Meet the Creative Minds Behind NYCs Elaborate Holiday Windows
In Manhattan, theres a singular marker that announces the official beginning of the holiday shopping season. Its not the swan call of Black Friday discounts or the sweet promise of the first snowfall (though, those do help usher the shopping season along). Instead, its the arrival of over-the-top department store windows, stuffed with holiday cheer, tons of glitter and, sometimes, fine clothing.
There are five mainstays on the holiday window circuit: Barneys New York, Bloomingdales, Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord & Taylor. We can confirm that each mega store is worth at least a five minute visit, before the window displays are cleared with the arrival of 2017. Though you might assume that each shop boasts a vitrine that is similar to the next, featuring a take on Santa, wrapped presents and at least a tree or two, you might be surprised to find otherwise. While Barneys New York did hone in on a theme of Peace, Love and Joy, their exterior display was delightfully nondenominational, and even included an appearance by the cast of South Park. On the other hand, Saks Fifth Avenue (almost) sent us into a sugar-induced coma with their hyper sweet theme of Land of 1,000 Delights, the design of which included plenty of candy.
Barneys New York
The cast of South Park might not particularly remind you of the holidays, but Barneys took a chance on unconventional imagery for the 2016 season. Thus, Stan, Cartman, Kyle and Kenny are gracing Fifth Avenue with their presence, whipped up by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of the Comedy Central show, with help from Christie. In the show, the jokes come first, but making a window is like creating a work of art. Im really excited that this is something from South Park that I can actually show my daughter, quipped Parker.
They arent the only personalities who lent their creativity to the department store: Nick Cave, Rob Pruitt, Ebony G. Patterson, We are Prism and Studio Job all participated, too. This years theme was Love, Peace and Joy, in a nod to the worlds current climate of chaos and divisiveness, according to Barneys. The shop allowed each artist to interpret the theme in their own aesthetic and filled the windows of their Uptown and Downtown shops with the results. While Pruitt displayed Love with a cardboard couple watching TV (along with the addition of a few sparkly Hokusai-style waves), Cave produced two of his well-known Soundsuit sculptures. Serving to blur race, gender and class, one figure sits in lotus position in a glimmering jumpsuit while the other is composed of eight objects, including a knit fabric, colorful hair and metal.
Job Smeets and Nynke Tynagel of Studio Job used their window to recreate The Love Boat, from the 70s TV show of the same name. According to Smeets, his version has more of a Titanic feel, though it features influences from Salvador Dalí and Dada. Its a boat that would never be able to float; it would sink immediately, because theres giant holes in its vessel, he pointed out. Studio Job was also tasked with creating graphics for merchandise that coincided with the windows, ranging from bomber jackets to placemats, plus puzzles, cup holders, pins and t-shirts. Barneys is also hosting Studio Job and Nick Cave pop-ups in their stores, so its clear that this collaboration took quite a bit of work, from all parties involved.
It took a long time and it was very complex thing, Smeets admitted. I think it [took] five months, from beginning to end. At least 50 emails a day and a million different phone calls. But Studio Job is happy to see their realist designs disseminated to the public at-large. I love it, I love to go all the way. Its the same as in fashion, to go from haute couture to ready-to-wear. We do the high-end stuff, but we also do the merchandise, I find that so creatively interesting. Its also social, so people can buy a souvenir of the event.
Bloomingdales
One thing we could all use more of, especially in the year 2016, is light. Which, coincidentally, is the theme of Bloomingdales windows. The storied department store also factored freedom into the theme (albeit unofficially), by tapping a number of artists to interpret what light means to them, in the form of a chandelier. Eight artists took part in the window decoration process, including Inma Barrero, Erika DeVries and Jonah Meyer, Abby Modell, Sean Augustine March, Susanne Bartsch, Allison Eden, Esmeralda Kosmatopoulos and George Kroenert.
Each artist developed a sub-theme, which related back to the underlying Light theme. Eden, for example, chose Sparkle and used that idea to recreate an underwater world, inspired by her childhood in the beachside town of La Jolla. Brilliant was the buzzword chosen by Bartsch, which she associated with inspiring people in her life. The chandelier represents the center of my solar system and resembles the face of Leigh Bowery, a performance artist I brought to New York in the early eighties, she explained to Observer.
The Brooklyn Museum contacted me to ask if I would be interested in making a piece for the Bloomingdales holiday windows. I loved the charitable aspect behind the project and it brought me back to my childhood when I used to do windows in my mothers boutique, said Barrero, touching upon Bloomingdales philanthropic tie-in. Each of the chandeliers will be auctioned on Charity Buzz, with 100 percent of the proceeds benefitting the Child Mind Institute. Barreros theme was Reflections, so mirrors played a big role in her creation, which also features twisted metal, found objects, glass, wood and clay.
The piece becomes part of the environment, absorbing the natural light and reflecting it back together with the images of the people nearby It is for me a reminder of resilience. The mirror reflects the ever changing light emphasizing the ephemeral with the wire and porcelain emphasizing the resilience of the human spirit, she mused.
Bergdorf Goodman
For the 2016 holiday season, Bergdorf Goodman went green, but in the most literal sense. With the theme of Destination Extraordinary, the earthy hue took over their Fifth Avenue presence. With tropical plants and plenty of cacti, viewers of the windows are transported to faraway locales, or perhaps just a bit further uptown, to the Natural History Museum.
David Hoey, the stores senior director of visual presentation affirmed that notion. This year, we were inspired by the drama of nature, he said. The windows are like delirious remakes of classic giant dioramas seen in a natural history museum. According to a press release, Hoey was further inspired by Henri Rousseau paintings and 12th century Chinese watercolors of mountains, which might explain the timeless feeling the vitrines exude.
