Printemps' Noël au Château (Paris, France)

Apologies for the lack of updates, but as I'm sure you all know, the time around Christmas can get pretty hectic. I've just arrived in Hong Kong where I'll be spending part of the holiday season before heading over to Scotland for New Years, but I hope to post a little more during this time. In addition, the hubs and I have somehow managed to catch a cold on our way over so we're currently feeling very sorry for ourselves.

But in order to get back some of that Christmas sparkle, I've dug through my photo archive to show you all the second part of Parisian department store Printemps' Xmas windows with their 'Noël au Château' theme. As some may remember, the animated Lanvin windows stole some of the limelight, but wedged between Alber Elbaz's cute displays, the very opulent static windows got a fair bit of attention as well (though the kiddies still seemed to prefer the Lanvin puppets). Each window featured a festive gown by one or two prominent designers, many of which I wouldn't mind owning...

Balmain

The yummy macarons come courtesy of Ladurée.

Roberto Cavalli

Setting by Daum and St. Louis.

Manish Arora

Setting by Baccarat.

Valentino

That gown ain't bad, but how cute are those dogs in their outfits? Men's tuxedo by YSL.

Alexander McQueen

Two gorgeous gowns from the FW10 collection.

Lanvin

Black crows and horses match the heavily embellished black gowns. I'm digging those hair accessories...

Nina Ricci

More fab hair pieces to match the glittering gowns. Setting by Lalique.

And in case I don't get another chance: Happy Holidays everyone!

Lanvin's Christmas Windows @ Printemps (Paris, France)

Every year during the holiday season, Parisian department store Printemps hosts some of the most spectacular windows you'll find in the city - thanks (in part) to the big-name designers who lend some of their creative ideas to these displays. The storefront consists of luxuriously decorated static windows, but the biggest crowd-pleasers are the animated ones featuring dancing marionette dolls. While last year's windows were presented by Dior and Chanel, who curated two windows each, this year's four windows were dedicated to Lanvin.

The lovely holiday lights outside Printemps. The huge crowds you see - not quite as lovely.

As previously mentioned in my post last week, the new windows were unveiled in a grand ceremony by Alber Elbaz himself, along with Lanvin fan Kristin Scott-Thomas. According to Elbaz (via WWD): "It’s quite bizarre to see your cartoon in the windows dancing and running. I was just told that each puppet will be running in two months about 200 kilometers, so I’m thinking, God, how many calories are they burning there?” The windows, show mini versions of Miss and Mr. Lanvin in a French chateau (aptly titled "Noel au Chateau") and will be on display until the end of December.

Aside from taking a few photos, I've also attempted to capture videos of these windows. Apologies in advance for my camera's auto-focus, but I hope you get the idea. In my defense, I took these at 7:30 AM (a rare time of the day when the windows were still clear of people) and I hadn't had my morning coffee yet. I'll also be blogging the static Printemps windows in a separate post next week.

The story begins with Miss and Mr. Lanvin preparing for a feast in the chateau. Though to me it looks like Mr. Lanvin is doing all the work... (rightfully so):

Overview of the first window.

Lots of Mr. Lanvins running around carrying food.

In some cases Miss Lanvin helps a little (top), but she doesn't mind being carried around either (lower right).

More hardworking Mr. Lanvins...

Short video clip of the Lanvin dolls in action.

Taking a break from the preparation work, Miss and Mr. Lanvin finally get to enjoy a bit of music and dance...

Party time chez Lanvin.

Playing the piano and showing their moves...

Another short clip of the above window.

Unfortunately the chateau seems to be haunted, leaving Miss and Mr. Lanvin to run for cover...

Overview of the 'ghost' window.

Being chased by ghosts... Mr. Lanvin is kind enough to carry his partner.

Hiding in suitcases and under the carpet...

Short clip of the ghost scene.

Having survived the ghost scare, Miss and Mr. Lanvin can finally enjoy a feast of tasty treats from Ladurée...

Tea and macarons in the pink room.

Table number 1 featuring a bunch of cutlery-wielding puppets.

Table number 2 even has Mr. Lanvin atop a cake.

More happy dancers and hungry guests.

Final clip of the feast.

Kristin Scott Thomas, Alber Elbaz & Lanvin @ Printemps (Paris, France)

Printemps in holiday mode, plus a few spotlights for the event (source: Getty Images).

