Showing posts with label display. Show all posts
Showing posts with label display. Show all posts

Thursday, June 25, 2015

Sleeping Beauty as 'Sloth' & Cinderella as 'Jealousy' in the Windows of Paris

It's not the first time fairy tale characters have been used to portray the seven deadly sins but it is somewhat unique.

Paris currently has a window dressing competition among the shopkeepers, in which every window has to portray one of the Seven Deadly Sins. (I dearly wish I had images to share but I can't find any relevant ones sorry!) With the floor completely open for interpretation, it is interesting that two fairy tales in particular are featured (and making the most impact). I wonder if it's partly to do with French heritage of fairy tales in popular culture?

From The Guardian:
The most crowded street in Paris this week has been the Faubourg St Honoré, whose shopkeepers are holding a competition in window-dressing of which the theme must be one or more of the Seven Deadly Sins...The biggest success is a Sleeping Beauty (accompanied by sleeping king, queen, courtiers, scullions and guards), exemplifying Sloth, that occupies the whole shop-window of a dealer in curios. ... The best window of all is perhaps that of a shoe shop showing Cinderella’s abandoned shoe on the royal staircase, and the long rows of busts that flanked the august descent, pale, as Perrault declared them to be, with Jealousy of the beauty they had just seen pass them.
Note: for a great read about Perrault and Cinderella's slipper check out Tales of Faerie's recent fascinating post HERE, on The Significance of Shoes in Perrault's Time.

The main drawing of an art nouveau Sleeping Beauty as Sloth seen above, is part of a beautiful-looking series by illustrator Chris Hill. (I love his art nouveau character posters!) I've included the rest below for your convenience, and find it interesting that Cinderella is included in his series under the label of 'lust' (which, can be related to jealousy).

Monday, November 11, 2013

Fairy Tale Magic Unveiled in Paris: Peeks At "La Belle et La Bête" First Footage (& More) Through Christmas Windows (C'est Magnifique!)

A few days ago, window shoppers in Paris were treated to the unveiling of Galeries Lafayette Haussmann's highly anticipated 2013 Christmas windows, with Lea Seydoux (who plays Beauty in La Belle et La Bête) handling the official launch-n-lighting honors.

It's so stunning and magical, no other Christmas or fairy tale film has a chance of getting noticed in Paris at the moment! I've always maintained magic takes work, and there's no doubt this project had more than it's fair share, but the resulting magic here is real: whomever sees this in person will remember this their entire lives.

There is something very special about beautiful Christmas windows. They're a form of storytelling and theater all by themselves and should be recognized for how much they enrich and effect people's lives. Very often fairy tales emerge from books and sit on the edge of reality, drawing passers by out of their day-today worries and transporting them, despite themselves, into magical worlds, making a season of their lives special and beautiful. I still remember the windows I've seen, especially when I was a child. It's a unique sort of magic and isn't as widespread as it once was, which is a real shame. Kudos to all those visual merchandisers out there who go beyond displaying goods for sale to make magic. We salute you.

Galeries Lafayette Haussmann are known for their breathtaking Christmas constructions, and this year, Beauty and the Beast takes center stage, with animated roses revealing glimpses of the first footage from Gan's Beauty and the Beast. Passers by are able to "brush the roses aside" with their fingers touching the glass so the flowers move to show them sneak peeks of the film. Magical!
✒  ✒   (click the "Read more" link below this line for lots more photos & first B&tB footage ) ✒ ✒ ✒