Le Bon Marche, Paris

Who could deny that at 94 Iris Apfel is quite the inspiration.  Former business woman and Interior designer and now Fashion icon it really is quite staggering how she keeps going.  At Le Bon Marche, which incidentally is looking as inspiring as Barneys NYC once was with its Ai Weiwei and Iris Apfel installations in store and of course its fantastic windows with its neon trimmed illustrated cutouts capturing some of the scenes from Apfel's current life. We would like to think that this installation was in honour of this amazing woman although judging by how busy this place is, its clearly bringing in the crowds and so commercially a great success too.

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Nicopanda, Paris

We had never heard of Nicopanda before we came across this pop-up space.  Is that a terrible thing to admit or did you know about them?  Having undertaken a cursory glance at their incredibly exciting website which really is a feast for the eyes and appears like a two-dimensional version of ID Magazine, i.e so cool it hurts.  The styling is amazing, the images are stunning, the catwalk shows are gripping although when it comes to showing there merchandise online it all appears to fall so flat.  Check them out and take a look?

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Le Marquis de Laduree, Paris

There seems so little point in competing with Paris when it comes to the presentation of food as they do it so incredibly well and with such elegance.  Even when they are faced with presenting such small items as Chocolates or French Macarones in multiple flavours they simply win hands down.  At Le Marquis de Laduree we found ourselves drooling not only over the products but the delicious scheme here also.  Who else would have created such a theatrical space with the use of, well a theatre other than the amazing Le Marquis De Laduree.

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Moncler, Paris

We have saved the best scheme of the week until last as this one stopped us in our tracks.  Moncler always produce such incredible props for their schemes although we have never met or known who does these for them.  At their flagship store along Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré their latest scheme is a kind of Gullivers travels-style installation, the mannequins (naturally wearing the trademark quilted jacket) appear as, we guess the Lullipitians.  An amazing installation and great to see some traditional 'old school' stuff happening. 

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Paula Ka, Paris

It seems that everyone is big on colour at the moment here in Paris and while this is not a brand at the top of our favourites to see they are making quite an huge impact visually.  Paula Ka is a French ready-to-wear brand which apparently began trading in 1987 although the roots of the brand appear to be a lot earlier.  We are guessing that their HQ are above or close by to this store along the Rue St. Honore so no doubt everything is tested here before it rolls out across the brand worldwide.  Referencing the elegance of the 50's and 60's the product is worn by many of the worlds fashion personalities. In a cold Paris right now the impact of this multi-coloured scheme is quite incredible, although it does give us the feeling that we are looking into a very large dolls house.

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Galeries Lafayette, Paris

We're having a ball this week with so much inspiration around us and here at Galeries Lafayette is no exception.  There must be an army of people here (surely?) who work on their windows as there are so many of them.  We are also guessing that this installation is referencing the Memphis trend which we have seen for some time now although as the sizes of these spaces is so incredible they have really committed themselves to making a big statement.

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Cofrad, Paris

Image Courtesy and Copyright Cofrad

We've been to visit our old friends at Cofrad Mannequins this week to view their amazing new Duo collection, Elle & Drive.  The figures here present a story of an encounter: Two collections of window display mannequins, a man, a woman, a couple.  Drive is a laid-back, cool, trendy and effortlessly chic male while Elle represents the discreet, resourceful, dynamic female who always remains elegant.  Do check out their website for more information on these figures through the banner link below.  Cofrad's showroom space is also staggering with hints of its former life incorporated into the architecture so its always well worth a visit in person if you can too.  

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Le Bon Marche, Paris

If you haven't seen the Ai Weiwei installation at Le Bon Marche then here is a snapshot for you, but well worth a visit in person if you can.  This installation called The Song of  White is comprised of twenty-two imaginary creatures to create an amazing Chimera (hybrid creatures with parts of more than one animal).  The installation represents Ai Weiwei's interpretation of the fantastical beings and spirits found in Shanghai Jing, a Chinese mythological text which dates back over 2000 years.  An incredible experience to see these.

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Pringle Of Scotland, London

Images Courtesy and Copyright Making Noise Quietly

With a heritage stretching back to 1815, this phenomenal global brand has been providing us with (initially hosiery and underwear) superb quality knitwear products, its most famous of course must be their twin sets and Argyle.  More recently associated with famous golf players the brand appear to have raised the stakes enormously, and then some.  Just look at them now.  Their latest scheme was designed by Making Noise Quietly and inspired by the Pringle of Scotland SS16 collection.  Following the detail used to create the merchandise the team have produced a large scale structure which has encapsulated the product in order to generate this incredible sculptural installation emulating the technical processes inherent in the production of the brands merchandise.

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Brooks Brothers, Hong Kong

Images Courtesy and Copyright Booma Group

For their first global window project launch Booma Group were commissioned to design and develop the CNY 2016 window for selected stores between New York, Hong Kong and Tokyo.  The window installation is represented by the Brooks Brothers logo (a sheep) which has been redesigned to create an origami style structure and communicate the Chinese New Year theme with the three wise monkeys (as this is the year of the Monkey of Fire) painted in a glossy Red finish.  For their flagship store in Hong Kong, Booma designed the word "Monkey" with handmade Sheep in a Gold leaf finish to create the word in Chinese.  You can also view the making process through the video link here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-J5HnCU7Y0&list=LLGE02oYOyXKWhGGEbo6YOPQ&index=1

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Myer, Melbourne, Australia

Images Courtesy and Copyright Myers Department stores

If you are not familiar with this brand then you may be surprised to know that this chain of fantastic department stores is not only the biggest in the country but also has a heritage we are sure would be envied by any northern hemisphere brand dating back to 1899.  For their new seasons launch, the windows and in-store creative team have recently installed their new seasons 'no regrets' campaign which has a big focus on some of the new amazing brands at the store.  The team have created an 'army' of mannequins to showcase their product in the windows using different ‘no regrets’ props.  Fantastic to see such creativity from our Visual Merchandising colleagues 'down under' with such a wonderful Western aesthetic too.

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Lancel, Paris

Images Courtesy and Copyright Lancel

Rolling out across stores in France and worldwide, the new season unveils a new canvas inspired by the LANCEL archives: the Iconic collection.  Here, the revolving L reinterprets the Maison's Art Deco motif, which was first revealed on the engraved metal lighters of the 1930's.  Extruded, extended and scaled 1000%, the bold graphic has been translated into a three dimensional form to create a striking and dynamic backdrop to the product. With a mix of colours to reflect those of the season, each element has been constructed from a different material and aligned carefully to form the pattern.  The extended shapes also reach across the front of plinths displaying the new bag, bringing the pattern to the foreground.  The installation here has been designed by StudioXAG.

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Karen Millen, London

Images Courtesy and Copyright Melvyn Vincent

Studio XAG have worked closely with the creative team at Karen Millen to design, produce and install the latest windows at their flagship stores here in London.  Three Dimensional sculptures extend out from the exaggerated perspectives seen in the seasonal campaign imagery, creating raked floor platforms upon which mannequins are displayed alongside props borrowed from the look book scenes.  Here also is a play between textures enhanced with the concrete print continuing from the imagery on to a transparent material, and each window is framed by an asymmetrical colour pop outline.

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