Benetton, London

We've seen lots of references to Birds of Prey around town recently so we are guessing this is one of the current trends on the high street right now.  We will keep you posted with the recent developments from the other mass brands and see if we can make some links here. 

Hermes, London

This is a very interesting scheme here at Hermes, which did bring a huge smile to our faces.  After all, how many combinations of scarves, belts and handbags can one show?  There are of course infinite ways, however we love the 'Nora Batty' and 'Hilda Ogden-esq' references here (apologies those of you in Asia and stateside for the in-joke here).  Although probably not intentional, it is great fun to see the human side to a luxury brand and that they have a sense of humour. 

Max Mara, London

The colour being used at Max Mara on the back walls is quite stunning don't you think?  Its actually a lot lighter than our images suggest actually more Turquoise.  With the use of these silver metallic pillars behind the mannequins which are placed very simply in a repetition format it really is quite a delicious presentation.

Moschino, London

 

We do try so hard to love this brand and what they do; honest.  But, wtf?  This brand appears to have completely lost all creative direction, don't you think?  Or are we being harsh?  This is such a shame as Moschino himself was such an amazing designer.  Sadly, this brand looks as dreadful as Chanel with its 'wiggy' mannequins and their cheap props.  While the brand clearly has the cash, the vulgarity of it all is just bizarre.  We would like to think that these guys are so avant garde and that we have missed the point; although we really cant believe that there was any point in the first instance?  We're just telling it like it is, afterall do you sit like this in a chair with your nails deeply embedded in the seat?..probably not?

Berlutti, London

This brand seem to be popping up everywhere at the moment.  The scheme at Harrods which we showed recently looked amazing and this store along Conduit street has gone from a tiny unnoticed store to producing some really fun schemes.  What's going on here?  We 'd like to think someone here has been looking at our site and encouraged to produce ever exciting schemes (but we can only speculate of course).   Anyway, these guys are beginning to have a whiff of Paul Smith sophistication about them, and we love that.  Keep 'em coming guys..!

Asprey, London

This scheme at Asprey must have taken forever to produce and we love it.  It is possibly the end of the Summer here in London (at least for another 12 months) and and this just reminds us of those gorgeous days that we used to have before the weather went bonkers.  Have you ever been to one of those 'Downton Abbey-like' country homes in places that we will never live and just enjoyed a lazy afternoon basking like a lizard in the warmth?  Us neither, but this is what it reminds us of if we ever do.

Nicole Farhi, London

Images Copyright Melvyn Vincent

 

Since this brand moved to their site along Conduit street we've always thought how difficult it was to work with these windows.  However, the team here always seem to get it so right.  This collection of mannequins are also quite difficult to handle and yet always look so good.  We're wondering what spectacular scheme we will see for Christmas?

 

Tiffany, London

We are quite big fans of Tiffany normally as jewellery is very difficult to present well and their schemes are always so creative.  This one is perhaps a little hit and miss?  We're not huge on bows per se so this one doesn't tick many boxes.  These guys have a tough job and to work across so many stores is no mean feat.  We just don't like this one though.

Cofrad, Paris

Were you at the Cofrad launch event in Paris on Thursday evening?  If not then you missed a corker of a party.  Performance artists, tattooists customising a mannequin and a fantastic crowd followed by a wonderful evening partying with Parisian glitterati.  This was an evening filled with the beautiful of Paris and we have to admit, we did feel a little fragile on the Eurostar back to London in the morning.  Fantastic collections of mannequins were on show and the showroom which was a former Parisian Butchers is absolutely stunning.  Thank you for our invitation guys, we had a wonderful time.   Static images never really communicate an atmosphere, so we've incuded these links for you see the space and information about the company for yourself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4cLzovalWk   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYg4sJlqCAg

Esprit, London

We're loving this collaboration between the Royal College of Art and Esprit on Regent street right now.  How cool is Esprit looking? At the entrance of the space are these graphic panels supporting the incredible product.  This store looks more boutique than large corporate giant that we are loathed to shop in, but may be a little more enticed now.  We're seeing a lot more of this localised creativity and hopefully product differentiation across a lot of brands.  This could only be a good move forward otherwise there's no point in shopping in different cities if the product and stores all look the same.  Don't you think?

DKNY, London

Hints to London Fashion week are all around town right now - of course.  The scheme at DKNY is not the most original or amazing sadly, but they have made an effort.  Its just such a shame that these awful security grilles are everywhere which just do nothing to support the product.

Burberry, London

Have you been to the new Burberry flagship yet?  If not, then it really is worth a visit.  You may remember this site as the place where Habitat completely failed to make an impression in what is actually a very difficult space to sell from.  We've done a little research and apparently this is also the site of a former cinema where Queen Victoria saw her first film.  Anyway, the site does look a little reminiscent of possibly a Methodist church which makes this space very hard to design within, that said it is very impressive.  Technology is clearly leading the way right now as a strand through new retail environments and this one is no exception.  The massive amazing central video screen, screens concertinaed around the first floor and all sales staff armed with ipads, this is retail of the future, only now. 

Alexander McQueen, London

How stunning is this merchandise at McQueen?  We are huge fans of this brand and have just visited the new McQ store just around the corner - its so new that we can still smell the paint and had huge amounts of fun with the incredible digital screens taking photos of ourselves and emailing them.  Anyway, we imagine the London Fashion Week show for this brand will be spectacular as ever.  Sadly we never get to go but at least we can drool at the windows.

