Made You Look! - The Art of Window Dressing

Daphne Guinness in the windows for Barney's

As a consumer, I've never thought much about how much effort goes into dressing a window however, with online retailing becoming more and more popular, there is increasing pressure on bricks and mortar retailers to attract customers into their stores. Have you stopped to think about what catches your eye when you're walking down the street? Is it a certain colour, shape, object? There are many techniques shops can use to catch the attention of passersby.

Unsurprisingly, there is a science behind the art of window dressing. Different colours are used to elicit different emotions from consumers. Hot pink suggests youthfulness, red is eye catching and usually associated with something passionate or a safe, blue promotes calmness, yellows and light pinks are feminine, the list goes on. Even the placement of products are important, with objects placed at eye level perceived as more important by viewers.

General Pants' controversial Ksubi campaign

Even shapes can influence consumers. Curvy lines suggest something natural and organic whilst square and rectangular shapes suggest stability. Strong diagonal lines are dynamic and are linked to movement.

Surprisingly mannequins can even influence a consumers perception of clothing. I always wondered why headless mannequins were used by stores. It turns out, they allow viewers to more easily imagine the clothes on themselves! 

Australian stores are taking the initiative to create more interesting and engaging window displays. General Pants' recent provocative window for Ksubi's Sex! and Fashion campaign had to be censored so as to not offend young viewers. As the saying goes, any publicity is good publicity so I don't think General Pants were complaining about the media coverage the display got. 

Australian pyjama king Peter Alexander knows the importance of window displays. Each display is planned six months in advance, with campaigns such a hit with customers that they buy the props after the campaign's over.

Overseas, retailers have mastered the art of window dressing, many employing local artists to assist with the design process. Barney's and Topshop have taken window dressing to a whole new level. Earlier this year socialite Daphne Guinness prepared for the Met Gala in the windows of Barney's. The adjacent windows were filled with stunning pieces from her collection from the late Isabella Blow. To promote her new Topshop collection, Kate Moss posed in the window for Topshop bringing passing traffic to a halt.

So next time you're out shopping, take the time to look at the window displays and think about what grabs your eye!

Check out some of the most interesting displays from around the world:

The amazing Bergdorf Goodman holiday window

Interesting use of an ostrich in the Louis Vuitton window

Calvin Klein's suspended mannequin display

Hermès' creepily interesting display

Barney's window display designed by artist Dennis McNett

Chanel-Kubricks window display in Nippon

Lanvin's Paris windows using fans to bring the clothes to life

The Hermès window display in Tokyo design by Japanese designer Tokujin Yoshioka.
The installation used cleverly timed videos of women and hidden fans to create the perception that the women were blowing iconic Hermès scarves. 

These many surveillance cameras would make anyone
think twice before trying to steal these Louis Vuitton bags.

The Calvin Klein Collection store in New York
featured a display of some of the world's most famous couples.

Post-It Pop Art in the window of Berdorf Goodman 

Apple for iPod Hi-Fi

Takashi Murakami wrapped the Louis Vuitton store in its signature 33 colours for the holiday season

The beautiful floral display in Le Printemps

Images courtesy of http://style.com, http://stlyenews.peoplestylewatch.com, http://vickilovesclothes.blogspot.com, http://ournipponjourney.blogspot.com, http://modernmet.com, http://illawarranmercury.com.au, http://digitaljournal.com

Information sourced from Shop Til' You Drop, http://mymodernmet.com

Fashion Muse - Kate Moss

Moss in a beautiful Dior dress

Although Kate Moss is sometimes in the headlines for the wrong reasons, there is no doubt she has not only shown staying power in a notorious fickle industry, but her smart business mind has seen her become one of the world's richest supermodels. With her popular 9 collection collaboration with British High Street giant Topshop, to her own perfume line and collaboration with Longchamp, she has made a lucrative career off the catwalk. She has also been the in major campaigns for Gucci, Dolce & Gabanna, Chanel, Calvin Klein, Bulgari and Rimmel.

Moss recently attracted criticism for smoking whilst walking the catwalk for Louis Vuitton. Moss' appearance almost overshadowed the runway fashion.

Moss is a strong supporter of the Breakthrough Breast Cancer charity, and is a strong supporter of various humanitarian charitable organisations.

Chanel Kate's style with rocker inspired jeans and jackets, winged eyeliner, dramatic dresses and unstyled hair.

Check out some of Kate's stylish outfits:

  

      

       Moss adding her rocker touch
           to a white maxi

Moss favours black blazers and tights

Loving the statement bag

Moss in Marc Jacobs at the Met Gala,
single-handedly bringing back turbans

Moss and partner Jamie HInce make a stylish pair

Moss at her The Beautiful and Damned
themed 30th birthday party

Moss relaxing in St Tropez

Moss in the window for her
Topshop collaboration

Looking relaxed in flairs

Loving the lady-like look

Moss with Topshop founder Phillip Green

Moss making a simple
black look her own

Moss with daughter Lila Grace and
partner Jamie Hince

Moss wearing Stella MacCartney at
the Met Gala

Moss wearing a Topshop playsuit
backwards

Information sourced from http://wikipedia.org

Images courtesy from http://forums.thefashionspot.com, http://bigpicturesphoto.com, lostraposdenina.blogspot.com, demonology.com, http://dailymail.co.uk and http://thebaglady.tv

Fashion Muse: Olivia Palermo

She's the girl we all love to hate on reality TV show The City, but Oliva Palermo cannot put a fashion foot wrong.

With the ability to mix prints and styles in a way that shouldn't work but somehow does, she has mastered the art of mixing high street fashion, with high end designers. This is a trend we are increasingly seeing in street fashion around the world.  With the GFC affecting economies globally, consumers couldn't always afford to dress head-to-toe in designer gear.  As a result, we have seen consumers mix Chanel, LV and Balenciaga, with Topshop, asos and Zara. With high street retailers turning over clothes on a weekly basis, this meant consumers could still afford to keep up with trends, without breaking the bank.

Palermo was recently the face of the asos.com magazine and is currently the face of Mango. Her love for high street fashion has meant that her style is not just accessable to those with a socialite budget.  Not only has she mastered the art of dressing up, her street style is the right mix of comfort and style. A regular feature at fashion week, Palermo has a new reality TV series in the works.  She might not be the nicest girl on TV, but she certainly great to watch!

Images courtsey of www.sunraince.com and asos.com


You can channel Olivia's style by mixing bold prints, wearing statement necklaces and detailed shoes and tailored man style pants and jackets.

I love the unique red jacket which brightens up a neutral outfit.

A fan of statement necklaces, Palermo knows how to balance them with simple outfits.

Not afraid to recycle clothes and accessories, this
vintage Hermes clutch is on regular rotation in Palermo's wardrobe.

Often seen wearing prints, Palermo isn't afraid of wearing bright colours.

Palermo rarely wears boring footwear
and often uses it to add a kick to a simple outfit.

Often seen in tailored man style outfits,
Palermos shows she can rock a pair of pants.

 Images courtesy of www.oliviapalermofashion.blogspot.com