Best Dressed Window: Less is More
18-03-2025
We take a look at high-end brands and how keeping it simple is key to their spring window displays…
Italians aren’t shy when it comes to branding and splashing their distinctive logo’s across their merchandise. When a brand is as well established as say, Versace, MaxMara or Dolce & Gabbana, it seems a given to include a motif or logo that is instantly recognisable. Think the double G for Gucci or Versace’s Medusa head amongst many others.
Thanks to a resurgence in early 90’s style the retro motif or brand logo has come back into the fore, although you could argue for many of the Italian fashion houses they never really went away. None-the-less, the once considered brash designer logo, pushed aside for a more minimalist aesthetic, is back with a vengeance.
When it comes to visual merchandising however these designers share a common formula – less is more. Pared back to let the product do all the talking, well lit mannequins are positioned like fashion models in the pages of a glossy magazine. Colour combination is kept to three key shades or less, backdrops are plain and neutral, and well positioned LED Strip Lights lead the eye to all the right places.
MaxMara make a play on their brand name as their mannequins are positioned on oversized letters that literally spell it out. Fendi, meanwhile uses a muted palm frond print as a backdrop to display this seasons graphic stripes and angular shapes.
This de-cluttered style is synonymous with high-end, designer merchandise and high street retailer Zara has cleverly utilized this method within their own visual merchandising to make the product appear more high-end than it actually is. A top tip for all of us.
Top Tips for Winning Windows:
- Have a theme or tell a story
- Surprise your audience – don’t be too obvious
- Think visually – think about the space from top to bottom and make sure key items are situated at eye level
- Be bold in terms of colour schemes and shapes. Try to stick to 2 or three key colours
- Use lighting and LED Profiles effectively, change colours or strengths depending on your story
- Keep customers interested – aim to change your window at least every two months or more
- Keep it simple – try not to overload, let the products speak for themselves
