Banana Republic, London

Regent st. here in London is buzzing right now.  With the pending opening of the new Burberry and .........OK well, we're less that enthusiastic about Hollister...... but then Austin Reed, Aquascutum and Habitat weren't cutting it so we guess is was only ever going to be inevitable with their arrival here.  But anyway, the British determination to make Art statements thankfully prevails and this year the Regents Street Windows project is ever more welcome.  At Banana, the Architects Ushida Findlay and Visitor Studio have this incredible installation in place to entertain, to provoke and amaze us all.  We weren't massively drawn in initially, but then that could be something to do with the 'plastique' Zebras in Banana's regular windows, however, we soon discovered that this splash like form is actually laser cut animals in a tinted Eco resin; ever more visible in a photograph.  We aren't sure that it 'revokes childhood memories of play while capturing the theme of Banana Republic' - doesn't this sounds as if it has been badly translated and has that hint of nauseous sentimentality about it?  That said, it does look incredibly so damned good and we would have loved to have seen this in all of the windows here.  Although, its OK, we have 'plastique-my-little-Zebras' to view instead and that's OK, right?

Gant, London

We love this scheme at Gant right now...!  This is probably one of the best we've seen from these guys recently, and which really hits the mark.  The nostalgia references are absolutely on trend and the execution just beautifully produced.  The attention to detail is incredible (we had been wondering who we had been bidding against us on eBay for these copies of 'Life' magazine and clearly these guys won).  Great fun and definitely worth checking out if you can along Regent st.

Oasis, London

Images Courtesy and Copyright Hawkesandforman.com

Wow, Oasis just keep getting better and better, don't they?  Working in collaboration with the clearly ever talented Hawkes & Forman this brand looks so incredibly good.  Oasis is another brand that appears to be breathing life into itself after a long period of appearing to gradually disappear from the high street, however with creativity in tandem with a commercial mind at the forefront and an obviously confident backing, we're dying to see where they go next.  Fun and creative yet promoting the product and the brand as the place to shop = job well done.  What do you think? 

Burberry, London

Clearly Burberry can do  no wrong right now and they have certainly upped their game and looking incredibly good.  The product is gorgeous, the experience is second to none and they look so damned good.

Wallis, London



Images Courtesy and Copyright DisplayOne / Wallis

When did Wallis start looking so fricking cool, eh?  With so many brands on the high street; most looking so identical that one can only wonder how they ever make a profit?  However, Wallis is screaming through the malls and high streets across the country that once again they are a force to be reckoned with.  In conjunction with the incredibly talented guys at Displayone.co.uk Wallis looks good again.  We finally have something to say about these guys and are therefore gladly sharing the love.  For so long, this brand seemed to whither away and only just about teetered teasingly above the parapet keeping us wondering whether they would be 'doing the walk of shame' back to the Green room of no-brand-land and sitting on that no-brand-land-couch with Barratt Shoes, Woolworths and The Pier while we all stood back and wondered.....'wha' happen'.  But, now..........taadaa....someone clearly has their finger firmly on the pulse and breathing some life back into this monolithic company.  Just watch this space, we want to see what they do next - no pressure though guys.

LampArt, UK



Images Courtesy and Copyright Jessica Gill

Whether for photographic shoots or props for in store then these gorgeous lamps by Jessica Gill are clearly a must for the Summer season that ooze the warm glow we all need right now.  Up-cycled, re-cycled and beautiful found objets d'arts are transformed by this fabulous Artist into these amazing pieces.  Our favourites are the Golden Seaweed Lanterns, so check out her site and see what she can do for you http://www.jessicagill.net

Duchamp, London

We've never included Duchamp in this site before, although that's probably because they don't normally do anything very interesting.  However, we stopped in our tracks on the way to the tube last night, in between the downpours of rain to capture this little gem.  What a relief to finally find something creative at this end of Regent street that grabbed our attention....and we weren't the only ones either;  while capturing this scheme with is gorgeous nostalgic references, which of course are absolutely on trend right now with prose from the timeless Wordsworth, several tourists were doing the same and sharing the love.  We finally have an anchor at this little abyss at the end of Regent street here in London and will keep an eye on these guys to see what they do next.  Job well done we think.

