Our Top 3 Windows for Christmas and more..

Christmas is well and truly underway here at SFD headquarters.  Our M&S windows have been installed and very successfully received,  the staff Xmas party is quickly approaching and I’m already having a minor meltdown about Secret Santa!

As t’is the season to be jolly and all that, I thought I’d have a wander through London to see which retailers have really gone all out and which ones are more credit crunch Christmas this year.  As you can hardly avoid the magic triangle of Selfridges, Harrods and Liberty when talking about Christmas windows, I hot-footed it down to the former to begin my festive foray.

I was very impressed with the overall effect.  The attention to detail is outstanding; from the giant dog kennel showcasing the adorable cuddly toy puppies to the arrangement of the Sylvanian Families (my word that takes me back!).  There is an overall feeling of nostalgia about the theme this year with the toys being more nineties than noughties along with the key feature of the Frank Sidebottom mannequins.  The day I was there the flagship window (corner double view) had turned into a crèche and children were happily playing away with, I assume, this years ‘must have’ toys.  The windows do draw you in and keep you looking at the detail which is obviously the name of the game.  Personally I love the use of their mannequins - Once again, Selfridges has proved itself as a forward thinker with the versatile use of mannequins and I think other retailers have a long way to go to emulate their success.

Although I could have quite happily spent another hour looking at the windows I was now on a mission to compare my Christmas notes. 

What should have been a ten-minute (but turned into 50 minute) walk later (along with a couple of new bruises and a heightened hatred of the scrum on Oxford St) I found myself staring at what I can only describe as a glitter explosion at Liberty London.  Liberty have really pulled out all the stops this year.  With limited space they have crammed in so much excitement; I really am in awe of their window dressers and VM guys.  The theme is the sort that you wouldn’t want to pass at night after one too many drinks or any illegal substances, with very bold uses of mannequins and so much colour (and glitter!!). It really is one to go and see – any extensive description here would not do the madness and vibrancy of this scheme justice so just have a look at the pictures and judge for yourself.  A heavy hitter once again reigning supreme and perfectly showcasing the craziness of the festive season.

Last, and certainly by no means least, I head to the Mecca of Christmas – Harrods.  When I saw that Harrods were using Peter Pan as a theme this year I was very excited! I wasn’t wrong to be, the windows are incredible!  They captivate the true childlike fantasy of Xmas and takes me back to simpler times when Christmas meant trawling through Disney films with my kids from 5am in the morning. The use of mannequins to depict the much loved story is quite outstanding.  Along with all the luxury you would expect from London’s most famous department store you also feel drawn into the story through the visualisation of the classic scenes.   It is no exaggeration to say that I spent a couple of hours taking in all the detail of the Harrods windows and I still want to go back for more.  I would fully recommend a trip to see them to momentarily escape Christmas shopping hell this December.  A little touch of fairy dust goes a really long way here and yes I do believe in fairies!

So that’s my first yuletide ponderings for you.  Overall I think there is an air of vintage in London this year.  From cult 90’s toys to hacienda windows and children’s story themes I really do feel taken back to younger days… shame that the 90’s being vintage reminds me how old I am!

The Fantastical Christmas Contraption

Ok, picture this - It’s August, the sun is blazing, a smattering of white cotton wool clouds, shorts, T-shirts, suntans, the smell of mowed lawns and a 99 ice cream in tow…Ok, it was pelting down with rain and bloody freezing but this is England after all!

The point is it was Summer.  My Creative Director, Andi Grant, and I had just walked out of a Marks and Spencer brief on their Christmas window displays in five flagship stores; Marble Arch, Westfield, Edinburgh, Manchester & Liverpool, and now had to come up with an inspiration/design that would showcase the M&S gift and toy collection for 2010.  We were asked to draw on a much-loved children’s theme, the toy workshop/factory, using inspiration from Wallace & Gromit and Willy Wonka.

A quick trip down Christmas memory lane - watching The Snowman for the 10^th time, heads spinning from an overdose of chocolate, tiny bits of packaging strewn across the floor and lots of cheap plastic toys that would be abandoned by Boxing Day - it is safe to say our creative juices weren’t exactly flowing.

But then it happened…!  As Andi revealed his first sketches of ‘The Fantastical Christmas Contraption’ incorporating ‘Upalupa’, ‘The Sparky 2000 plus 10’, ‘Loopy Lou’ and the ‘Funnellvator’, we knew we had it.  We were transported back to our childhoods.  Was this the work of a mad genius or were we seeing the fantasies of a six year old Andrew Grant finally unleashed on an unsuspecting adult world after 22 years?

From the moment we unveiled this innovative piece of festive magic to M&S they realised they were on to a winner.  With over 50 moving parts this animated display will surely captivate and excite shoppers from Edinburgh to London, especially the ones under 10 who are the target audience!

The animated gift window features ‘Tink the Robot’ who mixes the toys together.  When they’ve reached the perfect consistency they slip down the ‘Funnellvator’ into the ‘Sparky 2000+10’.  Here they are tumbled to make them nice and soft.  They leave the Sparky by means of the ‘Loopy Lou’ whose motion is powered by the ‘Springlepops’ squishing down and springing up.  The ‘Loopy Lou’ transports them safely to the ‘Packorama’ where they are wrapped up all nice and warm, before boarding the ‘Upalupa’ ready for transportation to children everywhere around the world.

M&S in-house design and visual teams worked together closely with SFD to design and dress the moving windows to ensure their range of toys and gifts were brought to life.  Brendan Davey, Head of Visual at M&S, said: “We’re delighted to introduce some festive magic to five of our flagship store windows. Christmas provides a great opportunity for us to be really innovative with our designs and create an exciting visual display. We hope that the animated toy workshops in the stores' windows will provide an entertaining focal point on the high street and captivate busy shoppers with our latest Christmas gifts.”

This has been a journey for us all and with December fast approaching I feel like we will be visiting Xmas for the second time…Two for one! I’ve definitely been in retail too long!