The best Christmas windows from around the world

The festive season is fast approaching, so here at FashionUnited, we are getting into the holiday spirit with a round-up of this year’s most Christmassy window displays at iconic department stores across the world, from London to New York and Paris.

Selfridges, London

Selfridges is promising to make Christmas dreams come true with its festive windows this year that are big, sparkly and joyful to highlight a “theatrical, nostalgic and dreamy twist” this Christmas.

Each window tells dream-like glittering party scenes presented through apertures as if observed secretly like unexpected moments of magic, bringing together iconography of golden age Hollywood, film musicals and theatre to create a camp and dramatic celebration.

Several windows feature one-off catwalk pieces and specially commissioned creations from designers such as Simone Rocha and 16Arlington, while three windows on Orchard Street feature new work by London-based set designer Pauline Piipponen combining texture, colour and tactile elements to interpret the ‘Christmas of Dreams’ theme with a twinkling tree, a candlelit chorus and an enchanted forest.

Andrew Keith, Selfridges managing director, said in a statement: “We are ready to bring magical moments to our customers, however, they wish to celebrate this year, with our Christmas of Dreams. Fuelled by imagination, Selfridges is here to make Christmas shopping and gift finding special and fun, and this year, a little surreal.

“We know our customers have been dreaming of being together, so we are looking forward to hosting friends and families at Selfridges to celebrate even more extraordinary experiences this festive season.”

Harvey Nichols, London

Harvey Nichols is declaring ‘let there be light’ this Christmas with its vibrant display of bright colours and beaming lights designed to bring joy and happiness to the streets of Knightsbridge.

The festive windows have been transformed with modern stained glass panels, which when flooded with light reflect a glorious pattern of Christmas-coloured hues inside and outside the windows.

Each window features different colours to evoke emotion - with yellow creating a sense of energy and excitement, while orange grabs attention with a happy and uplifting effect, and blue projects feelings of calmness and tranquillity.

Alongside the bright colours, each window also displays a desirable edit of luxury giftable items, with pieces across fashion, beauty, food and wine.

Janet Wardley, head of visual display at Harvey Nichols, said: “In true festive style, our 2021 Christmas window scheme was designed to help spread holiday cheer by using uplifting colours to evoke emotion, joy and happiness.

“We wanted to create something that would bring a smile to customers faces, and what better way to do that than with bright mood enhancing coloured patterns that appear both inside and outside our stores.”

Fortnum and Mason, London

The Fortnum and Mason 2021 windows at its Piccadilly store celebrates the extraordinary food and drink the retailer is known for, with a joyful and humorous theatrical display encompassing the theme of ‘animal dreams’.

Its nine windows bring to life animal fantasies of a perfect Fortnum’s Christmas. There are robins dancing, kissing, and sliding down festive puddings, magpies admiring themselves in glistening jewels, hedgehogs skiing down mouth-watering meringue hills and a wise owl enjoying a cup ride across a river of tea.

Harrods, London

Knightsbridge department store Harrods has created a ‘Witness a Spectacle’ window wonderland this festive season with a long, opulent dining table stretching across nine windows along Brompton Road.

The festive tablescape with food inspiration including lobsters, a rack of lamb and Christmas puddings, as well as displays from fashion, jewellery, and homeware brands such as Carolina Herrera, Miu Miu, Bvlgari and Tiffany and Co.

Visitors can also scan QR codes on selected windows and watch the display come to life, and use artificial reality experiences and festive filters and animations.

Chanel has also taken over the store’s Hans Crescent entrance to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Chanel No.5 with a larger-than-life lunar-inspired installation. Visitors can also take in the ‘Finding No.5’ treasure hunt.

Galeries Lafayette Paris Haussmann, Paris

For this year’s festivities, Galeries Lafayette has gone nostalgic, with its ‘1, 2, 3 Christmas’ theme featuring iconic toys, dolls, teddy bears and even a robot dog in a Santa Claus village set-up illuminated by the northern lights.

Each of the windows showcases a different scene from the surreal and vintage universe, from the awakening of toys to Santa’s sleigh, the toy feast and the Christmas choir, featuring an astronaut Santa Claus. There are also several fashion collaborations including windows dedicated to Bottega Veneta and Chloe.

Macy’s Herald Square, New York

Macy’s in New York has introduced a shy but adorable blue reindeer called Tiptoe as the focal character of its windows at Herald Square this holiday season. The windows follow the story of how Tiptoe discovers she has got what it takes to join Santa’s sleight team and how she helps a little girl understand what it truly means to ‘believe’.