The best Christmas window displays from around the world

From Selfridges in London to Macy’s in New York and Printemps in Paris, FashionUnited has rounded up the best of this year’s festive window displays at iconic department stores across the world.

Selfridges, London

Selfridges claimed to be the first in the world to launch its Christmas installation, back in October, with its ‘With love from…’ theme as a tribute to London, Manchester and Birmingham, the three cities its stores call home.

The retailer’s Oxford Street windows in London feature a market stall complete with 5,000 hand-painted Brussels sprouts, a marching brass band, commuters riding gold bikes adorned with wreaths, a giant red-breasted robin and the biggest triple-sided window at the corner of Oxford Street has 10 Santas and his red suit is adorned in pearly buttons, inspired by the Pearly Kings and Queens of London.

Selfridges Christmas in numbers - almost 1,000 metres of plush red velvet have been used to cover the floors and walls of the windows, over 15,000 metres of LED lights decorate the foliage and handrails inside and outside the store, there are more than 85,000 Christmas baubles hung across the stores’ balconies and ceilings, and 200 Christmas trees.

Harrods, London

Luxury department store Harrods has teamed up with Dolce and Gabbana to celebrate the holidays to give shoppers a glimpse into a traditional Italian Christmas. Each of the window displays on Brompton Road and Hans Crescent explore Christmas through the eyes of Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana as Sicilian puppets showcasing an element of their own Christmas traditions as well as their latest collection.

Harrods chief merchant, Helen David, said: “Domenico and Stefano take us through their festive Italian Christmas via the exciting window displays that they have created for Harrods.

“Our windows this Christmas will be alight with tradition, the love of family, and an all-around celebration of this special time of year with a hefty dose of fun and Italian spirit.”

The Dolce and Gabbana x Harrods festive takeover includes a Dolce and Gabbana Italian Market on the 4th floor of the department store, as well as a fine watches and jewellery pop-up.

Liberty, London

Iconic Liberty is paying homage to London in its 2017 Christmas windows, which have been inspired by the famous poem, ’Twas the Night Before Christmas' by Clement Clarke Moore. Liberty's windows recreate the shop's rooftops with twinkly lights, a sprinkling of snow and a warm cream moon.

The nostalgic setting has been brought to life with modern rope lighting against a backdrop of rich green foliage including ferns and fragrant eucalyptus, while moving elements showcase bi-weekly changing products dispersed throughout the display.

The store’s central atrium also features a dramatic rope light chandelier hanging from the ceiling, visible from each balcony.

Harvey Nichols, London

The Knightsbridge Harvey Nichols has been given a vibrant makeover for Christmas, with rainbow colours, bold textures and graphic patterns in the windows along with glitter, stars and lots of lights, 5,370 metres of LED strip lights, the equivalent in length to 478 buses to be exact.

Janet Wardley, head of visual display at Harvey Nichols said: “Themes of joy and positivity ran through the AW17 and SS18 shows, evoking a determination not to dwell on the uncertain times of the current climate.

“This inspired us to create a high energy scheme that uses dazzling colours, lights and shapes to entertain our customers – some of the vinyls are so bright that the team had to wear sunglasses during the install.”

Interested in the numbers? Harvey Nichols 2017 Christmas windows also feature: 5,101 hanging baubles, neon balls and stars, 3,555 vinyl stars, 382 mirror balls, 62 bespoke wigs and 620 mannequins with manicures.

Bloomingdales, New York

The New York department has teamed up with Swarovski and movie The Greatest Showman on its festive windows, bringing the music from the film to life in scenes sparkling with 7.6 million Swarovski crystals.

“Each year we look forward to unveiling our holiday windows. We are thrilled to welcome New Yorkers and visitors of all ages to experience this year’s spectacular design and animation,” explains Tony Spring, Bloomingdale’s chairman and chief executive officer. “The magic of P.T. Barnum is captured throughout our 59th Street flagship, inspired by our partnership with The Greatest Showman and brought to life with 7.6 million Swarovski crystals in our Lexington Avenue Windows. This project and partnership is one of things that make s Bloomingdale’s like no other store in the world.”

Macy’s Herald Square, New York

This holiday season, Macy’s is celebrating the love of family and friends with its “The Perfect Gift Brings People Together,” Christmas windows created by award-winning designer, Roya Sullivan, Macy’s national director of window presentation.

The windows centre on the joy sharing holiday season festivities with those we love and holiday traditions including the Christmas tree, ice skating, Santa, a ballerina starring in a holiday show, and Christmas travel.

“As we created these windows, we were thinking about the magic of holiday giving and the importance of being with those we love throughout the Christmas season,” said Sullivan. “We have guests from all over the world travel to New York see our windows, some who are visiting for the first time and some who return every year. We wanted to capture that bustling energy and magic of New York City during the holidays, filled with special moments with family and friends.”

Macy’s Christmas window facts - it takes 21 days and nights for more than 200 people to bring the windows to life and they will be enjoyed by more than 10,000 people per hour during peak hours.

Printemps, Paris

This year, the windows of the Boulevard Haussmann department store in Paris, tell the tale of two children who travel around the world on the trip of a lifetime, in ‘the extraordinary journey of gifts’. Printemps has partnered with six companies including Fendi, MCM, and Citroën to bring the story to life, while more than 160 Christmas trees and over 30,000 baubles will decorate the shop floor.

Images: courtesy of Selfridges, Harrods, Liberty, Harvey Nichols, Macy’s - by Diane Bondareff for AP, Bloomingdales, via Printemps Facebook