H & M, London

The beginning of Fashion week has certainly generated a lot of excitement amongst the retailers around town right now.  Thankfully H&M haven't simply applied a vinyl to the fenestration like most, and here we have these fantastic out sized letters screaming the launch of Fashion Week.  These guys are doing such exciting stuff, don't you think?  For a mid range retailer they are working so hard to create a fun and exciting environment for us to shop in and entice us in and we really do want to take a closer look.  Great product, beautifully presented how could we not want to shop here?.    

Hobbs, London

Oh Hobbs sweetheart what the frick are you doing?  Animal heads were on trend a year ago.  We did screech to a halt when we spotted this lil' 'ole scheme on South Molton street, but only because of the dead eyes of these bird heads. This scheme reminds us is of  the film 'Calendar girls'.  You remember the one where all the women from the local WI get their boobs out for a calendar?  Lots of other 'institutions' followed suit and some got it completely wrong.  Remember the middle-aged women's weaving circle that flashed their bosoms and lost thousands of pounds because no-one wanted to buy images of females with their scary middle-aged brown saucer-like nips being flashed on a calendar? (pounds as in sterling not weight for those of  our readers stateside).  Anyway,  cu'mon guys, you want our hard earned cash - make an effort?  Mannequins with dead-eyed birds heads on mannequins dressed like frumps is just not enticing.  Get ya'self a copy of The Mix Mag. and invest in great VM's to turn yourselves around; it really is the only way.

Oasis, London

Oasis seem to just get better and better, don't you think?  We have spotted some brilliant schemes at this brand over this year and this one is no exception.  OK, well they probably don't have enormous budgets to play with so some corners have to be cut, although we have to say that they are looking really very good.  We particularly enjoyed the luggage laden car right at the front of the store on Argyll street here in central London which brought a huge smile to our faces.  Fantastic guys.

Gucci, London

Butterflies on leads?  It has to be Gucci.  Furthering this flight / travel trend which is clearly peaking right now if the lux brands are doing it can also be seen at Gucci on Sloane street here in London.  We're not massive fans of what this brand do, although the quality is always here.  But anyway, as these are one of the 'innovators' on the high street, they will almost certainly be looking over their shoulders at what the mid-range and value's are doing, so we wont be surprised if this scheme changes quite soon.

Dior, London

Its all click, click, flash, flash down at Dior.  This scheme, probably in preparation for Fashions Night out is possibly one of the best that we have seen from this brand in quite a while.  We captured this one at their Sloane street site as Bond Street never seem to do very much with their schemes - odd.  Anyway, gorgeous models, beautifully dressed, not a particularly original scheme but beautifully produced.

Gant, London

We have a mix of ideas here at Gant, firstly with this kitchen scene and references to quite utilitarian environments and the second promoting the new collection from Michael Bastian, The Lucky ones (maybe they are linked, we don't know?)  We did have a quick search of their website but we're not entirely sure if these are connected.  Anyway, what we do know is how cool these guys here at Gant are and have had the opportunity to see first hand how they work so enjoy even more the direction that they are moving in.

 

Diesel, London

We love the direction that Diesel seem to be going in here with their large illuminated props.  If you remember the last scheme which contained the Amy Winehouse-type sailor tattoos supporting the product, we thought it looked very cool.  If you cant remember what it looked like you can scroll back from the left hand side of this page.  We've also mentioned recently the travel trend that that we're seeing more and more of around town, previously at Banana Republic and Desigual.  At Diesel the references to travel, and in this case space are particularly vibrant, fun and exciting, don't you think?

Belstaff, London

Further along the windows at Harrods here in Knightsbridge is the new Belstaff scheme.  What is particularly interesting about this scheme, besides the high quality of installation is the amazing rolling screen.  This is a difficult scheme to appreciate in a static image so if you happen to be over this part of town, do go an take a look.

Harrods, London

We haven't been over to Knightsbridge in absolutely ages or looked to see what Harrods are doing.  How incredible does this scheme look?  We seen some interesting bits coming from Berlutti although this has to be one of the best so far.  Harrods have a whole range of installations right now relating to various products, however this is certainly our favourite one.

Hogan, London

When we saw this window scheme initially we did look at it with a 'so what', however on closer inspection this very much relates to the 'collective' trend mentioned by the Mix magazine.  Scratching just a little below the surface, this scheme is 'genius' in this respect.  Someone mentioned to us recently...'you know, you can give a client all the trend information, but what do they do with it?....do they understand it?'  The answer is invariably a 'no' however, Hogan, although not the most exciting scheme here on the high street, did 'get it' and have pitched it at just the right level for their clientele.

Bershka, London

Have you seen the new Bershka scheme on Oxford street?  We were drawn away from Topshop's windows across the street to go and take a look.  How cool are these old style image slides?  Inserted in some of them are digital screens and in others some product.  We're not really sure about the colour of the mannequins however which make them appear is if they have been dug up from a teen horror movie, however the overall scheme is looking very cool indeed.

Fendi, London

We haven't been to look at Fendi for several months so it was quite a nice surprise to view this very simple but effective scheme.  We've seen something vaguely similar at Anya Hindmarch which also contains these outlines of boxes.  There's clearly something trend-wise going on here so we will keep our eyes open and ears to the ground to find out a little more to share with you.

Desigual, London

This one tiny window at Desigual just gets better and better.  The guys here clearly have their fingers on the pulse of it all and its certainly rocking Regent street literally as we type.  We're beginning to see more and more of these travel references and interestingly aeroplanes being included in various schemes right now so there is clearly a trend which we also noticed at Banana Republic just a few doors away.  Anyway, if you happen to pass this store then do take a look inside.  The bottles hanging from the ceiling here look incredible.