Tods, London

Wow, we're loving Tods scheme right now.  These guys are going hell for leather with their recent schemes (no pun intended) and producing such wonderful quality installations which are also thoughtful, make sense, entertaining and still sell the product.  If you want to see 'how to do it' look at these guys right now.  All of the components of excellent Visual Merchandising are here together with the-massively-lacking-everywhere-else, a sense of humour.  Job well done we think.

Milan Trends 2012, SFD

Milan Trends 2012

 Current trends from Milan, 2012 courtesy of SFD.

Bombay High, Mumbai

Images Courtesy and Copyright Alokita Biswas

We have so few very good examples of store windows from India in our now enormous archive of images from the around the world so it was such a pleasure to see these little gems sent to us.  Clearly India is catching up to the rest of the world in visual presentation and actually this is a fantastic example of the theatre of Visual Merchandising which is better than most other places around the world that we have seen.  How exciting is this?  This beautifully produced scheme by Surreal Brand Solutions based in India is a clear indication that this country is rising rapidly within this area of design and that they really do understand the value of excellent quality presentation and how important it is to draw the customer in.  Anyway, if you want to see more of their work maybe check out their website at  www.letsgetsurreal.com

Laurent Debraux, Paris

Images Courtesy and Copyright Laurent Debraux

We're always fascinated by what artists around the world are doing as they tend to think in such wonderfully abstract ways. Unravelling this and understanding different ways of working is so incredibly exciting, don't you think?  The work of Laurent Debraux in Paris is one such artist that draws us in to take a closer look.  Optic sculptures in Acrylic and glass offer new or alternative methods from which we can develop new ideas for product presentation and narratives within store windows and in store visual merchandising.  We wouldn't wish to simply lift and place the work of Debraux into a commercial context of course, however understanding the thinking processes behind his work is a very good starting point from which to develop new methods and inform our own journey from concept to completion.

Alexander McQueen, London

We are always quite mesmerised by the schemes at McQueen as the guys here always produce such beautiful contexts, and within such a difficult space too.  The product as always is delicious, of course, although the creative hand of Laurent is missing here.  Please come back to London Laurent and work your magic?  This is the flagship of the world for this brand and we're missing the nuances and the edge that you produce.  So, in the meantime we have a scheme that we like, but want to love.

Smythson, London

After battering this brand for goodness knows how long, hands up, these guys have got this so damn right.  OK, well the handbag is the hero product, blah, blah, blah; however we love the context in which this is placed.  The beautifully produced drawings of the Palace and the Victoria memorial in a theatre-type scenario just works so well, right?  Well done guys for producing such a wonderful Jubilee scheme.  It looks brilliant and we couldn't wait to include it here to let everyone around the globe to see it too.

 

Hackett, London

It appears that Hackett have upped the ante regarding Jubilee Schemes around town right now.  These guys are getting it so right and we're always itching to see what they do next.  Thankfully these guys also have huge doses of humour which is definitely much needed on the high street.  With their nostalgic references (which one would expect given the subject) there is so much to draw one in and keep our interest.  How many other menswear brands are looking this cool?  Well none actually, these guys are leading the way and looking damn fricking good too.

Louis Vuitton, London

We're dying to see what the latest scheme from LV will be.  The blinds are down while these guys work their magic and we'll show you their latest completed installation shortly.

Christian Louboutin, London

If you haven't seen the current Christian Louboutin Exhibition at the Design Museum then you really are missing a treat.  This is such a fantastic show that we are tempted to go back again and take another look.  The collection of Louboutins products is absolutely fascinating, drawing on inspiration from Architecture, Design and the city amongst other key areas.  Footwear has been created from a wide variety materials from Bark to Fish skin and leather to metal; remarkable stuff.  Anyway, if you do manage to have a 'dental appointment' this week, then swing by and take a look.  We particularly love the virtually impossibly wearable fetish wear placed inside bell jars in a darkened space - stunning. 

Damien Hirst, London

For some bizarre reason, while we've seen Hirst's work countless times, we haven't ever seen it in the flesh - so to speak.  We hadn't realised how enormous some of these pieces actually are and very impressive too.  We're on a culture mission at the moment, soaking up everything London has to offer and loving every minute of it.  OK, well this show is a little pricey but if you are in need of information, inspiration or just an excuse to get out of the office, then you could do no worse then pop over to the Tate Modern and see this exhibition.........plus all of the vast amounts of other Art works here also.  These are incredible places to top up on that much needed culture in Visual Merchandising on the high street, and consider how we can apply and build on what we see in order to erode the literal use of work like this that we see so much of.  What we mean by that is that we wouldn't wish to simply drop a Damien Hirst lookie-likie piece into the middle of a department store, but consider and unravel the thinking behind the pieces produced in order to inform our own design processes. 

Hermes, London

If you haven't been to the Hermes exhibition at 6, Burlington Gardens then why not leave work a little earlier today and swing by to be inspired?  The boss wont mind and we wont tell anyone if you do.  We've already visited this twice as it is such a wonderful venue and such an interesting story.  Also, being able to actually watch and interact with the Artisans here while they are working and making this product is quite mesmerising.  You wont be disappointed.

Penhaligon, London

We are really trying to be constructive, but cu'mon guys make an effort?  We love the product here but clearly budgets are, as usual, as tight as Greece's annual spend right now and 'voila', here's the celebration of the UK's moment of historic glory in a 3-d cardboard graphic crown; every expense spared and any enthusiasm communicated like wet lettuce surrounding a fantastic product.  The saddest words are always......'another missed opportunity'.  We doubt that there will be another Jubilee like this in our life time no matter how hard we are working on living for ever (although so far so good).  Therefore, unfortunately this scheme will be relegated to the history of one of the ones 'of how not to celebrate an historic moment'.  Maybe Penhaligon are saving their budget for an amazing Olympic scheme?   Fingers crossed then.  In the meantime, we're reminded of the work of Craig Damrauer who produces the amazing mathematical equations such as Love = Like x Like, and April = March + Optimism to name just a couple, although perhaps in the case of this scheme Fantastic Product + Cheap Scheme = Brand Damage?   Or, what we think + what we write = Telling it like it is?

   

Boodles, London

Its such a shame that Boodles haven't really embraced the moment right now and captured the zeitgeist in their scheme. Apart from this vague nod to a pending remarkable event,  simply utilising what they already have in their windows year in, year out with a bit of bunting and a few graphics 'chucked' in is almost begrudgingly produced and is rather half hearted, don't you think?.  We're just telling it like it is  spoil sports.  Maybe they have a spectacular Olympic scheme pending?