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In Manhattan, theres a singular marker that announces the official beginning of the holiday shopping season. Its not the swan call of Black Friday discounts or the sweet promise of the first snowfall (though, those do help usher the shopping season along). Instead, its the arrival of over-the-top department store windows, stuffed with holiday cheer, tons of glitter and, sometimes, fine clothing.
There are five mainstays on the holiday window circuit: Barneys New York, Bloomingdales, Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord & Taylor. We can confirm that each mega store is worth at least a five minute visit, before the window displays are cleared with the arrival of 2017. Though you might assume that each shop boasts a vitrine that is similar to the next, featuring a take on Santa, wrapped presents and at least a tree or two, you might be surprised to find otherwise. While Barneys New York did hone in on a theme of Peace, Love and Joy, their exterior display was delightfully nondenominational, and even included an appearance by the cast of South Park. On the other hand, Saks Fifth Avenue (almost) sent us into a sugar-induced coma with their hyper sweet theme of Land of 1,000 Delights, the design of which included plenty of candy.
Barneys New York
The cast of South Park might not particularly remind you of the holidays, but Barneys took a chance on unconventional imagery for the 2016 season. Thus, Stan, Cartman, Kyle and Kenny are gracing Fifth Avenue with their presence, whipped up by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of the Comedy Central show, with help from Christie. In the show, the jokes come first, but making a window is like creating a work of art. Im really excited that this is something from South Park that I can actually show my daughter, quipped Parker.
They arent the only personalities who lent their creativity to the department store: Nick Cave, Rob Pruitt, Ebony G. Patterson, We are Prism and Studio Job all participated, too. This years theme was Love, Peace and Joy, in a nod to the worlds current climate of chaos and divisiveness, according to Barneys. The shop allowed each artist to interpret the theme in their own aesthetic and filled the windows of their Uptown and Downtown shops with the results. While Pruitt displayed Love with a cardboard couple watching TV (along with the addition of a few sparkly Hokusai-style waves), Cave produced two of his well-known Soundsuit sculptures. Serving to blur race, gender and class, one figure sits in lotus position in a glimmering jumpsuit while the other is composed of eight objects, including a knit fabric, colorful hair and metal.
Job Smeets and Nynke Tynagel of Studio Job used their window to recreate The Love Boat, from the 70s TV show of the same name. According to Smeets, his version has more of a Titanic feel, though it features influences from Salvador Dalí and Dada. Its a boat that would never be able to float; it would sink immediately, because theres giant holes in its vessel, he pointed out. Studio Job was also tasked with creating graphics for merchandise that coincided with the windows, ranging from bomber jackets to placemats, plus puzzles, cup holders, pins and t-shirts. Barneys is also hosting Studio Job and Nick Cave pop-ups in their stores, so its clear that this collaboration took quite a bit of work, from all parties involved.
It took a long time and it was very complex thing, Smeets admitted. I think it [took] five months, from beginning to end. At least 50 emails a day and a million different phone calls. But Studio Job is happy to see their realist designs disseminated to the public at-large. I love it, I love to go all the way. Its the same as in fashion, to go from haute couture to ready-to-wear. We do the high-end stuff, but we also do the merchandise, I find that so creatively interesting. Its also social, so people can buy a souvenir of the event.
Bloomingdales
One thing we could all use more of, especially in the year 2016, is light. Which, coincidentally, is the theme of Bloomingdales windows. The storied department store also factored freedom into the theme (albeit unofficially), by tapping a number of artists to interpret what light means to them, in the form of a chandelier. Eight artists took part in the window decoration process, including Inma Barrero, Erika DeVries and Jonah Meyer, Abby Modell, Sean Augustine March, Susanne Bartsch, Allison Eden, Esmeralda Kosmatopoulos and George Kroenert.
Each artist developed a sub-theme, which related back to the underlying Light theme. Eden, for example, chose Sparkle and used that idea to recreate an underwater world, inspired by her childhood in the beachside town of La Jolla. Brilliant was the buzzword chosen by Bartsch, which she associated with inspiring people in her life. The chandelier represents the center of my solar system and resembles the face of Leigh Bowery, a performance artist I brought to New York in the early eighties, she explained to Observer.
The Brooklyn Museum contacted me to ask if I would be interested in making a piece for the Bloomingdales holiday windows. I loved the charitable aspect behind the project and it brought me back to my childhood when I used to do windows in my mothers boutique, said Barrero, touching upon Bloomingdales philanthropic tie-in. Each of the chandeliers will be auctioned on Charity Buzz, with 100 percent of the proceeds benefitting the Child Mind Institute. Barreros theme was Reflections, so mirrors played a big role in her creation, which also features twisted metal, found objects, glass, wood and clay.
The piece becomes part of the environment, absorbing the natural light and reflecting it back together with the images of the people nearby It is for me a reminder of resilience. The mirror reflects the ever changing light emphasizing the ephemeral with the wire and porcelain emphasizing the resilience of the human spirit, she mused.
Bergdorf Goodman
For the 2016 holiday season, Bergdorf Goodman went green, but in the most literal sense. With the theme of Destination Extraordinary, the earthy hue took over their Fifth Avenue presence. With tropical plants and plenty of cacti, viewers of the windows are transported to faraway locales, or perhaps just a bit further uptown, to the Natural History Museum.
David Hoey, the stores senior director of visual presentation affirmed that notion. This year, we were inspired by the drama of nature, he said. The windows are like delirious remakes of classic giant dioramas seen in a natural history museum. According to a press release, Hoey was further inspired by Henri Rousseau paintings and 12th century Chinese watercolors of mountains, which might explain the timeless feeling the vitrines exude.
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