As a Visual Display Merchandiser, I was thrilled today when I read that Bergdorf Goodman’s window designers, David Hoey and Linda Fargo, have announced the release of a coffee table book entitled Windows at Bergdorf Goodman this month which chronicles the elaborate window displays of the luxury retailer.
The New York Times article, Window Dressing Warriors, briefly covers the history of window display including Andy Warhol’s pop art visuals in the 1960s and describes the most memorable master pieces of visual display framed in a 13 foot area of space for the street crowds to view. I absolutely love when Hoey questions, “Are we worried about specifically selling merchandise? No, we don’t think of it that way. We’re just focusing on the art and characters. That part takes care of itself.” Although I may not be one of his five assistants, David Hoey took the words right out of my mouth. Despite the main reason that visual displays are meant to drive business, I always seem to lose myself within the process of creating and building a presentation and watching it all come to life. After I’ve smoothed the final touches on the wallpaper, hammered the last prop to the wall, and dressed and hair-sprayed the mannequin’s wig into place, the absolute worse is when a customer asks to take the dress off of the mannequin I just perfected (or better yet, when a disgruntled teenager pulls the pants down to the mannequin’s ankles thus exposing the goods).
Windows at Bergdorf Goodman is expected to be released this month for $550. And since only 1,000 copies will be printed, I’m hoping that the Public Library will be one of the 1,000 that will invest in the future of young fashionistas…because I plan to be the first one to reserve the book upon its arrival.
Here are a few pictures from a photographer that photographs window displays at Bergdorf Goodman called anothernormal.com:
