The COVID-19 pandemic has influenced New York holiday window store displays in various ways this year.
In 16 different languages and hand claps Macy’s is saying ‘thank you’ to essential workers and activists with interactive windows which allow visitors to create personal scrolling messages and record their hand clips. The store said this is their way of celebrating those who showed “grit, good humor and hopeful spirit during a tumultuous year.”
Bloomingdales hired out-of-work Broadway costume designers sidelined by the coronavirus pandemic and local artists to help them create their festive storefronts.
This year the store is using scent to enhance the viewing experience by sending out the fragrance of pine alongside a window that features a green Christmas tree created with stuffed teddy bears. Peppermint is piped outside a candy-cane themed window. The retailer’s goal is to encourage people to “Give Happy.”
Saks Fifth Avenue took inspiration from the city for its presentation featuring scenes of Brooklyn’s Dyker Heights and the Roosevelt Island tram. COVID-19 also found its way into a window with revelers wearing masks at a holiday block party.
Luxury retailer Bergdorf Goodman created “Bergdorf Goodness” with stained-glass kaleidoscopic statements with words including love, harmony and equality. The store’s windows are meant to reflect “the goodness that is all around us.”
(Production: Alicia Powell/Andrew Hofstetter)