Pull and Bear, London

Well, looks like the Balloon / Air trend that we predicted and mentioned months ago is still kicking in a treat.  We've seen it in London at Louis Vuitton, French Connection....and lots of other places, we saw it in Paris in January at Hermes and Dubai in April.  So.....here we have it.  Hopefully this is the end of it now.....lets move onto something else, eh?  There's only so many times we can flog this little pony to within an inch of its life.

Moschino, London

Is the mannequin sat in darkness on purpose?  We do try to love what Moschino do but we can only ever really just like it.......sort of.  They are inclined to use out sized products, which is fine and perhaps part of this brands personality, however, we are just not sure if the fact that we cant see the merchandise is deliberate?  Inside the lens of the camera is perched a beautifully dressed mannequin and we can just about see her.  Fine of course if this is an Art installation, but if a brand is selling a product, doesn't it need to be seen, desired......bought?  The light that you can see in the image below is the reflection from a street lamp on the fenestration.

Anthropologie, London

If there was a space where we could happily and simply move in to it would be the Anthropologie store along Regent street.  This brand oozes creativity and at every turn there is something which draws our attention and guides us through the space.  Amazing products and super friendly service that we just need to swing by soon and get some more home ware. (these bust forms aren't doing the product any favours though)

Banana Republic, London

Wow, London windows are looking so good right now and we absolutely love this scheme at Banana on Regent street.  We're often quite critical of this brand and we don't always like what they do (does it matter what we think anyway?), but hats off to these guys who have pulled off this scheme quite superbly.  We haven't noticed a trend in 'travel' as a leading theme recently but it is Summer time, it is holiday time so from a seasonal angle this is absolutely right for now.  Its glamorous, its fun and does what it does quite superbly.

French Connection, London

How good are French Connection looking?  It looks like that awful previous campaign has been dropped (thankfully?, hopefully? Remember.... I am handbag, You are Goat....kind of thing which had a bearded Scandinavian feel about it, and absolutely and completely nonsense) anyway, someone here appears to have gripped this puppy by the throat and these guys seem to be back on track, picked themselves up, dusted themselves off and looking damn good.  We did think that it was touch and go with this brand and its probably taken every ounce of energy to get here.  In the meantime,  we've seen a few of these large format vinyls at the entrance of stores in places such as the new Juicy store along Regent street and they do look cool, don't you think?  We love how this store along Oxford street looks right now and really glad to be able to stop by and be wowed.  Love it. 

Mulberry, London

The latest scheme at Mulberry really did bring a smile to our faces.  We adore these out sized 'Yeti' paws and feet (would a yeti's have paws and feet if they existed?)  Anyway, great fun.  We just wish that this store didn't have this awful security grille behind it which just destroys this scheme when the store is closed.  Nonetheless, these guys have difficult windows to work with and they've done a great job, don't you think?

Victorinox, London

We were drawn to the scheme here at Victorinox for a variety of reasons.  Firstly, because we like this sense of exhibition space that they have created here around such a tiny product which kind of promotes this sense of the show room rather than narrative.  We were also drawn in because of the Le Corbusier influenced (we are guessing) product here; we're huge fans of Le Corbusiers work.  It appears that we can customise our own product here which is quite a leap forward in product development at this brand and we thought that the only place we could do this currently is at Nike and their trainers (or sneakers if you're reading this stateside)  Anyway, an interesting concept nonetheless; make ours a Swiss Army Knitting Needle please with a bit that opens all doors and safety deposit boxes.

 

Liberty, London

Oh Liberty, we have missed the fun of your schemes and the superb quality of the out comes.  We cant help but be drawn to this store to see what they are doing.  We probably always say this but we always lament just a little the fact that they lost their main windows on Regent st.  However the guys here always manage to 'pull it out of the bag' and deliver a corker of a scheme.  Narrative, luxury and fun are key ingredients here mixed with a very, very clever and intelligent humour.  You just gotta love it; we do.

Intimissimi, London

At first glance walking along Oxford Street we sort of quite liked this scheme at Intimissimi.  On closer inspection....well......what can we say?  Look at the detail of the chandelier and maybe you can make up your own mind about this, although we know what you're thinking.....yep...cheap scheme.  The nauseating lacy chandelier did actually cause a little mini-sickness in our throats as we walked by.  Oh.....but what could have been done with this brand when there is so much out there on the high street to bench mark it against.  Well, Victoria's Secrets will open soon in the old Pringle store along Bond St. so these guys will really need to get their act together and wow us into their space....else remember La Senza?.  So, cu'mon guys chuck out that bloody awful cheap chandelier and get something rather more glamorous into the space?  We're just telling it like it is.

