You must go and see this even if it is the only thing you do this year.