Sonia Rykiel, London

It is quite a relief that the Sonia Rykiel brand appears to be in safe hands after all?  Following a quick renovation this store is rocking a little more.  OK, well its not screaming from the roof tops and still isn't the most creative brands on the high street, although the direction is looking rather better, right?

Car Shoe, London

Car shoe......Car parts....Car mirrors.  More revolutionary schemes from the world that is Visual Merchandising.  We want to celebrate this scheme and we want to encourage whatever it is they do; however, what do you think they will do once they run out of car bits 'n' pieces to support their product?  Your guess is as good as ours.  Maybe these guys could think a little more abstractly and unravel the meaning of car travel, travel generally......oh the list goes on.  More ideas are available in our book Fashion Visual Merchandising published later this year.

Penhaligon's London

With the promotion of their Iris Prima, Penhaligon's are propping this one with suspended ballet slippers.  Iris Prima.......Prima Ballerina.......Ballet slippers.  Clever stuff this. 

Isabel Marant, London

We've been big fans of the Isabel Marant brand for quite some time, often drooling over their windows in New York and Paris, but finally we have a store in London to enable us to VM worship.  And yes we will.  This brand have consistently produced really interesting schemes and this one, nodding towards the like of Joan Miro is simple yet perfectly produced.  What you are unable to see here is the movement of the circular structures in this space.

L.K.Bennett, London

This brand are looking so fricking good right now it really hurts.  We adore what these guys are doing and the effort to present and present so well with fantastic quality props showing a mini-London looks great.  We just thought we would let you guys know that your efforts are really appreciated.  Are we gushing?

Miu Miu, London

We have seen bicycles used quite a lot in windows over the years so we're a little surprised to see them appear at a brand such as this?  Ah well, they probably make millions anyway so why would they care?  Its just a shame that as an apparent avant guarde brand that they are still using props like this when even value retailers have done this to death.  Looks like those thousands and thousands spent on trend information fell on deaf ears and was a little bit of a waste of cash also? 

Fenwick, London

Oh those guys at Fenwick just get better and better.  Life has been breathed into this brand with an iron fist in a velvet glove and we just cant get enough.  Thank goodness someone here has had the imagination, the creativity and the foresight to understand what a dusty old brand this once was and it makes plain old good business sense to look good, particularly, as with this store Victoria's Secret is just across the road, oozing gloss and glamour with crowds there daily; what these guys are doing can only be a good thing.  Rocking.  But, go on be even more daring............

Anne Fontaine, London

Well, there you go, another scheme using origami.  We do often glance across the road to Anne Fontaine now and again and we always hope for great schemes here.  The brand do of course offer great examples of the product presentation technique 'gravity' which we mention in out book Fashion Visual Merchandising in greater detail, and although this brand are not the most exciting in the world there is a little spark here which perhaps needs a helping hand to ignite into something a little more dynamic?

Coach, London

Is this scheme crying out for a closed back window or does someone out there, else where, or at least some where actually like these security grilles?  We understand that there are those of you who come to visit and drool over your favourite handbag and this street does have a history of 'smash-and-grabs' for those clearly desperate housewives who just cant wait for the store to open.  Anyway, now that's off our chests, we have seen a few schemes using origami right now so we may begin to see this one trickling down to the mid-rangers, but in the meantime, great scheme but spoiled by the need or desire to nail everything down.  

Ralph Lauren, London

We've seen quite a lot of clock faces being used in window schemes around town recently so there is a clear trend happening here.  This scheme at Ralph Lauren is absolutely rocking right now.  These guys clearly have the budgets or at least manage what they do have so incredibly well and this wonderfully industrial feel to this scheme is stunning.  Go check out their Bond st. maison as this one really is a treat to view.

Chanel, London

We were wracking our brains trying to think of what this new scheme at Chanel reminded us of and we think it is a cross between Barbarella and Verner Panton, don't you think?  The schemes here are certainly getting better and better, although we are never keen on mannequins in hybridised positions, particularly with swinging handbags.  What we mean by that are figures which are placed in poses in which they were never designed to be which always makes them look rather awkward and rather odd.  Still, this is one of their better schemes even if we still don't like these pin headed sized mannequins.

Hermes, London

Wow, look at this stunner of a scheme from Hermes, here at their store along Bond st.  We love these graphic images used in conjunction with the product and fantastic bows and arrows.  A brilliant scheme from this brand and their amazingly produced hand made product which oozes the quality one would expect from a luxury brand.  Fantastic stuff. 

Moschino, London

Don't worry we're not going to bash the windows at this scheme this time around.  This particular brand gets better with each scheme but they do need to sort out their production.  We don't know who produces for them but for a luxe brand we would expect to see superb quality in their props.  Yes, we would.