Harrods, the renowned upmarket department store in London, houses exclusive collections to cater to its stylish clientele. However the store also makes it to the news for its window dressing. The display windows of the Knightsbridge store attract attention for its ever-changing and innovative makeovers. Ermenegildo Zegna Couture is the latest designer brand to take over the store’s 23 windows that face Brompton Road. The Italian menswear brand celebrated its Fall/Winter 2014 collection with ground-breaking installation. Debuting as the first menswear brand to take over all of Harrods front windows, Zegna commissioned award winning agency Elemental Design to design, produce and install a series of hi-tech window displays.
Inspired by the spirit of the latest collection and the astronomical film which launched the fashion show during Milan Fashion Week, the windows put forth the exciting technology and drama to fully captivate the customer. The sound from the film flowed out onto the street via “whispering window technology” and a fully interactive talking 3-D visualization of a monk strap shoe in one of the windows responded to the body movements of the passerbys. They peered into small peepholes to be awed by a vision of outer space; whilst large cityscape backdrops, revolving mannequins and fast moving light rings, reflected the frenetic pace of city life.
At the end of the show a series of lit footsteps appeared to walk across the window bed which directed the consumer to a beautifully hand crafted Ermenegildo Zegna Couture shoe. Furthermore, in the two windows on either side of the grand store entrance, a two way mirror trick put up an optical illusion which transformed a row of impeccably styled mannequins into an infinite army of Ermenegildo Zegna Couture clad figures.
The highlight of the window display is the Zegna’s new accessories collection which is exclusive to Harrods. It marks the launch of Pilati’s first ‘Couture’ bag worth $3,500 which is available in three different types of leather in five color selections. Also the use of interactive technology and a 360 degree film encouraged shoppers to explore every detail of Ermenegildo Zegna’s Couture Double-Monk shoe which is available in two colors at $1,500.
