Miss Mannequin's Annual Christmas Window Review



Darlings, I am kicking off my annual Christmas window round up with my favourite London luxury department stores. Check out all the highlights below.

 

First up is Harrods, collaborating with Burberry, they have filled 29 windows with 'A Very British Fairy Tale'. This recounts the yuletide adventures of two children through imaginative and engaging displays.  

Next, we have Harvey Nichols who have gone against British tradition and opted for an Italian Christmas… style, beauty, food, drink and culture. Bellissimo!

‘Cuteness’ overload this year at John Lewis with woodland creatures hiding in burrows. The display coincides with the brands Christmas advert featuring Buster the dog and his trampolining urban wildlife animals.

Santa is up to all sorts of mischief at Selfridges this year. I am especially loving his fabulous sequin suit.

Fenwicks filled their windows with lovely Christmas treats, I spy a few things to add to my list!

Fortnum and Mason add charming unusual pairings this year with their campaign ‘Together We’re Merrier’. Indeed!

As an exclusive partnership with The Royal Ballet, Liberty has themed each window around a different scene from that well-loved Christmas ballet, the Nutcracker.

Stay tuned for my next post, which will be filled with further festive treats!

Christmas 2015 window displays part 1



Hunnies, the countdown to Christmas has begun, and what better way to kick off our annual Christmas window round-up, than with a spot of shopping and window gazing at London’s favourite luxury department store windows.  

 

Its ‘show time’ at Harrods, with windows replicating theatre scenes, but creating further magic and really stealing the show is a below the stage floor scene, filled with Christmas mice preparing for the performances.

 

The party season is in full swing at Harvey Nichols and ‘disco-glam’ comes to mind; Mirror balls, glitter and sequins.. how fabulous! And not forgetting the cleverly designed gigantic faces made from metallic gift boxes.

Selfridges dedicate their windows to each of the zodiac signs, set against an outer space backdrop.  The sophisticated theme is a personal favourite as each window filled me with anticipation for the next.  To shop for your zodiac and to view all the star sign windows you can visit the Selfridges website. Naturally my window is ‘wild at heart’ what is yours?

Liberty is the ‘home of Christmas’ this year with a recreation of a traditional dolls house and in true Liberty style, an eclectic mix of luxurious gifts, prints and sets fill the windows.

Must dash off now my darlings, but stay tuned for the next installment of London's best Christmas windows…   

Harrods

Harrods

Harrods

Harrods

Harrods

Harrods

Harrods

Harvey Nichols

Harvey Nichols



Harvey Nichols

Selfridges

Selfridges

Selfridges

Selfridges

Liberty

Liberty

Liberty 

The magic of Christmas in Knightsbridge

As promised My Darlings, Miss M. has been out pounding the streets of London with her box brownie, taking images of all those fabulous Xmas windows.....so you don't have to! 

I discovered a land of make believe at Harrods; oversized toys embody the magic of Christmas and are brought to life by some of our favorite designers, including Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney and Zuhair Murad.

   

A few minutes walk and I am greeted by the brightest of displays at Harvey Nichols. Big poses, big hair and fierce make-up, mingle with an enchanted metallic forest populated with majestic woodland creatures. Passers by were captivated, drawn closer to the season's most desirable collections from the fashion houses of Lanvin, Erdem and Maison Martin Margiela.

If this has whet your appetite, then do keep an eye out for my next post, where I will have snaps to share of more creative Christmas windows!

Miss Mannequins Festive Christmas Window Display Tour ....

Christmas is my favourite time of year, not only because of the parties, giving and receiving of luscious presents and spending quality time with my fibreglass loved ones, but also because of the magical displays our nations most fabulous retail stores create.  Bright lights, designer trees, steam trains, giant bottles of champagne and animals ingeniously made from domestic appliances are just some of the 2013 trawl of Xmas displays that will make you want to jump for joy!

This year, luxury Knightsbridge department store Harrods takes us on a magical journey on their Christmas express train; carriages oozing glamour and indulgence, filled with festive treats and gifts suitable for a never ending wish list; including an £80,000 gown dripping in jewels (not that I’m hinting Santa)     

Harrods

Harrods

Just down the road, Harvey Nichols are merging high-end fashion and fantasy to create eye-popping displays bursting with brightly coloured stars and snowflakes. 

Harvey Nichols

Harvey Nichols

Whilst in this part of town I also got the pleasure of catching up with a few of the girls (my darling friends from proportion london) Elegantly gracing the windows of high-end lingerie brand, Rigby and Peller. The fluid range  girls also looked uber stylish in H&M    

Rigby and Peller

H and M

Adding a little bellezza Italiana (Italian beauty) to Mayfair’s most prestigious hotel Claridges; designer duo Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana created a traditional Sicilian Christmas themed tree. What a grand place to stop for a sherry and marvel at this magnificent showstopper.

Claridges

Fortnum and Mason almost brought tears of nostalgia to my eye with their wistful window displays, featuring children playing in the snow and many festive goodies. I managed to stop myself blubbing after suddenly remembering it would likely ruin my new petal pink paint finish (post on paint finishes and fabrics coming in the New Year)

Fortnum and Mason

They say big is not always best but in this case it certainly helped… Selfridges stopped shoppers in their tracks with giant bottles of Ace of Spades champagne, Charlotte Olympia slippers, YSL bag and a snow globe which pays homage to the store.  These are just some of the witty displays which demanded passers-by attention!

Selfridges

Selfridges

Selfridges

Selfridges

Now there is no denying that the competition for best Christmas window is very competitive this year - but one stands out by a mile for pure genius - and that is John Lewis. The touching advert which tells a story of a bear and a hares relationship is continued throughout their window displays, using household objects and everyday appliances. Bunnies made from hairbrushes, deer from dyson vacuums and a hibernating bear from leather cushions; all have you standing in awe and utter amazement. Well done to this clever team for breaking away from their usual safe theme - the effort was well worth it - judging from the attentive shoppers lingering on the street. 

John Lewis

John Lewis

John Lewis



John Lewis



Believing in the 'magic and sparkle', Marks and Spencer’s flagship store at London’s Marble Arch has brought to life a modern day fairy-tale following on from their ad campaign within their windows. Windows featured mannequins (from the SERIES range by proportion) which resemble the characters from their multimillion pound advert and a lavish dinner party that I for one would be delighted to attend. 

Marks and Spencer

Marks and Spencer

Marks and Spencer

One of London’s oldest leading department stores; LIBERTY, has star bursts of product bringing the frontage of their iconic tudor building to life this year.

Liberty

Before heading back to mannequin towers I couldn't resist taking to the cobbled fabulousness of Carnaby Street where the robins were definately rocking!

Carnaby Street

Well my darlings, i'm off home to massage my weary feet and plan my outfit for the proportion office party! I do hope this Christmas post has you well and truly in the festive spirit and if like me you agree that the visual teams of London have done a spectacular job this year, then raise a glass to the sheer creativity and effort they have put in .... and wish me luck - as i tuck myself into a bubble-wrapped export box and zoom off to Heathrow to bring you my next blog...a round up of the Xmas windows in New York....Oh the glamour x