Someday My Prints Will Come
Former student Chelsea W. is doing amazing work at Bloomingdale’s. I now take a special interest and make it a point to pass the mall windows every time I go to the mall, just because I know the young lady who does them!
Thanks for sending this in and please continue to do so!
(love the lips on the faceless mannies and frogs, cute ideas like this are Chelsea’s trademarks)
Bloomingdale’s Windows
My student Chelsea W. sent me these photos last week of her work, and I’ve been remiss in getting them up here. She currently works at Bloomingdale’s and is one of my most creative and hardest working students. I love her attention to detail and how meticulous she is in her work.
She told me at the beginning of the semester, that had it not been for this blog, she would not have known such a class existed! I am not surprised, that throughout the course of this semester, she was able to land a job with Bloomies on their visual team. No one deserved it more!
Her work speaks for itself:
Working in the studio: covering her mannequins with Astroturf :).
Props complete!
A job well done – these windows can be seen from the Mall entrance at Westfield!
Keep up the great work Chelsea!
Blog Love: Modelizing: the art of window shopping
Here’s another new blog I’m addicted to perusing: Modelizing: the art of window shopping. What I like about Julia Chesky’s site is that there’s very little text with lots of great photos, and as visual merchandisers we all know a picture is worth a thousand words! If she does add commentary to her posting, then it’s her honest opinion on whether she likes it or not! She takes all the photos herself of storefronts in NYC. Most of her shots are up close and show the details of the display.
Give yourself lots of time to browse through her site, I promise you won’t be disappointed!
(image via: Modelizing: the art of window shopping)
Findings from around the web: Man 1924, Christian Louboutin, C. Wonder
Here are some interesting things I found while perusing the web:
These first photos are from the store Man 1924 in Madrid, the photos are taken by Scott Schuman of The Satorialist. I think the store owner does a great job of layering the clothes with different textures and fabrics. I especially like how they display the pants, much simpler than pulling them on the bust-form. Dressing bust-forms is far more difficult than mannequins, because you have to create the shape and volume so the clothes don’t lay flat.
Here’s a cool video recently released by Barney’s, it gives you a quick behind the scenes peek on how the Christian Louboutin window’s were created.
Christian Louboutin: Celebrating 20 Years and the Launch of the Book from BARNEY’S NY/ Michelle Chu on Vimeo.
Have you heard or seen the new store C. Wonder? Entrepreneur Chris Burch, and force behind the Tory Burch brand, has branched out and opened his own lifestyle store! C. Wonder takes store ambience to a new level. Each sales associate comes equipped with a iPad for purchases, and you can change the music and lighting in your dressing room!
Here are two types of visuals used to help solidify and brand the image, a cool bus and a beautiful wall mural:
The use of bold and bright colors makes this store look like a really fun place to shop!
The cashwrap does not look like your traditional register area – love it!
I have to admit it looks like Tory Burch meets Kate Spade. Do you agree?
Great merchandising, this it what your dream closet would look like!
Lots of WOW factor without being too over the top and in your face! Notice that the store design is simple with a few architectural touches here and there; what is drawing your eye in is the use of color everywhere!
The light fixtures are teapots!
(images via: smallshopstudio.com)
What are you finding around the web?
Visual Merchandising contest with students and ALU!
A selection of students from JAK Akademie for Fashion Design in Hamburg, are in a visual merchandising contest. Students were asked to create 10 different window displays based on a theme they are given for that day. They are working with merchandising fixtures provided by ALU.
What’s an Autopole? I remember back in 1992, when I was doing visuals for Macy’s, my boss came to me and said we are now going to be using these poles throughout the store for merchandise, as well as signage. Autopoles are based on what photographers use. An Autopole is an extremely lightweight vertical expansion system. It only takes one person to assemble it! It can offer you a 360° display range thanks to the “super clamps” or “Autopole Adapters” you can use. I really loved how easy and accessible the Autopole made everything!
[Caution: I do not recommend the Autopole for pole dancing!]
The themes the students were given were:
- Service
- Denim Apparel
- Cosmetics
- Apparel
- Electronics
Here are a few photos of the student’s window displays:
Give and Take
Shaped Stiff Jeans
Faces
Against Gravity
Cable Tangled, Cable Plants
How do you think they did? You can click here to see the students actually working on their displays.
