Gucci, London

We haven't looked at Gucci for absolutely ages, possibly because their Bond street store always has its security grille down so its not very easy to capture their windows often. However, their Knightsbridge store doesn't appear to be as precious so we were able to capture their Christmas scheme in all is blinging glory to share with you. 

Selfridges, London

Like a beacon of retail hope, Selfridges is beaming onto Oxford Street right now and looking, as ever, incredible.  We always adore what these guys do and of course always look forward to their Christmas schemes.  This year, we have seen the fantastic tongue in cheek humour from this brand which harks back to when store windows were just that;  Clever, fun and beautifully produced, yet selling the products.  Selfridges always gets it so fricking right, it hurts and hurts wonderfully.

De Beers, London

De Beers never really do anything interesting but thankfully there are exceptions and clearly stranger things have happened.  We captured this at night time so there's no jewellery to be seen here but we did think that this absolutely summed up that frosty feeling that we are experiencing in London right now.  These beautifully scratched windows revealing what we thought initially from a distance was an advent calender actually reveals these videos of candles burning.  A wonderful scheme and it would be great to come back and see more creativity here.  Well, we're hoping at least.

Mathew Williamson, London

We adore the colours here at Mathew Williamson, aren't they stunning?  Unfortunately the scheme itself is not very strong and we can see that the usual mannequins have been dusted off and represented as if they've all argued with each other.  Of course, the mannequins are the highest quality, as is the product but sadly nothing ever seems to happen in tandem.  There is such enormous mileage in this scheme but it just doesn't work as one.  What a missed opportunity.

Fortnum and Mason, London

Christmas really wouldn't be Christmas without a visit to Fortnum and Mason, would it?  These guys absolutely get it all so right every time.  Following on from their amazing Jubilee scheme (which now seems so far away) we have their latest offering which simply oozes the quality one would expect from such a wonderfully historical brand that knows how to handle such difficult product.  There really is no where like this brand and the skill of the team here is second to none.  Another fantastic year guys. 

Fred Perry, London

We often forget brands such as Fred Perry who seem to work away doing their thing and perpetually feeding their loyal clientele.  Tucked away somewhere behind Carnaby street in the centre of it all is one of their central stores.  These windows are really very difficult to produce for, for the 21st century demands, although these guys always do exceptionally well, don't you think?  With their repetition of these out sized toy soldiers in a White finish just about sums up the season.  Simple, fun and does everything it is supposed to do.  Perfect for this brand and job well done.

Fenwicks, London

Well, would you look at Fenwicks.  Who would have thought that this brand would be looking so amazing?  For so long, this store has sat quietly along Bond street in the centre of it all and did nothing very remarkable, and look at them now...!  Each scheme just gets better and better.  The team here obviously have a unique vision and dragging this monolith bang up to date with every scheme.  We may now actually have a little wander inside and take a closer look.  It has been years and years since we have done so, but their schemes are looking so cool that we are now compelled to take a closer look.

Bottega Veneta, London

How much fun are these little pups?  At Bottega Veneta along Bond Street, we managed to peep through the security grille and capture these fantastic little props.  They appear to be made of Sugar (although we are guessing) and are placed in amongst the product.  We didn't actually look at the product as these looked so much fun and although tiny by comparison look absolutely brilliant.  This seems to be the first time that we have included this brand but if they sort out their security grille issues we can include them more often.

Harvey Nichols, London

If you haven't seen Harvey Nichols' Christmas scheme then, strap yourself in, baton down the hatches, this is one hell of a presentation.  Absolutely amazing.  Its freezing cold here in London (Yeah, OK, no sympathy there then) but the scheme here, with references to old style Shanghai and how we all hoped it would be, but isn't although it is how we would wish it to be and that's OK?  Afterall this is fantasy.  We adore this scheme which epitomises everything that Visual Merchandising should be and really does put the Art and Design back into windows.  Just superb.  There is hope after all.

Oliver Sweeney, London

Oh you know the score.  We want to Love it, but.......blah, blah, blah.  Its the usual Christmas scheme we've seen before.  We loved the out sized snowballs at Nicole Farhi a few years ago, so this scheme is not really kicking it for  us.  The gifts are wrapped very badly too.  OK, well this is how we would wrap our gifts at Christmas time, but then we don't really want reality in Christmas schemes, do we?  No.  We want a bit of fantasy, aspiration and inspiration.  This Christmas wonderland is sadly not wonderful and just too chaotic.

Max Mara, London

We cant help but love Max Mara at the moment.  The schemes are not particularly exciting very often, but the colours (or lack of) are always organised so incredibly beautifully.  It would be quite nice to input a bit of personality into these windows however, although of course the product is 'king' but even just a little nod in the direction of the current season would have made everything just a little more interesting, don't you think?

Dolce and Gabbana, London

We do feel that we have been on a bit of a rant mode this week (again) but really, do we as customers have so suffer mediocrity and banality for much longer from luxury brands who, of course want our cash?  We feel that the answer is a probable no.  Here at D&G we do love the bird cages with shoes contained within them, and while it genuinely does look great.......we have seen it all before countless times.....Louis Vuitton and even Oasis did this previously.  Therefore, this 'theme' has already done the rounds and we do expect a lot more from a brand that charges such huge amounts for their merchandise and yet is supposedly at the forefront of design.  We just have to exhale a weary sigh once again and hope that they move on and put someone creative in control.

Asprey, London

The quality of schemes at Asprey (we no longer say.....and Garrard.....apparently they've split but we don't talk about that bit) is its usual fantastic quality and we absolutely adore these British brands with such a massive history; one cant buy that, only buy into it and the tourists love it.  Anyway, the scheme here looks great but the videos do rather jar with the static scheme.  Maybe we are being a little picky or perhaps niggly, but it just doesn't turn us on.  It looks great.....we really, really want to love it (as it is brilliant quality) but we just feel that it ticks a box and job done.  Disappointed really......Merry Christmas then.....sigh.  Why dont you guys project a bit of fun?  Entertain us, not just tick a box?