FORTNUM & MASON
In 3rd place is my beloved Fortnum’s; I am not sure what it is, but I wanted more from these windows. What Fortnum’s does, in storytelling and capturing that magic of Christmas, it does really well but it was only pipped by Liberty’s because it did what Fortnum’s does but also wove in a cohesive story there.
If I have to make up a story from these windows it would be the mice pulling together a fabulous shindig
‘Are you coming to the party!?’ said the mouse to the Lion.
‘Why yes of course, I’m bringing a gift too!”
‘How are we going to get people across the wall of ice?’ wondered one mouse to the other.
‘No idea but make sure we have fireworks!’
‘FIREWORKS! YAY!’
And so it’ll go.
The story here felt all too familiar, but it lacked the special Fortnum’s magic that we have become accustomed to. There are animals prancing about beneath disco balls, narwhal riding the waves to get the the party by any means necessary, a lion headed off to the party with his gift bag in mouth like a good guest, the aftermath of the soiree because one mammal might have had one too many bottles of champagne, and let’s not forget the fireworks and a great snow edifice that reminds one of the the wall from Game of Thrones… all of this underpinned by Queen Victoria’s pudding and a history lesson of it… well that was odd; if the pudding had to be there I would have rather they leaned into the royal theme or included the theme in the other windows like some sort of raucous dinner party where they got drunk on too much pudding. It simply did not belong in the line up.
Whilst separately the windows themselves are rather magnificently done, per usual, together there was no real feel of coherence and it was a little too safe at play because we’d seen it all before, the mice as orchestrators of the great production is always cute but it was cuter last year. Still, I liked it.
LIBERTY
Now, I used to think when compared to the other big five that Liberty got the short end of the stick but then I think of the real estate it is playing with, and it is comparable to Fortnum’s so there is no reason why it cannot come up trumps. Sometimes it plays it safe against its Tudor back drop but there is so much more it can do and this year it did something which I love; it brought the magic of christmas in its windows.
It gave us a peek into the Elves workshop as the put-on Christmas with an ode to craftsmanship integrating little mechanics to add motion to them dropping in and out of scenes. It is manic and hodgepodge of things going on all at once. Elves rushed off their feet trying to get ready for the big day making sure the gifts are pristine and ready, being mischievous with their packaging. It reminded me so much of Santa’s grotto.
The real estate is small but absolutely creatively executed because the impact is mighty. There is magic in making the usual suspects of Christmas come to life and feel quite fantastical at the same time. This is a brilliantly executed window that captures all of the feels for Christmas.