Levis, London

This brand have really grown on us recently as they seem to be doing such exciting stuff.  With the recent launch of their Waterless jeans and their incredible current installation at their Regent st. store this brand seem to keep reinventing itself in so many extraordinary ways.  Their Carnaby st. site is simple by comparison to their flagship store around the corner, although with their stacked crates they are right on trend and clearly a confident brand as signified by the minimal use of merchandise included in their schemes.

Louis Vuitton, London

On Monday 6th June we will be launching the latest and incredibly fun scheme from Maison Louis Vuitton, London.  Watch this space........but in the meantime here's a little taster for you.

Alexander McQueen, London

The guys at McQueen can just do no wrong.  Every scheme that this brand produces just oooooooozes everything that you would expect from a luxury brand and yet everything one would hope for from everyone else.  Of course, if everyone else produced the quality that this brand always delivers, perhaps it wouldn't be that special, hence the need for differentiation.  Of course we're not asking that Primark present merchandise on artefact's from ancient Rome or that New Look delivers the stuff that they do, using antiques from Versailles, although how good would it all look hey?  Gilt tables and mercury mirrors in abundance.  Of course the only reason Gilt mirrors are called Gilt mirrors is because we feel so Gilt-y paying so much for them.  At McQueen, you get what you pay for - the best and worth every penny.

G Star Raw, London

G Star Raw produce some really interesting schemes at their Carnaby St. store, although this is probably not their best?  We love the Polaroids attached to the frame surrounding the merchandise however looking at the presentation overall, it does appear quite sinister. We have no doubt that this is not intentional.  Death, Religion and Politics are rather taboo subjects in window schemes which are best avoided unless one is prepared to defend the outcome, and defend it you will.  These subject areas will no doubt always be challenging and challenged and  therefore unless there is some kind of justification or deeper level of understanding then don't go there.  The dressing here does give the illusion of three hung corpses rather than the savvy presentation we are used to seeing from this brand.  It was no doubt purely an oversight and with a fleeting glance not something a customer would possibly associate with this presentation, however, as we looking at these this from quite a different angle it does scream Death, don't you think?

London Olympics, 2012

Image Copyright http://www.brianmicklethwaite.com/

Did you get any tickets to the London Olympics?  If your answer is no, then like us, UK tax payers and worse still Londoners then you may also feel just a little wrong footed?  How do we feel about rip-off London right now?  Well, have you ever seen the film Personal Services?  "The film stars Julie Walters as Christine Painter, a thinly disguised Cynthia Payne, who begins the film as a sexually naive waitress and single-mother who pays for her teenage son's tuition by renting flats to local tarts". "She later becomes a call girl herself (joining her friend Shirley and their "maid" Dolly) and specializes in fetish/kink role play with older gentlemen". "With her new family of friends and admirers, she becomes a huge sensation leading to wealth and infamy in the tabloids". "The brothel business also brings out Christine's self-confidence, and leads to repairing a previously strained relationship with her father."

One scene that always springs into our minds is the part where Christine (played by Walters) angrily pushes open a door, clad head to toe in Leather or Rubber, hair tied back like a brossette, and shouting at a middle-aged man in a bikini with a collar and chain (who it transpires is a Civil Servant) while whipping him across his hairy rear, "that's for the bloody Inland Revenue".

That's how we feel right now about being UK and London Tax Payers, London Council Tax Payers, London Parking Permit Tax Payers,  over charged London rail travel Payers, London Congestion Charge Payers, the list goes on.....and NO VERY EXPENSIVE yet crap three lil ole tickets (opening ceremony) for which we are expected to apply, for the London Olympics.  Where did ours go hey?  Thats for being so bloody unfair.

Image copyright www.elderofziyon.blogspot.com

 

Image Copyright www.imagevenue.com

Fashion Graduates, London

If you weren't at this graduate fashion show last night,  where were you?  OK, well we did happen to fall into another event beforehand and bagged a very large glass of wine before we realised we were actually at the wrong event, but then that's the Truman Brewery for you and its multiple sites.  But anyway, graduating students from Southampton Solent University (yeah..!) showed their latest offering as part of  'Free Range' in the Uber cool area of Brick lane.  Graduates "presented collections utilising a range of fabric types and incorporated diverse themes, from 'wearable architectire'.....to collections inspired by abstract expressionism and the destructive power of water".  With a stunning show from these guys it really does communicate how exciting things are outside of London too.  The students obviously worked incredibly hard to put this show together and it looks like Southampton grads. are truly rocking...! 

On a slightly different note, you must also try and get yourself a copy of the publication 'Third Floor' too.  We managed to 'acquire' our coveted copy which has contributions from the likes of Gary James McQueen, Stephen Jones, Caryn Franklin and our personal favourite, Martin Margiela.  You must have it and this should be in your personal collection.  Contact www.3rdfloorpublication.co.uk   and order yourself a copy.

Ben Sherman, London

We were really excited to see this brand doing something new, and for such a worthy cause too.  As their site says, "As a brand fortunate enough to consider many of the world's finest musicians as both fans and friends, in VIP [they] have asked each of them to donate one plectrum to be auctioned for charity.  Each of these magic pieces of plastic has been signed by the artist and presented alongside its own unique story in a custom-made collector's frame."  The list of contributors reads like a who's who in the music world and all for such a very worthy cause too.  So get bidding for your own celebrity plectrum (if you are not sure what one is,  its that triangular-ish shaped thing for strumming on a guitar) by checking out the Ben Sherman VIP site.  This makes for great windows too of course.

Desigual, London

The guys at Desigual are clearly having far too much fun.  Their windows (at least at their Regent St. store, and this window in particular) ice-screams attention in between the bland stores either side of it.  Scheme after scheme here recently we have seen the unleashing their true creativity,  breaking through like a beacon of hope in this part of town.  They are, we would hope, being supported by the purse string holders of this brand and just about everyone else who thinks they need to have a say - we know how difficult it is to do these things - and what an incredible outcome this is.  This is a fun brand who obviously know who their target market are and know how to maximise an opportunity.  Fantastic guys..!

Liberty, London

If you turn your gaze for just one moment or take your finger off the pulse, everything seems to change so incredibly fast.  The guys at Liberty seem to work like demons and scheme after fabulous scheme appears to pour effortlessly from this store.  The latest scheme, links to the Cult of Beauty Exhibition at the V&A, the Aesthetic Movement 1860 - 1900.  Having seen the images currently published on the V&A website, we have come to the conclusion, that while of course the museums exhibition is quite superb and the place itself is like none other in the world, the Liberty scheme and interpretation of their exhibitions is rather more enthralling.  We loved the previous links from here to the V&A - the Quilts exhibition and the Barbican's Surreal House, but to be momentarily candid (and we know you like that we are), the presentation here is rather more dynamic.   Of course we will have to turn a blind eye to the use of Silver birches (not seen here), but this is far more exciting than the exhibitions that these windows link to.  The Surreal House exhibition while of course hugely valuable historical information, it was as dull as dishwater.  The Quilts exhibition, was quite stunning in the execution of the pieces themselves, although we are always presented with the same old format or display case after display case and therefore the schemes at this store simply stole the limelight.  While retail spaces are constantly reinventing and pursuing the Sterling, Dollar, Euro, Yen and so on, it seems so many exhibitions have just tired and given up hope while still charging a pretty penny.  The answer we suspect is to employ Visual Merchandisers to make those spaces exciting again.  Right?

Hugo Boss, London

Hugo Boss appear to be following an all-things-under-water theme at the moment.  From their recent cut out corals (above) to the current water printed graphic (below) it looks like its going to be a long road ahead exploring all the visuals of the depths of the Oceans.  Starfish,  seaweed, tropical fish, fish close up, fish from a distance, more views of water, images of shells from all sorts of angles, messages in bottles, formations in sand, ship wrecks,  rock pools and just rocks (that they got) ....the list and combinations are virtually endless.  Once retailers hook onto these themes its very difficult to move away from them.  Of course, what we would like to see are the less than idealistic imagery which would make for far more interesting viewing.  Dead towels with mussels growing on them, a carcass of some strange animal that pushed its luck,  plastic forks, dried up rinds of exotic fruits, and anything that fell from a ship miles out to sea, empty beer bottles and rusty drink cans, third degree burns from sleeping in the sun, lost souls, old men with metal detectors, screaming kids, fat bodies squeezed into tiny swimming costumes, hairy guys in tiny bright green speedos, people so tanned they look like old saddles and gift shops that sell junk you never knew you wanted.  Now, that's a list which would make for far more interesting viewing. Don't you think?

Pull and Bear, London

Brands such as Pull and Bear are producing some really fun schemes at the moment.  For such a large (ish) multiple, it is always refreshing to view schemes which clearly have taken some time to think through, produce and install.  We don't shop here, but we can at least enjoy the spectacle and the flippers and swimming goggles in this repetition format scream Summer holidays to us.  Once they sort out their merchandise (beyond basics) we may cross the threshold and take a closer look, however in the meantime, it is at least a joy to see these kind of multiples produce creative schemes and that must always be supported.

Kurt Geiger, London

We have to admit that Kurt Geiger are getting it all so right, right now.  We haven't always said nice things about this brands presentation, and while of course it was clear that they were getting it all so wrong, they seem to have turned it all around and are now producing some really fun schemes.  Shoes are very difficult to present well, and either they are stacked to the rafters (as in some of the multiple chains) or one individual pair are showcased (as in some of the luxury brands).  Kurt Geiger, possibly falls in between the two and while we have always felt that they were a little bit damaged in the same way as brands such as Pierre Cardin, they really are blossoming again into a tour de force on the high street.  Their fabulous Neon signage and showcase windows within which their incredible product has been suspended are both fun and draw the customers into their spaces.  We're dying to see what they will do next.   

Tezenis, London

For some bizarre reason we have never included this brand on our site.  It may be that they never really do anything visually, which is really quite strange as they tend to be in such high profile sites?  But anyway, Tezenis, at the Oxford Circus site have installed this hugely fun scheme proving that one doesn't need a large format graphic behind the product in order to 'set the context' or merely include it to fill a space.  Here the guys have used postcards in a repetition format from locations around the globe.  We love the car and suitcase props, although perhaps the mannequins would have been better in a lighter finish and placed a little closer to the props?