NEW YORK, Nov 30, 2010 / — Entitled “Wish You Were Here,” the Bergdorf Goodman Holiday 2010 store windows continues to be delight.
Inspired by fantasy travel to far-flung places, the store windows once again displayed Bergdorf Goodman Visual Merchandising team’s artistry, detail and sly visual wit.
As David Hoey, Bergdorf Goodman Senior Director of Visual Presentation and Window Design said, “This job [visual merchandising] is part architect and part care decorator. We are in the surprise business.”
Speaking of surprises, the “Wish You Were Here” store windows showed some unusual ways of travelling, unexpected arrivals and departures, with the windows showing visual influences as diverse as Roman mythology, 1940s Hollywood musicals, the original Penn Station, and the very first science fiction film.
Each of the five main Fifth Avenue windows represents a different destination and a special method of conveyance:
Reminiscent of a patinated Vaudeville stage set, “The Scenic Route” (right) features an antique caboose pulling out of the station.
A hand painted moving backdrop animates the scene while a mannequin dressed in an Oscar de la Renta gown makes her exit stage right. (click on image to see bigger photo)
“Full Speed Ahead” (left) takes viewers inside a ship rolling gently on a sea voyage.
Amidst a lavish collection of nautical antiques, a mannequin clad in a one-of-a-kind striped outfit by designer Naeem Khan keeps company with an international cadre of miniature antique sailors. (click on image to see bigger photo)
“Day Tripping” invites viewers to come along for a spur-of-the-moment jaunt to the moon.
The glittery lunar dreamscape is inspired by the 1902 silent film, “Le Voyage Dans La Lune” by Georges Melies, plus a generous dose of mid-century touches a la Flash Gordon and an aquatic nod to Jules Verne.
In “A Guided Tour,” (below) a gigantic gold and ivory wooden Pegasus set against a hand painted medieval-style mural illustrates an especially glamorous method of air travel.
In the final window a Victorian-style flying machine has been inventively concocted out of bicycle and carriage parts and components from a vintage hot air balloon. Attended by a team of uniformed simian grease monkeys, it’s clearly “Ready For Takeoff.”
And it’s not just inside the Bergdorf Goodman windows where old-world inspiration mingles with emerging technology and a nod to the future.
This year, for the first time, QR codes on several windows enable shoppers and passersby to view an online Holiday Gift Finder and a video depicting the making of the displays by scanning the codes with their handheld digital device.
This holiday season also marks the debut of the new limited-edition Assouline book, Windows at Bergdorf Goodman
The Bergdorf Goodman holiday windows will remain on display through January 3, 2011.
[MARI DAVIS]
Photos courtesy of Bergdorf Goodman
(Click images to see bigger photo)
|
|
|
