Break out and hang up the decorations, Christmas windows are once more upon us. But is it a case of same old, same old, or are retailers offering something new? John Ryan reports.

A mere 44 shopping days remain until Christmas, so it’s not entirely surprising that more than a few retailers have already got out the festive bunting. And the really good news is that, try as Retail Week might, there was no real sign of holly or ivy – at least not of the green variety, although red continues to pop up in a few places.

The real theme of the season so far is silver and, if you want to be in with the Christmas in-crowd, this is the colour, it would appear, that displays can’t be without. Almost every retailer uses it in some form, mostly in combination with white, and the otherworldly quality that this conjures up provides a sharp contrast with this festival of commercial intent.

Tradition, of course, does play some part in all of this with red continuing to feature – offering the added benefit of an almost seamless transition from Christmas to Sale time, except that the prices are lower. This is fine, but does look a little out of kilter with what most of the rest of the high street is doing.

As always in central London and environs, the most arresting formulas are provided by the big department stores for whom a window is not just for Christmas, it’s also pretty handy in early November. Two out of the big four players, Harvey Nichols and Selfridges, had got their Christmas displays all wrapped up – Liberty and Harrods (which unveiled its scheme on Tuesday) were keeping their powder dry.

Nothing, however, compares with Heal’s, which was informing shoppers that ‘Twas the night before Christmas’ from mid-October – nothing like being prepared. 

Harvey Nichols

Plastic crystal ice and propping on a massive scale summarise what Harvey Nichols has opted for this year. On the Sloane Street side of the store, the display has relatively little of the Christmas feel about it with outsize taps, a mannequin doing a headstand and toothpaste-style tubes dispensing denim jeans. Full marks for creativity and for not filling the windows with kitsch.

If you do want to see Christmas, however, a quick walk around the corner to its Knightsbridge side will fulfil expectations. Here, all is silver and snow with the mannequins surrounded by clear polythene sculptures and props varying from white huskies to a horse with an internal skeleton on view that is reminiscent of a night at the West End theatre production of War Horse.

That there is merchandise on display is almost coincidental, in spite of the fact that the names of designers are discreetly applied to the bottom left-hand corner of each window. These are windows that really do shout look at me, succeeding on every level to judge from the stares of passing bus passengers.

Selfridges

In common with Harvey Nichols, Selfridges has opted to go white across all of its windows, with something for almost everyone in each. The scene is set in the window at the eastern end of the building, where a white-clad mannequin reclines on a chair with a giant toy musical box on her lap. This would be good on its own, but the visual merchandising team has played a neat trick with a white circle on the glassline that plays a tune when you run your finger around it.

After this it’s white all the way along the frontage with the individual window schemes taking precedence over the merchandise that is on display. The major window that wraps around the corner of the western end of the building was attracting a good number of onlookers owing to the faux snowstorm that was taking place within. This was created by a number of industrial-looking fans that were blowing white polystyrene flecks continually around the space. No particular reason for this perhaps, but it was a showstopper. Mention might also be made of the Maison Martin Margiela window, which bears the legend ‘Untitled’ – although the game was given away by the merchandise stacked to create an ‘M’.

French Connection

The fashion retailer has opted to run with the campaign that it has been using for a couple of seasons now with a vast sign above the window stating: ‘I Am Your Gift French Connection’. Within the window itself, there is another message that reads: ‘I Am The Christmas Window’. There is really nothing too much wrong with any of this and if the aim is to ensure that you compete with Selfridges next door without taking a considerable hit on the budget, then this is one way of doing it.

It is, however, beginning to suffer somewhat from the overkill that characterised the FCUK campaign that ran and ran and ran, except that this one lacks the initial smile that its predecessor tended to raise. Difficult, too, not to imagine a combination of the two campaigns that might read: ‘I Am The FCUK(ing) Christmas Window’.

A brief straw poll around the office revealed that this would probably have proved a winner as far as getting people to take a look is concerned.

Marks & Spencer

Marks & Spencer’s Marble Arch flagship does tend to confirm the opinion that some things are unlikely to change after all and where there is Christmas there will generally be red. The colour pervades everything about these windows, whether it’s the giant red bells or the stacking frames, arranged pyramid-style in the middle of one of the displays. There’s even an artificial Christmas tree at the back of the same window.

The real point about this series of schemes is that there is a lot of product – in stark contrast to many of the grander department stores where the focus is upon creativity and propping. If you like Christmas to follow a somewhat predictable course then this may well be to your liking, but it does look a tad old-fashioned. Good from the perspective of installation, however, and what is on view here will certainly be replicated across the land with ease.

John Lewis

Like the M&S store at Marble Arch, the John Lewis flagship has been a bastion of all the things that might usually be associated with goodwill and reindeer. And to an extent, this has not really changed for 2011.

In fairness to Middle England retail, however, although a snow-filled vista may sound like a slice of stodgy Christmas pud in visual merchandising terms, considerable thought has gone into both the black backdrop and the abstract forest that forms the bulk of what’s on view.

Note should also be made of John Lewis’ decision to move away from what was the Andy Warhol visual merchandising school, which involved showing the same product in many different colours. Now the product is varied and while, like M&S, there is an emphasis on shifting stock, overall it is the theme that demands attention, particularly in the dedicated gift window. This is another example of Christmas past, but it has charm.

Paperchase

And finally, there is the matter of sending the card that will tell people you really do care about them, even if it’s only once a year. Of all the offers in London’s West End, the biggest and debatably the best is found in Paperchase and the windows do not disappoint.

The cards and stationery retailer follows mainstream retail suit by using black and white/silver as the primary colours and the stock chosen is, by and large, in keeping with the scheme, rather than clashing.

It is the message that really captures the gaze, however: ‘Christmas Charity Cards – You Buy We Give’. Well, pretty clearly the altruistic folks at Paperchase may be giving some of the money they make to charity, but they will be retaining a portion for their own greater good.

That said, there is a lot to commend both about the graphics and the Russian Matryoshka-style angel that is part of this – interesting, simple and distracting if you happen to be passing. This may be a destination store, but its windows will do much to ensure that passing shoppers take time out to visit.

Christmas 2011

Dominant colour Silver

Dominant theme There is none/eclectic

Earliest Christmas display by a major retailer Heal’s

Latecomers Harrods and Liberty