Where's the Party?

Store: Macy's | Location: Oakbrook Center, Oak Brook, IL

These two windows from Macy's are probably some of the most bare windows I've seen. There really isn't much to say about them since they are both so bare, but I will go ahead and talk about the outfits first. The windows are two separate windows, but they are right next to each other so when you're looking at all of the outfits as a whole, they work well together and have a cohesive theme, which seems to be very cool and edgy party looks. Both windows have elements of leather and leopard print, which is what ties everything together. I think solely based on the outfits, these windows did an excellent job.

The actual window displays in terms of visual merchandising on the other hand, could have been a lot better. I would expect a retailer like Macy's to have fun and interesting windows too, so I was surprised that this was actually a window they put out. Since the only things you see in the windows are the mannequins, you really aren't left with much else to look at but the walls and carpet, which are both quite drab and make the windows as a whole quite boring. It also may confuse the consumers because there is very little in these windows so you're left to wonder what the story is here. Where are these outfits going to be worn? What's the occasion? To me since the windows are so empty, it looks like the mannequins are just waiting for a party to happen. Or that they are lost and have no idea where the party is. And because there is nothing else in the windows, you can clearly see how much space there is that they could've used to add more decorations, merchandise, or even signage. The bareness just makes the space that is already given seem even larger than if it were to have more in it. 

In terms of the principles of design, there really were none, other than that they were balanced because every mannequin is the same height and both windows have the mannequins centered in the middle of the window.