These days, you can't really eavesdrop a conversation or surf the web without hearing/seeing the word 'Lanvin' somewhere - particularly when it comes to collaborations. So when I heard that there would be yet another partnership with Lanvin, I wasn't sure if I liked the idea despite my love for the French fashion house... until I realized what it was: Parisian department store Printemps requested Alber Elbaz to curate four of its main store windows for the holiday season. Last year's windows, which I featured here, came courtesy of Lagerfeld (Chanel) and Galliano (Dior). As with previous displays, the current ones showcase a large number of dancing marionette dolls, representing Mr. and Miss Lanvin as they make their way through various rooms of a Chateau (the windows are aptly titled "Noel au Chateau").

The marionette dolls Mr. and Miss Lanvin, wearing... Lanvin of course (source: Vogue Paris).

To spice things up even more, the windows were unveiled during a grand ceremony on Wednesday (Nov 10). In attendance: British actress Kristin Scott Thomas (also a Parisian resident), Alber Elbaz and the CEO of Printemps. While I was clever enough to make it to the event on time, I was also stupid enough to bring a camera with a missing battery which was being recharged, so unfortunately I'll be presenting a few borrowed photographs and my partially blurry phone pics.

Alber Elbaz and Kristin Scott Thomas (in Lanvin) getting cuddly with Mr. and Miss Lanvin after unveiling the main window (top image: Dominique Maitre via WWD, bottom images: Richard Bord/WiredImage).

Kristin Scott Thomas on her way to the next window - she looked incredible by the way.

Kristin Scott Thomas checks out the Nina Ricci Christmas display (left) and joins Alber Elbaz for another Lanvin window.

But I did have a blast. While Kristin Scott Thomas and Mr. Elbaz were already on the red carpet, models dressed as French royalty in the style of Louis XVI/Marie Antoinette appeared in a horse-drawn carriage, along with another couple posing as Mr. and Miss Lanvin. A marching band accompanied this procession as they made their way to a very gracious Kristin and an Alber who seemed to get a kick out of seeing his creations come to life. After the first window was unveiled, the party moved on to the next few, then went in the store, where the celebrations continued in the Laduree corner.

More window gazing with Kristin, Alber and Printemps CEO Paolo de Cesare. This window also featured the most treats courtesy of Laduree (and yes, that's the back of Alber's head at the top).

French royalty and the Lanvin couple.

The entire group posing for a pic (top image: Getty Images), and my blurry artsy pic of Louis & co. passing me.

The models on their way to Laduree inside Printemps.

I won't post the actual windows yet, but stay tuned, as they will be featured on this blog soon. Until then, here's a short video clip of the event I found, courtesy of Printemps:

Printemps Loves New York (Paris, France)

A short while after NYFW, the Parisian department store Printemps launched a 'Printemps loves New York' special, which included store windows dedicated to NYC, in-store displays, a large assortment of items hailing from the U.S. and a few limited edition pieces. Curious to see what the French deemed typically American (or NYC), I was greeted by what I assume to be a paint-splattered King Kong sitting near the corner entrance. Other icons presented, included everything from giant doughnuts and cupcakes to SpongeBob and Superman - the latter could even be found in-store. Not to be ignored of course: the lovely clothes on display, ranging from the likes of Marc Jacobs to Proenza Schouler.

For some reason the above display was changed to this a few weeks later:

Shearling leather coat by Rick Owens, ltd. edition Vogue t-shirt.

Close-ups of some of the outfits:

From left: Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors, Ralph Lauren.

From left: Alexander Wang, Proenza Schouler, Rick Owens.

The fun continued inside, where I spotted foodie items, such as the fairly conventional Campbell Soup cans or the slightly more hard-to-find Dean & Deluca treats. Special edition t-shirts designed by brands such as Opening Ceremony were on sale, as were smaller gift items from MOMA. And if you really want to take it to the next level, I suggest you pick up an Obama brooch or a hot dog necklace. There was also a wonderful selection of cupcakes and cheesecakes on the lower level, though my drooling prevented me from taking any pictures there...

Giant spray cans in-store and special edition t-shirts.

Another superman (above). Neon lights and wall art adorned the stairwell area (below).

Some of the goodies included Jackie O and Obama pins, a hot dog necklace, MOMA souvenirs, Dean & Deluca coffee and an assortment of soups, salad dressing and Marshmallow Fluff.

For previous Printemps events and window displays (including the much-loved Alice in Wonderland feature or the Christmas special), please click here.