The Enchanted Forest
If you go down to the woods today, you're sure of a big surprise...
The Christmas windows have been unveiled across all Harvey Nichols stores in the UK and Ireland and this year they’re a magical fairytale full of wonder.
A year in the planning and over 600 hours later, the enchanted forest Christmas windows have come to life. The usual mannequins have been transformed into majestic woodland creatures whilst wintry, mystical beams of light reflect off metallic trunks, growing from the forest floor, shooting through the store windows and rising 12ft above to create a magical canopy.
Bespoke, hand-painted, hand-crafted branches are adorned with the most fashionable accessories. The forest creatures are clothed in the season’s most desirable collections from the fashion houses of Alexander McQueen, Lanvin, Erdem, Ann Demeulemeester and Maison Martin Margiela.
This Christmas we wanted to create an atmosphere that was instantly recognisable…
– Janet Wardley, Head of Display
Head of Display, Janet Wardley says: “This Christmas we wanted to create an atmosphere that was instantly recognisable and spoke to all ages; we wanted to bring to life a fairytale landscape that makes you immerse yourself into the magic. The display is three-dimensional, creating the illusion of standing on the forest edge, which will entice you to look deeper into the woods.”
Facts & Figures*
•27,840 metres of internal lights
•6,073 metres of bespoke pipe cleaners were used to make the 67 hand crafted forest creatures
•2,524 hand-decorated Christmas tree branches
•2,195 metallic pine-cones
•1,072 metallic acorns
•600 hours to build all the windows
•392 metres of moss to cover the forest floor
•210 Christmas trees cover the Knightsbridge store
•46 people working around the clock to put the windows in
•10 window dressers
•5 staff from the head office display team
•5 people to complete the mannequins wigs & make-up
•1 lighting guy, for nearly 30,000 lights
•Production starts in July and the window takes a week to install
•Everything is custom-made by the in-house Harvey Nichols team and specialist contractors
•Planning for next year’s Christmas windows starts now
•Harvey Nichols first Christmas windows were installed in the 1890s
•Head of Visual Display, Janet Wardley, is responsible for overseeing all 8 of our stores and has been doing so for 18 years
Go into the woods with our Christmas fairy tale below
