"Develop Imagination, Throw Away Routine"

I finally managed to get down to Selfridges London last thursday! I have photographed nearly every window they have done over the past 18 months and this fascination led me to do my second year presentation on how stores such as Selfridges lure shoppers from "Pavement to Payment."  The centenary celebration not only created a reason for another set of fantastic and fanciful displays, but there was also the ground floor exhibition.  The celebrations captured how Selfridges stands apart from other retailers in terms of spirt and innovation, which is largely due to the beliefs of the founder - G.H Selfridge - "the showman of shopping".  Since the store opened 'to the world' in 1909 they have sought to entertain customers and to revolutionise shopping as a leisurely activity instead of a necessity.  As stated in the exhibition and clear to see from their current windows; Selfridges are always proud to present the unexpected with a dash of surrealism and dedicated design treatment.  I loved the use of lightboxes to demonstrate the window displays, they were absolutely gorgeous!! Below is one of my favourites from one of the earliest on display.  There were also displays that emphasised how revolutionary the windows were, with the cutting edge collaboration with David LaChappelle being just one of the thousands of theatrical, daring and unexpected showcases.

"Always do things better than they were ever done before."

I was really interested to learn the history behind the early advertising campaigns.  The stores opening was actually the largest campaign ever mounted in the British press and over 7 days the cost accumulated to the equivalent of £2.5million today.  Selfridge employed in house graphic designers, advertising directors and copy-writers to create this attractive set of posters.

 "The whole art of merchandising consists of appealing to the imagination."

Selfridges understood this and this is largely what shaped the store into an iconic brand.  The exhibition provided an informative background to Selfridges, explaining everything from the architecture to carrier bags used over the past 100 years.  It was delivered with impact and colour, and also featured a ten minute video of Selfridges through the years.

The store on Oxford Street has a powerful facade, designed to promote a dignified and user friendly experience.  This works together with the tantalising window displays to offer the luxury and soothing experience that Selfridges offer instore.

I took plenty of snaps for my archive of Selfridges windows, they were all very whimsical and futuristic, looking at fashions, and the A - Z of products for the year 2109 - that was interesting to see as there was a competition to design the letter X which I entered as something to do over the summer!  I will put that up on here when I get chance to update my blog, but for now I think I have done some serious essay writing and shall love and leave it!