Ralph Lauren: 2011 New York Holiday Windows

Ralph Lauren windows epitomize the brand; exuberant luxury and grandeur.  Typically the aesthetic is more means more, but this year they have strayed a little bit from their typical direction.  At the women's mansion the windows feature the 2011 Holiday campaign fashions, which are sleek and fashionably chic.

The window apertures have been scaled down to showcase the realistic mannequins and their dramatic poses.  The lighting and dark background have set the luxurious and elegant red evening gowns as the central focus.  

The party and evening theme is carried through the home and accessories windows.  Their a little more "typical Ralph Lauren" in aesthetic as they're full of product.

 While the Women's windows are a break from their holiday style, the rest of the store's windows stay true to their aesthetic.  In the Ralph Lauren Men's store each brand is represented by a change in the accessories.

The Ralph Lauren Children's store features a sophisticated Navajo theme but as always has its fair share of cute.

2011 New York Holiday Windows: Trend Report

New York Holiday Windows, 2011- Clockwise: Bergdorf Goodman, Louis Vuitton, Tiffany and Co., Bergdorf Goodman, Chanel

This year there are few strong trends that have sprung up within the New York Holiday Windows of the 2011 season.  The biggest one amongst the luxury brands is the love of animals.  From Louis Vuitton to Bergdorf Goodman, animals are large and in charge.


Tiffany's has created large canopies to emulate the Central Park Carousel.  In this this year's Tiffany and Co. holiday story, the exotic carousel animals have left their carousel to fly through the streets and skyline of New York City.

At Tiffany' large canopies extend from the store front

The mirrored frames bring the customer's eye into the smaller scenes within the windows

A horse carries the expensive jewels through the forest

The animals on the bridge are motorized as they travel across it. The Tiffany diamond ring sparkles with a miniature box in the front.

The windows themselves are framed with faceted antique mirrors that encase the miniature scenes.  The product is stunning especially when used to embellish the compositions.

The animals move up and down like in a real carousel.

At Bergdorf Goodman, the theme is The Carnival of Animals where each window showcases the skills and talent of the Bergdorf Goodman staff and artists, animals and objects are either upholstered in tapestry textiles or composed of thousands upon thousand of tiny pieces of paper.

The animals in this Bergdorf Goodman window are made entirely of paper!

Paper Bugs at Bergdorfs

Artist Brett Windham created fish scales from hand applied tiles, rhinestones, gems and sequins

Upholstered taxidermy animals 

Like every year, the windows are exuberant and over the top.  The compositions rely on color, lighting and material to keep the designs from feeling too busy. 

On 5th Ave. this window is composed of entirely wooden objects and creatures.

"Teacher's Pets" is black and white and paper all over

The aquarium of tiled and rhinestone fish

Breaking the Ice, features woolly creatures made for the cold

The Brass Menagerie window ha an entertainer with her exotic birds and other caged beats

The Crimson window gives way to tapestry animals

The Circus inspired equestrian window on 57th street

Each side of the building interprets the theme in different ways; as the 58th street side is fantastical and strange with the animals becoming humanized, while the 5th Ave side is true to the concept of exotic creatures, lastly the 57th street side connects more to the domestic yet, always wonderful equestrians.  

The balancing Elephant at LV

Louis Vuitton, which is right across the street from Bergdorfs and Tiffany's (for a frame of reference) also carries on the animal theme in their harlequin windows.  These molded elephants by the way are stunning and extremely well crafted.

Lastly, I passed by Chanel's jewelry store on Madison Ave, and although the product has been removed from this display for the evening. You can see how they have created a display with a lion, the other window has deer.

Please note: All photographs by Lauren Gries 2011 © All Rights Reserved