Dior, Dubai Mall, Dubai

Within the Dubai Mall with its Fashion Avenue, Fashion Parking and so on is the Fashion Drum. This is a remarkable area which as with the mall itself has to be seen to be believed. Who knew that Armani had a Cafe? Well apparently he or 'they' do within this 'Drum' - a vast circular space filled with all of the top brands (there is also an Armani Cafe in the Mall of the Emirates which is rather cooler however). Anyway, this must be the best Dior store I have ever seen. As this is within the 'controlled environment' of a Mall here in Dubai, the lighting can be altered to make this site look superb. And it does. The use of vinyl on glass and superbly placed lighting, how could anyone not shop here or at least be drawn in to take a look. Thank you Dior for giving us such a treat - can we see this happening with some of your other stores too?

Dubai Mall, Dubai (Aquarium)

The Mall of Dubai is one of the most incredible shopping experiences here in Dubai that any visitor must see. It really is a monolithic structure that one can only believe exists by experiencing it. Interestingly, by comparison to the various malls around Dubai, for its size it is extremely busy. People shop in a very different way here and it is not unusual to see store after store and mall after mall completely void of any one else (apart from the sales staff) It is how I would imagine superstars wanting some privacy would shop. Ya'know after hours. But this isn't. I'll mention more about that in later entries. Anyway, the giant aquarium here and various other water features in the Dubai Mall are some of the central pieces that draw in the crowds. For a fee one can travel through the 'glass' tunnel running through the centre of the aquarium or actually get inside this structure and swim (inside a cage) with the sharks and bizarre aquatic creatures. (I am tempted). Apparently not long after opening there was a fracture in the 'glass' (I say 'glass' as I believe it is actually a type of perspex) leading to a huge flood and the evacuation of the wildlife. Scary stuff when you see the size of this thing. I have included a picture of people below, which is quite unusual for me, but just to give you an indication of the size of this monster. With all the of Malls in Dubai vying for your Dirhams, this certainly seems to be the winner to date.

Dubai Mall, Dubai

Standing in the shadow of the Burj Khalifa (above) is the incredible Dubai Mall. The Dubai Mall - the worlds largest Mall although dwarfed in height by this amazing building makes up for it in land mass. A few years ago on a visit to Emaar, the company responsible for building most of Dubai, they estimated that if one visited each store for just three minutes it could take at least a couple of weeks to see them all - this should give you an indication of how big this place is. Everything is on a massive, almost unhuman scale with store after store of fashion, home, food, this list goes on. Everything and anyone who is anyone is here. In the next few days I will be posting some of my images of the components that make this place up. In the meantime you can get a sneaky preview of the Fountains at the back of the Mall which light up and performing their mesmerizing display on my YouTube site:Jhvefun.

Nicole Farhi, London

One of the Brands here in London that I am excited about at the moment is Nicole Farhi. I have been tracking this brand for quite some time and as I mentioned in a previous entry the use of 'local' artists and designers in the development of schemes with creative teams is a refreshing and interesting sign perhaps of things to come this year. We have seen it here at Nicole Farhi and at Topshop recently. Anyway, the ever talented Jamie Shouli has just implemented the latest scheme for this brand. A series of strong, dynamic abstract / Architectural geometric planes create voluminous spaces in which the figures and product are semi-contained. The warm vibrant and in some places, sorbet tones give at least to me the feeling of looking over roof tops at sunset. Simple and elegant, this schemes works well with the fantastic product that this company produces.

Alexander McQueen, London

Images: Copyright and used with kind Permission of Proportion>London

If you happen to be along Bond St. this week, the creative team have installed this incredibly exciting installation here at Alexander McQueen. I was wowed when I received these images and I am drooling just looking at them. I loved the Lady Gaga video (Bad Romance) when she wears McQueen designed shoes that are also included in these windows below. The Mannequin used here clad with the wonderful Python snake pattern has been produced by my dear friends at Proportion>London under the creative direction of Tanya Reynolds. I am fascinated by these collaborations we are begininng to see more and more of this year and I can only wonder what either company will do next. Of course, Proportion>London produce all sorts of incredibly designed pieces, although as always the only limitation is our own imagination. If you don't know them.....click the link here http://www.proportionlondon.com/

Images: Copyright Proportion>London

Wrangler, London

Wrangler are a brand which I don't normally include in this blog, not because I don't like the brand, but because so many of these brands look so similar and produce the same kind of 'stuff' that when there is so little differentiation between them its hard to find something interesting that captures my attention apart from the campaigns. Anyway, the 'We are Animals' campaign is quite interesting in that it captures what Wrangler calls 'Primal Urges'. Men and Women captured in the heat of the moment and bathed in Red water, dust and light. I do like this campaign although I do feel that I have seen this kind of thing before (well hey, I lived through the 80's) and it does have that ID magazine 1986 feel to it for me. Still, it must be hard to be original when selling jeans and they clearly have spent a lot of money on it and the photographs are beautifully produced. I guess if you never read ID magazine in the 80's then it is cutting edge - maybe?