Desigual, London

The guys at Desigual are absolutely right.  London is not the same.  How wonderfully chaotic and exciting is this scheme in what is actually a tiny space?  Desigual is so hot right now and this scheme says it all.  We're exciting, we're fun and we're full of life just screams from just this one window.  We absolutely adore what the guys do here and we've been catching up on some You tube promotions that they have done and, well, wow;  these guys are so fricking good and clearly have the best people working with them.

Hackett, London

Oh those guys at Hackett have done it again.  These guys must have so much fun down at Hackett house (wherever it is, and we hope they make the most noise in their office too).  Anyway, its not easy to achieve what they have produced and it looks amazing.  Everything is in here that matters.....narrative, fun, entertaining, nostalgia and reflective and most of all it sells the product.  Thanks guys, you are superstars and rocking the London high streets right now.  Keep 'em coming.

Zara, London

We love this scheme at Zara right now.  OK, well its possibly one of the remnants from the Olympics, but we have been out of the country for a while so its new to us.  In this locker room scene which looks almost like a modern version of a Caravaggio painting, the mannequins with their zigzag eye brows and multi-coloured wigs just looks superb, don't you think?

John Lewis, London

Well we're back in London and wow......how hot is this city?  We're not just talking about whats happening here window-wise but the weather is incredible..!  Anyway, we've already been out and about to have a look around town and it is amazing all of the changes that have taken place in a relatively short space of time.  D&G have closed their massive store  on Bond st. and Smytheson is going through a whole refit.  Coach has opened its doors for business and Juicy has opened in the old Kurt Geiger store in Regent st.  Gawd you turn ya back for on minute and the whole place falls apart.  Anyway, in the meantime, John Lewis is rocking Oxford St. with its massive Union flag graphic wrapped around the building.  Magnificent..!  We're so glad that the VML's have kicked in with Westminster Council to support this stuff.  We hope we will see more of it.  (VML's = Visual Merchandising Laxatives)

Signage, Shanghai

On our very last day in China, we decided to take some time out and climb (well, elevator) to the top of the Pearl Tower.  Although our Chinese is not good, we have to guess that this sign means no smoking and no hair dryers? 

We're now London bound so we'll be showing you next the latest and greatest from the coolest place on the planet; post jet lag of course.

Izzue, Shanghai

One of our favourite brands right now here in Shanghai has to be Izzue.  We had never heard of them before although we've seen several of their stores across China and their stores are looking super cool.   We're guessing that these guys are a Vietnamese brand as the Vietnamese seem to be getting everything so right?  Anyway, the merchandise is just a little on the super small size and this stuff is a little pricey for Chinese high street merchandise, although it is fabulous quality and we are rather tempted.

Markets, Shanghai

As regular readers will know, we spend hours scouring markets for delicious finds for trends and props and Shanghai has some corkers.  If you're looking for a ceramic Chairman Mao in a multitude of poses, some old Chinese lamps in unusual shapes, old coins, suitcases, bird cages or just some Asian stuff....the list goes on......then look no further.  We have to confess that we did have to treat ourselves to a ceramic waving Chairman Mao just for the kitsch value although we did resist the man selling a tiny vase in which one would place just one flower.....pluuurreaase we have enough 'stuff' already.  Anyway, the market traders here do come across a little aggressive and we're not really sure when we explain that 'We don't want a rusty bird cage thanks' whether they are replying 'Oh OK nice British visual researchers, 'ave a nice day guv'nor' or whether they have just put some Gypsy curse on us.  These guys do like to peer into your wallet however so if you do get down here, have small notes and haggle like your life depends on it.  One ceramic Chairman Mao - 3 quid, Kitsch value - priceless.

Plaza 353, Shanghai

We're becoming a little shopping weary right now having explored most of the malls, plaza's and department stores in Shanghai.  We are finding much of the same stuff repeated everywhere so any little gems that we find seem to make us ever more excited and delirious (well either that or the sun stroke is kicking in a treat).  Anyway, if by chance you happen to be in Plaza 353 and need to lift the shopping malaise then check out these fun seats.  The instructions are in Chinese and to be honest we don't have enough energy to even begin to try and translate this, but essentially these are old chairs with inflatable bits attached to them.  We don't know how comfortable they are, but they are great fun to view and we love this combination of the old and the new here.

