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It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in New York City. The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree is lit, new art installations deck the streets, and Fifth Avenue’s famous stores have once again pulled out all the stops for their dazzling holiday windows. Untapped New York braved the crowds and the cold to capture the best holiday window displays, from the cuddly cute animals at Macy’s to the avant-garde art at Bergdorf Goodman.
It’s a big year for Bloomingdale’s as the department store celebrates its 150th anniversary! The windows at its flagship store at Lexington Avenue at 59th are decorated with the themes of gift giving and making memories. Mannequins dressed in over-the-top outfits and accessories are surrounded by whimsical scenes of larger-than-life objects.
Over-sized reams of wrapping paper, giant scissors, and a furniture-sized camera are a few of the items that decorate the scenes. In one scene, a formally dressed couple dances atop a mini model of the Bloomingdale’s store. The holiday windows reveal featured a performance by Emmy, Grammy, and Two-Time Tony Award Winner Billy Porter.
The 7 holiday windows at Bergdorf Goodman are themed “Magic in the Making” this year. According to the New York Times, the creation starts in February with initial sketches. Then, nearly 100 people work for the next 9 months to make the displays come to life.
This year, the windows represent different arts and crafts elements such as metal craft, paper-mâché, and woodcraft. In one window, a mannequin dressed in a checked suit sits among dozens of scrapbooks. In another, a mannequin in a bedazzled dress perches on a drum in a crowd of metal instruments. You can also spot a few animals, from a rhinestone-covered polar bear to a green wooden parrot.
Tip-toe the blue reindeer returns to Macy’s holiday windows this year with a few cuddly friends! The theme of Macy’s 2022 window display is “Give Love.” The narrative that unfolds as you walk along the side of the store is that of Tip-toe traveling across the globe to visit all of her woodland creature friends.
Throughout the displays in the windows you’ll see fuzzy polar bears in a world made of yarn, foxes, and mice dancing in reflective scene of disco balls, a team of Santa suit-clas squirrels decorating a Christmas tree, and more. Macy’s tradition of holiday windows dates to 1874 when the department store became the first to feature animated window displays.
The holiday windows and giant light display at Saks Fifth Avenue received an upgrade this year, thanks to Elton John. The 2022 light display, which features 60,000 LEDs, will be synchronized to a medley of Elton John’s hits including “Step Into Christmas,” and “Your Song.” John was on hand to perform at the opening celebration.
The star’s flamboyant stage costumes also inspired the window displays, which will move in tandem with the light show. Inside the windows at Saks, onlookers will find classic holiday toys with a futuristic twist. There’s a shiny spinning top with marbles inside, a View-finder with slides, and an iridescent kaleidoscope, among others, all painted in reflective metallic colors.
This year’s Cartier holiday look is a bit more reserved than years past. Instead of a giant red bow that wraps around the entire building or a giant illuminated wall of lights that transforms it into a present, the historic storefront is elegantly accented by glowing string lights.
The lights ring every red awninged window and accent architectural features on the building’s facade. An illuminated version of the company’s logo, two intersecting “C’s,” appears above each window. At the ground level, window displays feature dazzling diamond jewelry with colorful backdrops.
Louis Vuitton has brought a towering, 12-story Christmas tree to their storefront on Fifth Avenue. The snow-covered tree is featured on the windows that line the entire height of the corner of the building. The tree is topped with a gold quatrefoil shape synonymous with Louis Vuitton patterns.
This year, Louis Vuitton has partnered with the plastic brick company Lego for its window displays across the globe. At Bloomingdale’s, you can see Christmas trees crafted out of Legos for the brand.
Unlike the other stores on Fifth Avenue which have box window displays, Nordstrom has an undulating multi-story windowed facade. To best show the holiday cheer in this store, the decorations are spread throughout the interior, but you can still see the decorations from outside, especially some of the 120 pink and green metallic trees.
Head inside for some warmth and to see the displays which feature 100 square feet of holiday lights, 120 holiday-themed hanging units, giant nutcrackers, and other sculptural pieces. Bundle up and hit Fifth Avenue to see all of the dazzling holiday displays in-person!
Net, check out 13 Best Public Art Installations in NYC this Month and Top 10 Secrets of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree
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