Holiday Windows Stop New Yorkers in Their Tracks

Manhattan department stores merge technology and tradition for their 2013 holiday windows. Alicia Powell reports.

Published

8 months ago

Categories

Finance, US

Topics

Finance, United States

People

Lady Gaga, Jay Z, Alicia Powell

Places

United States of America, New York City, New York

Companies

Macy's Inc., Saks Incorporated, Lord & Taylor

Transcript

Frosted fairies swoop between snow-covered trees as they guide a young boy from his bed to a whimsical forest with reindeer, angels and holiday magic. No, it's not a trailer for a Disney release - it's just outside the Macy's flagship store in New York City, where six display windows have been transformed into an animated story. While retailers in cities across the United States also deck themselves out for the season, none put on a bigger show than New York's storekeepers, who use everything from social media to 3-D projections to provide "retailtainment." And each year the stores keep upping the ante. In 2011, Barney's invited pop sensation Lady Gaga to unveil its holiday windows and this year the store teamed with rapper Jay Z to curate its windows. Saks Fifth Avenue shut down traffic in front of their store for a show that includes ballet dancers and a light show. While Bergdorf Goodman's flew acrobats out fourth-floor windows. Many stores are installing high-tech window displays to try to interest a new generation of shoppers. Lord and Taylor is allowing shoppers to take a holiday photo. While window designers at Saks paid tribute to social media by building its theme around a YouTube video of a yeti rumored to live on the roof of the store. An app allows spectators to flick customized snowflake projections onto the display windows. Happy holidays!