Moncler, Shanghai

We've never recorded the windows of a Moncler store before although the brand seem somehow familiar?  Its still scorching hot here and the light is a little too blinding to our Western European sensitive eyes.  Clearly we are more suited for cooler climates which is probably why we were drawn to this scheme.  It seems so odd to view a Winter style theme in such heat, don't you think?  We love it of course, but we would probably faint just trying on this little Black number complete with Golden Cyber-storm-trooper-type helmet and even the thought of it is making us sweat more.  We always try and capture images of windows at night time although this city is rather too large to just spend all night trawling the streets and unfortunately therefore we have almost complete glare and reflection in these images.  Ah well, we're sure you get the gist of it anyway.

Louis Vuitton, Plaza 66, Shanghai

Through absolutely pure luck we came across this Louis Vuitton installation at Plaza 66 here in Shanghai.  In a desperate bid to keep cool, as its fricking hot here, we made a bee line for this actually fairly nondescript Plaza along the main drag.  Its rather quiet inside as you can see from this image although we managed to take some quick images of this enormous luggage shaped exhibition space.  To visualise the size of these just look to the right hand corner of this giant piece of luggage in the forefront where the doorway is in order to give you a sense of scale.  We also managed to get some cheeky interior shots but we know you wont tell anyone.

Adidas, Shanghai

Things change and move on and nothing lasts forever.  The London Olympics have come to an end in the most spectacular way, but then we in the UK were always good at closing things down; remember Thatcher?  Anyway, we've moved onto Shanghai and we're sweating more than the sweatiest Lycra wearing Olympian but exploring the delights of this magnificent city anyway.  We're seven...ish hours ahead of the UK so its desperately late...or early? and we're working through the night in search of the best windows that we can find.  Hands up, Adidas is looking hot right now and just like Nike we have an army of mannequins guarding the entrance to their store.  Adidas has never looked so good with their massive Dragon vinyl placed on the fenestration adding to the excitement shared around the world.  Amazing stuff.

On the Streets, Beijing

There seems to be a Soho in just about every major city in the world, isn't there?  So, its not really a surprise that areas which are clearly being regenerated for the Urban cool shouldn't call at least somewhere, Soho.  Although there's notreally much here at the moment apart from office blocks which is quite interesting (well the fact that the Chinese call this area Soho, not the office blocks of course).  What you cant see in these images is that there a massive fly over right in from of the signage.  Very odd, but, well, good on these guys for trying we guess and we wish that we could stay longer to see what happens in this area over time.

American Apparel, Tokyo



Images Courtesy and Copyright Lena Shockley



We just love the far east right now.  The weather is scorching that even at night time we dare not walk too fast around town as otherwise its a case of changing into a third set of fresh clothes: although part of the fun in being in these places is being able to get into the rhythm of life here - wonderful.  Anyway, we were kindly sent these images which we love.  The colours of the far eastern regions all look so incredible in this light.  The scheme here at American Apparel just about sums up what we need right now.  Very cold ice creams and lolly pops.  American Apparel has never looked so good.  

On the Streets, Beijing

We're still rather stunned at how excited and Olympic mad the Chinese are.  These guys working at a local mall sporting their London 2012 Olympic t-shirts were particularly excited.....;o)

Nike, Beijing

Sports, and in particular, the Olympics appear to be taken very seriously here in Beijing, and judging by the windows at Nike on the Wangfujing, with its army of mannequins, all rather powerful too.  The lighting along this street is so bright that even at night time it appears as if its day time; well London day time at least.  Huge video walls and flashing lights make this area very alluring and exciting to be a part of; at least for a while.

On the Streets, Beijing

It took us a while to work out what this is.  It seems to be a promotional installation for capturing images and it was only by watching the Chinese interact with it that we could work out what it did.  There was nothing revolutionary about it but it seemed by the crowds who were interacting with it that it was very popular, although only temporary.  In the image below you can also see what appear to be little crosses.  These have been filled with all sorts of images from the Olympics.  It seems so strange to view what is happening back in London from the streets of Beijing, but one thing is clear from what we have observed, and that is that they are Olympic mad here.

I.T, Beijing

One of the wonderful things about the Malls of Beijing is the masses of space that they seem to have and we are quite in awe of it all and slightly overwhelmed.  Here at the Oriental Mall on the main fashion shopping street of Wangfujing which leads on the Tiananmen square, there are, yet again far too many shops to know where to begin.  I.T, which unfortunately was in Sale when we visited looked particularly interesting because of their enormous video wall.  We love the respect here shown to everyone as this kind of installation would probably be smashed and bashed if it were back in the UK, but the Chinese appear to take care of everything so well that we could probably eat the Chicken soup that we had for lunch (still with its head attached and complete with comb) from the floor.  Still, we did manage to avoid ordering the fried toad and the snake fish by mistake.