Hasta La Ideas

(Courtesy Bergdorf Goodman)

When it comes to holiday window displays, some stores go for wit, others for classic Christmas cheer, and a few just cover their usual merch with a dusting of faux snow and call it a (holi)day. Meanwhile, New York’s Bergdorf Goodman pulls out all the stops with windows that look like they sprung from the fever dreams of Salvador Dali after a luxury shopping spree. This year is no exception. The store’s 2010 windows are inspired by fantasy travel and feature modes of transport that range from an antique caboose (manned by a conductor in Oscar de la Renta) and well-stocked sailing ship to a gold and ivory wooden pegasus and a hot air balloon piloted by a team of dapper monkeys (here’s hoping it sparks a contemporary craze for singerie). “We are in the surprise business,” said David Hoey, Bergdorf Goodman’s senior director of visual presentation and window design, who describes his job as “part architect and part cake decorator.” The Bergdorf Goodman holiday windows will remain on display through January 3, but we suggest taking a closer look at your leisure with Windows at Bergdorf Goodman (Assouline), a limited-edition tome that documents a decade of Bergdorf’s spectacular windows through 55 photographs and more than 100 illustrations.

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