SW3’s luxury cashmere brand Marilyn Moore, in a recent retailers’ competition run by Sloane Stanley, received a window redesign by leading Visual Merchandiser, Allison Haslock. As a leading creative in her field, Allison has enjoyed a long and varied career staging exquisite windows for Harrods, Selfridges, Lulu Guinness, The White Company, Space NK, Links of London and Charles Tyrwhitt.
Bees and flowers – what could be a more appropriate inspiration for Marilyn Moore’s genteel English designs, considering to the floral delights of the recent Chelsea Flower Show? Allison’s nature-inspired design is also a highly uplifting motif. It manages to accentuate with charm and gentle humour, the intricate and delicate patterning of the Moore Summer Collection. Subliminally too, to make busy stressed London shoppers think of slow, lazy afternoons with tea on a tray in the garden, being buttered by sunshine.
Alison’s innovative and arresting images for the designer featured translucent orange and yellow hexagonal shapes dangling from honeycomb frames as if floating in mid-air. The striking geometric shapes were also arranged artfully around mannequins in summer mode, a perfect echo for the boldness of the geometric designs so often seen in Moore clothes. The base of the windows was colour blocked in a hot vibrant orange vinyl and to accentuate the playful theme – a poetic quote by Victor Hugo, “Life is the flower for which love is the honey” – was written across the glass.
Inside the store, the thematic power of flowers and nature was continued with the sweet scent of wildflower posies throughout and more honeycomb shapes placed around the clothes. Customers were clearly being treated to that joyful sense of summer and all it has to offer.
Marilyn Moore has noted a significant increase in customers attracted by the bold ingenuity of Allison’s bee-themed design. Sales are greatly increased and numerous customers have complimented the store on their novel summer-vibrant design.