Last weekend’s jaunt to New York City was just the reinvigorating boost I needed for my creative juices. I was delighted to visit the Met’s new galleries devoted to the Art of the Arab Lands, Turkey, Iran and Central Asia, wander through the Christmas market at Union Square, check out the over-the-top skiwear at Paragon Sports, eat fresh cannoli in Little Italy, meander along the High Line and to wear out my soles walking every street in Soho.
It’s been so warm and snowless in Vermont I’ve been having a hard time believing the holiday season is upon us. In New York people were dining in outdoor cafes and the roses were blooming!
However, the Bergdorf Goodman holiday window displays on 5th Avenue nudged me into the spirit. They are absolutely magical and it was worth ogling them shoulder to shoulder with the throngs of onlookers.
This year’s theme is “Carnival of the Animals“. Each mannequin is draped with the most exquisite couture dress and surrounded by multitudes of antique and hand crafted animals. Some are taxidermy intricately hand decorated with beading, sumptuous fabrics, papier-mâché, paint or needlework. I could have spent an hour with my nose pressed to each window and still not have seen every intricate detail!
Built around a vintage collection of mixed-metal birds and jungle animals, “The Brass Menagerie” is set in a stylized tropical forest of metal and mirror and glimmers with leafy foliage of brass and steel. Within this forest is a fantasy recording studio, with vintage microphones and a brass “primate” jazz combo. The floor is covered several inches deep with a secret quantity of copper pennies and hundreds of fishing lures hang from the walls and ceiling. For this window, a special dress was created by Naeem Khan.
“Breaking the Ice” is my favorite window. It invites viewers to a mid-afternoon arctic garden party whose guests include “couture plush” animals such as polar bears, a moose, an arctic mountain goat, a seal, and a of pair wolves. All the animals have been upholstered in luxe white textiles and appliquéd with icy crystals, beads, and sequins. A Baccarat chandelier adds luster. The party hostess is the focus of attention in her specially designed dress and one-of-a-kind cape, all by J. Mendel.
Completely encrusted with hand-cut Italian mosaic tile, this intensely blue window is truly an undersea fantasy. A single mannequin, in a seashell dress from the Alexander McQueen Spring 2012 collection, appears to be floating amid a massive collection of mosaic sea creatures. Everything is highly patterned, with swirling textures and oceanic colors. The ocean floor is dotted with a treasure chest worth of jewelry. “Testing the Waters” is quite the aquatic triumph as its production was 10 months in the making and is the most labor-intensive single window display in Bergdorf Goodman history.
“Teacher’s Pets” is an inspiration for book artists as it takes viewers inside a 3-dimensional paper classroom filled with black and white paper animals, including a life-sized paper zebra, ostrich, panda bear, aardvark, white peacock, and more. As the “students” pose within a cascade of zoological textbooks, the teacher – dressed in a black and white lace Marchesa gown – presides over the paper bestiary. Noted New York calligrapher, Bernard Maisner, provided hand-lettered labels, in Latin, for all the animals.
In the final window, “Artists and Models,” a diverse collection of wood and leather folk-art animals from all continents gathers together. The setting is a sculptor’s studio out of a folk tale, with an enormous assemblage of wooden creatures and woodworkers hand tools. A mannequin, dressed in a mélange of designers, assumes the role of sculptor, assisted by several antique wooden artists’ models and by a quartet of antic leather monkeys.
Bravo to David Hoey, Senior Director of Visual Presentation at Bergdorf’s and his team who devote an entire year to the production of the holiday windows! This qualifies as a dream job!
Info about the windows from 5th/58th. The full window photos were taken by Ricky Zehavi. I took the detailed shots and wish I’d taken more!