You can go online and vote for your favorite. You have until March 31st: http://www.facebook.com/ALUItaly
The winner will be awarded an internship with ALU. I personally like Cable Tangled, Cable Plants.
Good luck to all!
Thank you Giulia C. for sending this in and for the images.
Repetto’s Interactive Window Display
While “window shopping” through some of my favorite blogs, I came across this on Haute*Design: Window Displays are going interactive!
Open it and take a look – it’s simply stunning!
Window Display – New Visual Merchandising
Well class, it looks like there will be a new “required reading” book. Tony Morgan has published a fantastic new book all on Window Display! But don’t fret yet – this book is a big picture book, it belongs on your coffee table with all the other fashion books.
The photos are beyond inspiring and cleverly broken up into genres:
- Theatre
- Seasonal
- Quirky
- Trends
Every trimmer should have this book on their work shelf for reference. This book doesn’t go into deep detail on the “how-to”
, for that you should read Tony’s other book, which I use as the textbook for this class – Visual Merchandising – Window and In Store Display for Retail.
This book is a great reminder of why I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my work so much. Thanks Tony!
Manolo Blahnik steps into the windows of Liberty in London
This October the World of Manolo Blahnik has come to the windows of Liberty in London. Manolo Blahnik has scoured through the Liberty Print archives to create this lust-worthy collection, spectacularly displayed, floating against an Art Nouveau romantic setting of illustration and Japanese screens.
The full collection of exclusive shoes, notebooks, umbrellas and cushions all embellished with Blahnik’s beautiful illustrative flourishes are available in the stunning store-in-store, in residence for a 3 and a half month period.
In collaboration with visual communications company Just So, the department store has turned their window landscape into a visual tour de force for the designs of the world’s most sought after shoe designer, so loved by every A-lister, most famously Sarah Jessica Parker who took the brand to iconic status in her role as Carrie Bradshaw.
The windows can be viewed at Liberty, Regent Street, London W1B 5AH
Lucky for us Patrick McAleenan has sent these great photos for those of us across the Atlantic:
Displaying shoes in windows can be difficult because people tend to feel they have to over-embellish their windows. By adding too much stuff the merchandise can get lost. These windows are a perfect example of less is more. The simple art and lighted panels emphasize the shoes and draws your eyes to it rather than steal the focus away from it. This is simple and chic done really well, much like the Manolo’s we all covet!
(images via: Patrick McAleenan, PR Consultant)
Fashion Meets Architecture at Harrods
Visual merchandising is and always will be a place where fashion and art collide, and the window designs currently being showcased at Harrods in London is a great example of this, except in this case fashion meets architecture. The pairing is fitting, since many designers have also been playfully described as architects, because of their clean lines, and contemporary aesthetic.
On August 25th, Harrods collaborated with JUSTSO, a visual communication agency; and turned their world-famous Knightsbridge windows into a visual tour de force of the globe’s most stunning architecture! The world’s iconic architecture has joined with the world’s iconic fashion brands.
I love how these windows are clean, simple and very unfussy. Novice visual display artists tend to think more is better, yet that can distract you away from the merchandise, which is suppose to be the primary purpose of the display. In the photos above, the architecture “props” give enough visual interest to draw you into the window, which is the ultimate goal for any window designer.
Thanks to Patrick McAleenan for sending in these photos
Kitson’s Window Diss Display!
It looks like a war of words have been taken to the windows. RadarOnline is reporting, Hollywood boutique Kitson is in a feud with tv personality Jillian Barberie, and is using their store windows as their “weapon” of choice. The windows feature some text graphics letting the shopper know what is In and what is Out!
In:
- Dorothy Lucey (Jillian’s co-host)
- Floral
- Military Chic
- Clogs
- Tribal
Out:
- Jillian Barberie
- See #1
- See #1
- See #1
- See #1
Ooooh, what a complete diss! So what started the feud? Apparently Jillian has been promoting her friend’s store and told viewers to go to that website before going to Robertson’s Blvd. in order to save time. The owner of Kitson (which is on Robertson Blvd.) took this as a diss to all the stores on Robertson’s. You can click here to read the entire story
(image via RadarOnline)
I Do Windows 
leave a comment