From the whimsy of 5th Avenue to the glitter of Paris's Boulevard Haussmann (where Printemps partnered with Dior and Galeries Lafayette teamed with Louis Vuitton), the annual department store windows are always a treat to behold. But in case you can't make it in person to each far-flung locale to ogle them all, never fear; we've gathered up the best of them right here, and they're all sure to inspire plenty of cheer.
Source: Getty
What's more luxurious than gifts that really do keep on giving? When it comes to finding presents for the men in our lives this holiday season, we've honed in on garments, gadgets, accessories, and personal furnishings designed for years of use. Whether it's a membership to Svbscription — the service that delivers a parcel of curated luxury goods four times a year — or a pair of Alden's timeless tassel loafers, these gifts are built to stand the test of time.
Before she was a major name in American fashion, Anna Sui was a little girl whose mother dressed her "like a doll." Which means getting a military vehicle as a Christmas present probably wasn't on brand.
"As a little kid, we used to go to my father's fraternity, and they'd have a Christmas party," Sui told us at a party for her collaboration with Coach last month. "One year I got a truck — an Army truck — and I just thought, 'boy that's really a gyp!' Then many years later I found out that this uncle spent his own money and bought everybody's kid a present. So I think it was just a mix up, you know, an oversight, whatever. But I was really disappointed back then on that day."
Sui added that she'll be spending the holidays with her family in Bloomfield Hills, MI. "I love the holidays because I have nine nieces and nephews, so it's very Christmas-y to buy presents and toys," she said. "I'm hoping that I can give my nieces some of these bags, but I don't know what I wish to receive." Hopefully it won't be another truck.
It's been one heck of a year for Georgia May Jagger. She held her own amidst a pack of supermodels — including Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell — at the Olympics' closing ceremony, she fronted Vivienne Westwood's gorgeous new jewelry campaign, and she took the world by storm for Hudson Jeans' smoldering Cabaret launch. Fitting then that the gap-toothed Brit would finish 2012 with a bang: surrounded by sparklers and confetti in the just-released Material Girl holiday campaign.
We spend all year drooling over the best of the best, so is it any wonder that when the holidays finally roll around we set our sights high? Yes, we know we'll never really get that Chanel surfboard or that solid gold iPhone case, but you know what they say: dreaming is free. So on that note, here it is: our if-money-were-no-object, pie-in-the-sky wish list for holiday 2012.
Things move along swimmingly for the first 30 seconds of this video, in which Victoria's Secret Angels sing the classic holiday carol "Deck the Halls" — but after that, it's a different story altogether.
The video features Candice Swanepoel, Miranda Kerr, Doutzen Kroes, Alessandra Ambrosio, Lily Aldridge, Lindsay Ellingson, and Erin Heatherton decorating a Christmas tree, setting out presents, and trimming a room with bows and garlands — tasks apparently easier than remembering the words to the song. "Deck the halls of boughs of honey," Kroes sings, realizing the mistake before laughing and saying, "Let's deck it with honey!"
"We don't sing this Down Under," Kerr says of her inability to remember all the words. "We sing 'Santa Baby.'"
Whatever the case for their struggle, it's hard not to give the Angels an A for effort. See why in the video below.
Put Cara Delevingne in front of a low-res camcorder in a Santa hat and a pair of roller skates, and you've got the recipe for one endlessly entertaining holiday video. For the first of this year's Advent series, Love Magazine enlisted the younger Delevingne sister to glide back and forth dancing and making funny faces for almost two minutes. She even blows the camera a kiss while The Waitresses' "Christmas Wrapping" blares in the background. Since then, Loulou Robert, Dree Hemingway, and Lily Aldridge have also made videos — and there are still 21 days of these short clips, which the magazine also assembled last year, to come. A look at the first from the 2012 batch below. Happy holidays!
Mystery solved. After a week of teasing, Topshop has revealed that Kate Bosworth is the star of its 2012 holiday campaign.
In a film directed by fiancé Michael Polish, Bosworth stands atop a piano and sings a sultry rendition of "Winter Wonderland" whilst wearing a backless sequined dress that she and Topshop designed just for the occasion. The lighting is moody, the atmosphere is hazy, and yes, that is Bosworth's actual singing voice. If this scene looks a little familiar, that's because it was inspired by another vampy blonde's legendary musical performance a few decades back: Michelle Pfeiffer's "Makin' Whoopee" in the 1989 film The Fabulous Baker Boys.
While Bosworth's shoes, dress, and makeup will all be available in some capacity on Topshop.com, those registered on the site are in for an even cooler treat: a personalized holiday message from the actress via the video's interactive capability.
"This project brings together two important aspects of my life: cinema and fashion," Bosworth says. "I hope everyone enjoys watching it as much as we did making it."
Watch the video above, download the song, then visit Topshop for more behind-the-scenes goodies.
Target matches its mass market forces with Neiman Marcus's department store prowess for an unprecedented retail adventure: 24 CFDA designers will create limited-edition items for a 50-piece Holiday collection that will hit both retailers' brick-and-mortar nationwide locations and online outlets Dec. 1.
Diane von Furstenberg, Oscar de la Renta, Carolina Herrera, Derek Lam, Jason Wu, Marc Jacobs, Altuzarra, Band of Outsiders, Brian Atwood, Eddie Borgo, Prabal Gurung, Proenza Schouler, Rag & Bone, Robert Rodriguez, Rodarte, Skaist-Taylor, Thom Browne, Lela Rose, Marchesa, Philip Crangi, Tory Burch, Alice + Olivia, Judith Leiber, and Tracy Reese are all involved. There will be men's, women's, and children's clothing and accessories, as well as lifestyle items, such as pet, sporting, and home goods. Most items in the collection — titled, appropriately, The Target + Neiman Marcus Holiday Collection — will cost under $60, though prices will start at $7.99 and top out at $499.
"This is kind of groundbreaking," Neiman Marcus's president and CEO, Karen Katz, told WWD. "We've set the stage for a redefining moment in retail," Gregg Steinhafel, Target Corp's president, chairman, and CEO, agreed.
In addition to creating this ultimate Holiday extravaganza, Target and Neiman Marcus will donate a total of $1 million dollars to the CFDA. "I can think of no better finale to CFDA's 50th anniversary celebration than through this extraordinary designer collaboration," CFDA president — and participating designer — Diane von Furstenberg explained.
A look at the entire collection in all its glory, here.
'Tis the season for giving, but that doesn't mean there's anything wrong with keeping a little something in mind for yourself. And if that little something just happens to be a gold-striped Derek Lam camera bag in deep, dark burgandy or a Reed Krakoff anarchy bag in dreamy dove-gray leather with a shiny chain strap, then so be it. This is, after all, also the season of cheer — and what's more cheer-inducing than a fresh new clutch, satchel, or tote? Check out these 30 joyous options, right here.
Photo: Greg Kessler, Diane von Furstenberg Fall 2012