Levis London

Having waited ages for this stores renovation to be complete, it finally opened recently. And how exciting too. Levi's have produced a store that any brand would be proud of and I cant wait to have a proper look around inside. The selling space doesn't even begin until several metres into the space. The shopper passes through a gallery 'like' space that would'nt look out of place as a New york loft apartment before walking through enormous doors to the retail space itself. This is an incredibly brave move by this company which seems to have created an experience with the sales angle deliberately played down. We have seen the likes of this strategy with companies such as Nike, and this does confirm the strength of this brand. I had felt that 'they' had lost their way a little recently, but clearly not. This is a massive leap forward and I for one will certainly be checking them out.

Gant, London

Since the Gant store here along Regent St. in London opened at the beginning of the year, I have been watching from a distance to see what they would come up with and, OK, well the usual mass produced stuff one would expect of a brand this size have been installed although this is the first one that I have actually recorded as it did catch my attention. While not particularly revolutionary, (we've all seen this moped before in a dozen other schemes), it is an interesting narrative and of course the dressing is what one would expect. I thought perhaps the bougainvillea could have been a little bigger and pinker (as they do grow that way) and really make a statement. The colours used are appropriate to the season being promoted although overall, it is rather safe? What do you think?

Banana Republic, London

It was a pleasant surprise to see these windows at Banana Republic on Regent St. here in London this week. Huge origami 'esque' boats and flowers are the main focus of this scheme. Of course, Chanel did something similar last Summer, still, it is refreshing to see this brand be a little more experimental and such a large scale. I am also relieved that they cleared the previous scheme in Beige with the obligatory bicycle. Perhaps although window designs with huge multiple brands like these are crawling painfully forward, they are at least moving. So thank you B.R.

Anthropologie, London

As my regular readers will know this is one of my favourite brands visually. The teams for these stores do produced the most exciting schemes. As we have seen with Liberty, Desiguel and a few other brands, the notion of handmade is a current trend and this brand is certainly the leader in this field. I was particularly interested in their use of felt which I have'nt seen in a very long time. The use of shredded material of course, has been seen across several brands over the years, although felt is a new and additional resource to use in this context. Artists such as Patricia Spark, Sue Clay and Mary-Clare Buckle have been producing this stuff for years. However, I do hope that these kinds of 'lost' crafts do become popular again as they are actually hugely fascinating and I am thankful to Anthro. for leading the way here.

Aquascutum, London

I don't think I have ever included this brand on the site before. This is possibly due to its location rather than because they don't do interesting schemes. While I walk around the city this store is just a little further to make the effort to see, however, the quality is always so perfect. Aquascutum, of course, traditionally known for its Waxy Barbour's, which we saw a lot of in the 1980's. I also once had an interview here, many years ago and didn't get the job. I was asked "if I actually owned a suit" as I sat there in my ill fitted charity shop suit jacket and faded Black trousers. Of course being so poor I had never even owned a suit but was hoping that the badly paid salary would at least afford me one. Anyway, the humiliating experience hasn't tainted my view of the Brand (even though it took me a few years to get over it). The creative team here have used the repetition of Bird forms and Butterflies as the backdrop to this scheme, together with a Bamboo structure outlining the Union Jack and Elephant silhouettes on Bamboo stilts. I am not sure I understand the scheme but it does work very well.

Topman, London

Topman here in Oxford Circus, has really established its personality. I always found that Topshop led the way with product presentation, although I know from my experience of working with these Brands, and indeed at this particular store, whatever Senior Management decide, goes and it really held the creative teams back from exploring exciting ways of presenting the image - after all, weren't Topman suits meant to be worn for your first court appearance? It is, however, very refreshing and extremely exciting to see the incredible schemes from these brands which really have the edge over most of the multiples on the high street here. No wonder this store is so popular and usually mobbed on a daily basis. The use of neon and lighting is superb and I look forward to the next installation.

Topshop, London

If you happened to be at Topshop this week you couldn't help but notice the painting in the window by the Japanese artist Houxo Que. Que's work is usually produced using quite colourful paints produced within darkened spaces and flourescent lighting. This is an interesting direction for Topshop and I am pleased that they are tapping into collaborations with Artists, very much like Nicole Farhi did at the beginning of the year. This is definitely a wonderful trend which I hope continues, not only to breathe fresh air into the industry but also support Artists and Designers wherever they are around the world. It also makes a change from using Artists such as Warhol which of course has usually been the staple Artist that nearly everyone uses.