If you have ever been to New York City, you will know there
are some truly amazing stores waiting to be discovered and enriched with your
hard-earned money. The famous stores that most visitors head for if they have
shopping in mind are generally Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, and Saks Fifth Avenue.
Another store that doesn’t seem to get as much press is Bergdorf Goodman, which
has two stores on Fifth Avenue – and that store is the subject of this post.
Now let me say from the outset, that I don’t travel to shop.
Apart from picking up a handful of cheapish t-shirts, or some other essential
item that I forgot to pack, or need to replace, I carry everything I need with
me. However, I can still remember the shock and delight I experienced when I
walked past the Bergdorf Goodman (BG) building on Fifth Avenue at 754 Fifth
Avenue (at the corner of Fifth Ave., & 58th St.). The other BG store across
the street is officially the Bergdorf Goodman Men outlet.
Above:
Note the mini display built into the subfloor space of this window. The image
below presents a close up view of this subfloor display.
Having never heard of Bergdorf Goodman before I first
visited New York in 2008, I was, as mentioned, shocked and delighted by the
stunning displays this store is famous for. Like most department stores all
over the world, the main BG building is graced with large windows which feature
displays that are designed to draw shoppers into the store. But whether you
enter or not, there is much to appreciate and savor in the regular Bergdorf
Goodman window displays.
The Bergdorf Goodman site name checks David Hoey and his visual team as the creators of the 2011 holiday displays. Designed around the theme, Carnival of The Animals, as the theme suggests, each window includes a range of creatures – real and imagined – including some very surreal creations.
While the official Bergdorf Goodman site has five or six
images of the latest holiday displays, the always excellent Vintage and Modern website has large photographs of all, or most of, the current display windows. If you
can’t get to New York City yourself to see the displays, these images are surely
the next best thing.
Finally, all the images illustrating this entry are of
Bergdorf Goodman window displays dating from April, 2008. As you can see there
is a stunning richness to these presentations that the photographs barely do
justice too. Judging from the photos, the store appeared to have a Carnival or
Circus theme in that year. Clearly, a lot of care and thought has gone in to
these displays, and I highly recommend a spot of ‘window shopping’ at Bergdorf
Goodman if you are in the vicinity of the store.
