This week treats from the high street include stunning hand-crafted installations and fairground fun schemes.

Multiple layers of intertwined corrugated card wraps around walls and props at Anthropologie. This textured surface follows an organic line forming concave and convex valleys in the cardboard strips.



Colour pop at Joseph with these repeated regimented rows of coloured dots, with matching colour blocked mannequin styling.



Every inch of the window filled with balloons at Paul Smith, imitating the latest book cover.



Surfboards overhead on a rotating carousel, great way to display a tricky product.



Traditional British humour at Selfridges, suspended bowler hats adds an essence of surrealism to the display.



Soft feather encasing is the backdrop for Mulberrys latest window scheme. Texture is be a big trend for A/W12, so watch this space with this translating into vm concepts.



Fun at the fair with this bold installation at Christian Louboutin, this giant replica of a toy grabber that is played in seaside arcades. I would love to of won a pair of Louboutin shoes instead of a toy!! Another great, fun scheme that made me smile this weekend.

This weeks post sees promotional windows from Selfridges and Liberty, while humour plays heavily in the other schemes. These are the last remaining windows that haven’t had a Jubilee makeover.

Vivienne Westwood, Worlds End collection has taken over the promotion windows at Selfridges. Planks of driftwood make up body structures to support the clothes, with multiple ropes suspend from the ceiling break up the space.



While Liberty have collaborated with Dr. Martens, once again showcasing their collection of heritage prints. Combining raw industrial surroundings with wild-flower detailing adding a soft edge to the display.



Love the new scheme at Moschino, a living room set with products as oversized cushions, great fun.



Regimented rows at Paul Smith, with one pot spilling out accessories. The minimal style we know and love at Paul Smith.



Launching their Kids collection, Fred Perry’s playful windows with a slight nostalgic school day feel to it.



De-constructed product at The Conran Shop, promoting well made products that last a lifetime, its all about making the right investment. This window is hard-hitting and a reflection of consumers buying behaviour especially during this economic climate.



Hand-made signage at Toast adds a quaint touch to the displayed product.

This month I met Tim Nash and Richard Whitaker, Senior Creative Manager and Senior Creative Development Co-ordinator at Topman. Exploring their latest install and finding out the future of menswear VM.

With many years experience in the industry Tim and Richard have joined Topman at an exciting time creatively, pushing the brand to rival the best on the high street with statement installs and innovative in-store VM.

HM: What are your sources of inspiration you use during the research stage for your concepts?

TN/RW: We tend to stay away from other retailers to get inspiration so that we remain fresh and focused. We source from exhibitions, art installations, magazines, street art, architecture and anywhere we are travelling. In fact I don't think we ever stop looking! We have set up a creative Tumblr account for the team to upload inspirational images onto a constant feed for the entire office and store teams to view.



HM: Is there a difference between men’s VM and women’s and what challenges does this bring?

TN/RW: We have noticed a shift in men's VM, especially in recent years. It's still divided into two types based on the consumer, either fashion focused or product driven. However it seems that guys really know what they want and how to wear it so the challenge is how to present this in an interesting and engaging way.

HM: Do you think men engage with VM like women do? If not why don’t they engage?

TN/RW: They engage in different ways, men’s VM still relies heavily on mannequin styling as its main focus. It’s also easier to guide male consumers around the store with product placement. Topman are trying to push the boundaries and break from the norm with men’s VM to get them engaging even more.



HM: What is the future for Men’s VM and Topman?

TN/RW: We feel technology will play it's part in the future of men's vm, but how far past where we are at the minute were not sure. We look closely at our consumer demographic and see what gadgets they are using and try and engage with these as part of the in-store experience. We have met with various technology specialists and continually review how we can push this medium even further interactively, not only in-store but in windows too.

HM: Who are your creative competitors?

TN/RW: This is hard to say. In certain aspects River Island and Urban Outfitters are our main high-street competitors both from a product and creative aspect. However we choose to look at whom we aspire to be which aren't necessarily our market competitors, such as Dover Street Market, Paul Smith and Selfridges.



HM: Is there a relationship with Topshop creative team?

TN/RW: Yes very much so, the two teams jointly work on some projects, we also have regular brainstorming sessions together. They are a great inspirational resource. It’s nice to have that connection, but also be able to uphold our own identity.

HM: You have mentioned you have been influenced by the Art and Design world, how do you translate this into a VM context?

TN/RW: Specific artist such as Judith Seng and Anthony Gormley were key resources in SS12. At present, the sculpture Gary Betts, along with some of the innovative things being shown at the Design Museums Designers of The Year are big focuses for us. De-constructing elements from these fields even if it's something small like the surface fabric, we then go on to use that as a platform to develop a window concept or in-store scheme.

HM: Any future collaboration’s / who would you like to collaborate with?

TN/RW: We have been lucky to work with the likes of Gary Card in the last year, and definitely would love to collaborate on more things in the future, perhaps with an architectural company or an up and coming artist / illustrator. I love that we are able to work with up and coming UK talent with many of these guys actually working in our stores! At Topman we are lucky to have very talented individuals so we pull on the strengths of the team, giving them an opportunity to showcase their work on relevant projects throughout the business.