Mathew Williamson, London

Aren't the colours used here at Mathew Williamson just so wonderfully vibrant?  Over the past few months we've seen an increasing use of balloons in schemes around the world from Loewe in Paris to French Connection here in London. We've placed them all under a kind of 'air trend' in conjunction with the use of clouds that we've seen at places such as Zara (globally), the Bon Marche in Paris and even being used at the Apple store.  Schemes at this brand can be a little 'hit and miss' although this one does look rather cool, dont you think?  We would had far more of these balloons in place though ourselves however and added in some giant ones at that.  Still, the product looks superb and is of course after all, king.

Ralph Lauren, London

We haven't included Ralph Lauren on this site for some time now.  This is not to say of course that the guys aren't always doing something special, however we were rather compelled to include this scheme simply because it is so beautifully and elegantly produced.  This scheme oozes sophistication and the tones used here are so wonderfully delicate that we just want to step inside this scheme and be a part of it.

Alexander McQueen, London

As always, the guys at McQueen continue to deliver the Uber quality schemes that we always expect from this brand.  Here's a fantastic example of a fashion-led scheme to create the outcome, i.e. take the product and design around it accordingly.  Of course, at McQueen everything presented is done so to within an inch of its life and with the attention to detail that keeps this brand at the pinnacle of design and us at the Ubermensch (the higher state to which we aspire)

Imagine Group, New Mannequin Collection 2012

If you happen to be looking for a new range of Mannequins which encapsulates, Design, Functionality,  Innovation, Quality and Difference, then look no further than 'Imagine's' brand new collection, 'Seven'. At the Imagine Group, a fabulous contemporary venture by the ever prolific Bob Volpe (and incidentally one of VM industry favourites) began as a purely bespoke manufacturing business in order to provide for brands on the high street with the opportunity to cost effectively develop a whole new mannequin collection or a wide variety of VM solutions no matter how big or small the budget.  Of course if one has a budget on the larger size and has multiple stores to stock with some of these little beauties then this is no problem.  Alternatively why not develop a brand new collection which is absolutely exclusive to your brand in order to support your brand differentiation? With very competitive prices you must get 'Imagine' on speed dial.  So what are you waiting for?  Your competitors don't just 'Imagine' it, they're doing it.

Cos, London

Someone at Cos is clearly a huge fan of Margiela as we see reference after reference from the incredible luxe designer whose work we adore ourselves also.  With their 'runner rail' of crisp White Shirts in various cuts we just love the simplicity of Cos's schemes and their direction.  We were so wonderfully overwhelmed with the Margiela exhibition at Somerset house here in London a few years ago that we actually saw the exhibition 5 times (Yep..!) Anyway, with their very sophisticated yet ever so simple schemes, it makes us want to shop here, although unfortunately we do need a little more differentiation with the in store product as Zara does what these guys do but cheaper and Selfridges already stocks the higher price point stuff that is worth the extra.   But, in the meantime we can admire the view which as ever is absolutely free.

BHS, London

We're just a little shocked that this is the second time we have included this brand just a few weeks apart, having never included them ever before.  Well, hats off to these guys, as they clearly have their fingers on the pulse of the high street and the latest Visual Merchandising trends.  OK, well, we're not particularly overwhelmed by the large format graphics, but, well that kind of stuff is what the corporate environment is all about, however, to be able to sneak in a few glorious bits of 'display props' simply elevates this (and lets be honest, very dull brand) into one which appears to be rising like a phoenix from the high street ashes and with a wonderfully and carefully thought through injection of creativity.  Of course we want to see more, although large leaps could kill the considered move towards what are perhaps attempts to make this brand just a little more interesting.  In the meantime we'll keep a distant eye on what these guys are doing and hopefully the CEO will read this (and we know all CEO's love to read blogs about their brands)  and support these guys..........we want more creativity BHS...! (else......just go rogue and do it anyway and lets see what you guys can really do?)