The inspiring Christmas store windows decorations trends

Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way ... the magic of Christmas began with the craftsmanship and the creativity of the big stores. From New York to Paris, the Christmas energy catches us all. It is time to swing on the Santa s sleigh!

New York is more futuristic this year. What stores like Barneys or  Saks Fifth Avenue proposes us is a high tech window. For Barneys, the brand offers us a futuristic vision of Manhattan with a sort of snowmobile looking like batmobile offering the ride of your life. "We never considered this art. We're entertaining the public.", declared, for WWD, Dennis Freedman, creative director of Barneys.

For Saks Fifth Avenue, the theme is The Yeti Story by Stefan Bucher. The tale is told in six windows that use 3D technology and video projections to transport the viewer to places like Siberia to home as the roof the Saks. Also, people can make snowflakes through a mobile application and "throw" them towards the window.

On the other side, another theme called Holiday on Ice comes from Bergdorf Goodman using frozen dioramas. "We're far beyond traditional Victorian imagery and Santa Claus," declared to WWD David Hoey, senior director of visual presentation. This year's theme, "Holidays on Ice," shows a collective curtain of 50-foot-long, 3-foot-high icicles embellishing the windows. 

Bloomingdale's uses the theme Like no other store in the world with an emphasis on the word world as making a trip to different corners in the world through big gift boxes.

The tradition is kept though in stores like Lord & Taylor where there are figures depicted from the 20s to 40s era with peaks and ribbons and a lot of products.

Now, we enter the other side of the road, the glamorous Paris that opens its Christmas magic through stores like Printemps or Lafayette Galleries. Printemps Haussmann was inaugurated this year by Gwyneth Paltrow and it shows a collaboration with the brand Prada. 80 Prada bears can be seen in the animated windows full of gifts and Christmas decorations.

For Lafayette Galleries, this year is the turn to focus on the Christmas tree but with a collaboration with the Swatch brand. Under the theme Once upon a time, the windows honour also the film of Christophe Gans with Vincent Cassel and Léa Seydoux : The Beauty and The Beast. 

It is all about dreaming and creativity and every year stores like these can make us smile. Do not hesitate to send us your photos with your inspiring Christmas store windows.

Editor Andra Oprea