Saks Fifth Avenue's Enchanting Holiday Windows

So much of my Christmas shopping is done sitting at my computer and clicking away. What's the point in going to the store and fighting the crowds? As I strolled down New York City's Fifth Avenue during last year's holiday season, I was struck by how the store windows enchanted me, calling me to pause and take a look. Accustomed to suburban mall shops like The Gap displaying the standard photo of ridiculously photogenic people wearing the brand, these New York department stores seemed like an entirely different league to me. Clever tableaux, striking visuals and 3D projections extending up the entire height of the building transformed the windows into an artform, not just an advertisement for the store.

Snow White drawn to the apple carts and bright lights of Broadway.

Last year, Saks Fifth Avenue went back to its roots and paid homage to the Roaring Twenties, the decade the store got its start, and to the city where it all began. Fairy tales were given an Art Deco in the Big Apple twist. I'm not sure if anything in the windows were actually sold inside the store, but the images were enough to keep me from walking blithely past without a glance. That must certainly be the first step in attracting customers.

Red Riding Hood visits "grandma" at The Plaza.

I wasn't alone on the sidewalk. Even though it was past 10PM, crowds of people stood in front of each display to examine the scene. I hear that there are walking tours of the window displays. That's how big of a draw they are.

Rumpelstiltskin spins gold out of straw at the City Hall subway station.

With the holidays being the biggest shopping season of the year, the stores along Fifth Avenue seem to be in an unofficial competition with each other over who can pull off the most lavish display. A few weeks before Thanksgiving, the holiday season kicks off with the big unveiling. Last year's was accompanied by the Rockettes in a traffic-stopping performance.

Cinderella heads to Saks to find the perfect glass slipper.

While the windows are what I notice up close, it's the 3D light projection show, flashing LEDs and music that catches my attention from afar. The entire building is a canvas for the show that runs periodically throughout the night.

Images of the Empire State Building flash across the front of Saks

As the music starts, people flow out of Rockefeller Center to stand across the street from Saks and cast their gaze upwards. You would have thought they spotted King Kong.

Silhouettes of people standing against windows are projected on the upper stories of the building.

Everyone seemed to me having a merry time — both the imaginary ones concocted as part of the scene and the real ones taking it all in.

Fireworks cap off the show.

The whole show culminates in a burst of projected fireworks. Then, the upper stories fall dark except for a lone clock that ticks down the minutes until the show begins again.


For the 2015 season, Saks Fifth Avenue features a Winter Palace theme. Famous landmarks across the world are transformed into spectacularly frosty scenes. Dive into an freezing Great Brrrrier Reef, chill out with a Sub-zero Sphinx, visit the Ice Cold Colosseum, and imagine yourself walking along China's Great Wintery Wall.

My friends, that is the difference between shopping online versus doing a little window shopping in the luxe environs of New York City.

Have you seen a memorable store window display?

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