The 2016 Bergdorf Goodman Holiday Windows

Once the holidays start approaching here in the city there's the excitement of so many things such as the Rockefeller Christmas tree, holiday markets, ice skating and even department store windows. New York City is probably the most popular place for holiday windows - though Paris and Chicago are definitely close - from Macy's to Barneys, but the most famous display of all is Bergdorf Goodman, to the point that they made a documentary about it. Taking the title from a 1990 Victoria Roberts cartoon that was featured in the New Yorker, Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf's covers the history of the luxury goods department store while following David Hoey, Senior Director of Visual Presentation, and Linda Fargo, ‎SVP Fashion and Store Presentation Director, as they plan and execute the 2011 holiday window displays for the iconic store.

Covering everything from when Herman Bergdorf started a tailor shop in downtown Manhattan to Linda meeting with Ally Hilfiger (daughter of designer Tommy Hilfiger and one half of the iconic Rich Girls), about her latest clothing line to interviews with the store's most successful personal shopper, Betty Halbreich; the film covers a lot. Almost too much. It's all very interesting but there doesn't seem to be any cohesion and because everything is just touched upon, you want more and unfortunately, the film doesn't deliver.

For this year's display, David says he took inspiration from Henri Rousseau and trips to the American Museum of Natural History, that they are to be looked at as magical realist versions of natural history museum dioramas. I took a trip down to Bergdorf's on a cold December night and took a few pictures. If you're in the city, they will be available to view through January 2, 2017 and at the bottom of this post I included a list of companion books to check out.

Pleasure Trip

The Thrill of the Chase

The Only Way to Fly

The Bird's Eye View

The Hitchhiker

Winging It

The Scenic Route

The Book Club

(love the details on this)

This one didn't have a title but I had to include it

Books to check out*:

Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf Goodman by Bergdorf Goodman

I'll Drink to That: A Life in Style, with a Twist by Betty Halbreich

Dreams: Through the Glass by Linda Fargo

The Bergdorf Goodman Cookbook by Bergdorf Goodman

The Rise of Fashion and Lessons Learned at Bergdorf Goodman by Ira Neimark

*Breakfast with the Uncultured is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.