In the last blog, we looked at how visual merchandising developed during the first part of the 20th century. In this blog, we pick up where we left off, as we look at window dressing from the 1950s to the present day.

The contrast between the expensive and the inexpensive causes window shoppers to take another look

Gene Moore, window dresser for Tiffany’s, New York, won shoppers over in the late 50s and 60s by perfecting the art of simplicity with his window display. Famous for placing a diamond on a leaf, and a necklace in the beak of a bird (quite literally the early bird catches the worm), the contrast between the everyday and the precious struck a chord with customers.

Moore demonstrated the old rule that less really is more when it enhances the value of a product.

In a similar vein, in the early 60s Liberty in London kept it simple by showing off its best fabrics by simply draping them across props, with often a single mannequin.

Window displays turn edgy as news reporting and violent mannequins take over

From the peace-loving 60s to the troublesome 70s, when Simon Doonan and Victor Hugo turned windows into shop theatre. Doonan and Hugo acted as reporters depicted news stories in their window displays, creating controversial window displays depicting current news events

Window displays get philosophical at Macy’s

During the decade often referred to as the ‘Booming Eighties’, Sam Joseph and Mark Minichiello were challenging workers to re-examine the nature of work with a series of questions and visual interpretations.

From a window display with the theme, ‘What happens when you get tied into the rat race?’, where workers are being pulled along by rats; to ‘What happens when you get tied down by the office?’, a display which featured workers tied to each other’s wrists, whether it was a creative way to promote ties or a critique on work life, the 80s certainly asked questions of its shoppers.

Digital technology allows window shoppers to interact with window displays

In 2011, Selfridges first took part in Project Ocean, a retail activism project to help promote awareness on fishing and sustainability. With a touch screen window depicting the ocean, passersby were encouraged to donate to the campaign through their mobile phones.

They were then able to see ‘fish’ born into the ocean. Created by Liv Wadstrom and Anna Carpen from 18 Feet & Rising, the project went on to raise more than £100,000.

Digital technology has also found its way through the shop window and onto the pavement. Retailers such as Three Mobile, John Lewis and GAP have experimented with whispering windows allowing shoppers to hear sound through the glass.

With online shopping the new norm, window displays with all their creativity might feel like a thing of the past. But with new technology comes new opportunities, and when it comes to Christmas, window displays still mean business.

Check out the next blog in our series: Window displays: Christmas past, present and future.