The Champs-Élysées Window Display Project for Visual Merchandising

Bonjour à tous,
Visual merchandising is often described as the silent language of luxury—a refined art that speaks before any words are exchanged. During my studies at Sup de Luxe in Paris, I had the opportunity to explore this discipline in greater depth through a project that challenged me and my colleagues (a team of four) to reinterpret the spirit of the 1990s within today's Parisian landscape. It was an invitation to blend fashion history, creative strategy, and cultural storytelling into one cohesive, visually compelling display. 
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At its core, visual merchandising orchestrates space, emotion, and brand identity. I realized that it's a discipline that means more than arranging objects; it's a science of creating a universe that evokes a myriad of emotions in customers. In this luxury universe, every element matters: the textures, the lighting, the spacing between objects, and even the angle at which a handbag catches the light. Visual merchandising must translate the brand's DNA into an immediate, visceral experience that invites clients to admire and imagine themselves living within that world. In short, it must transform a passerby into a participant.

For this particular project, our assignment began with a simple but evocative question: How can visual merchandising revisit the emblematic codes of the 90s—a decade so full of contrasts and cultural collisions—and reframe them for contemporary Paris? The challenge was framed by a principle that I found deeply inspiring: "The essence of fashion is not homologation." In a world that increasingly values inclusion over sameness, how could we use the silent language of display to celebrate individuality through a 90s lens?

Our group was assigned le pull (sweater) as our iconic garment. The journey unfolded through research, trend analysis, and creative ideation. We examined the 90s not as a monolithic decade but as a vibrant mosaic: the rise of grunge alongside the minimalism of Calvin Klein, the birth of hip-hop luxury, and the street-style revolutions that made the sidewalks of Paris, New York, and Tokyo as influential as the runways. With its infinite iterations — oversized, ribbed, graphic, minimal — the sweater became our canvas for exploring these contrasts.

Through this experience, I saw visual merchandising act as an ambassador of cultural storytelling. It demands an understanding of history, an eye for beauty, and a sensitivity to the invisible emotional currents connecting clients to a brand. It is an art that lives at the intersections of memory, desire, and pleasure — and when done well, it leaves a lasting impression that lingers long after the passerby has walked away.

Here's an abbreviated version of our project, which features le pull and a reimagined window display for a Gucci store on the Champs Elysees. If you have questions or are interested in this work for your company, please reach out directly. ​

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​Voici un récap du projet (Here's a recap of the project) 

Location Chosen:

• Avenue des Champs-Élysées, Paris — a cultural and luxury epicenter where heritage and modernity coexist.

Assigned Product:

• Le Pull (the sweater) — historically worn by fishermen, later transformed into a symbol of effortless luxury.

Creative Direction:

• Reinterpret the functional origins of the sweater through a luxury fantasy narrative.
• Blend history with imagination: from fishermen's practicality to haute couture storytelling.

Final Visual Concept:

• Scene: A surreal ocean landscape imagined inside a luxury boutique window.
• Flooring and Backdrop: Soft blue hues and abstract waves suggesting water and movement; a dreamlike Parisian seascape.
• Mannequin Action:
  • Positioned mid-motion, "fishing" in the ocean for Gucci accessories and clothing.
  • Fishing rod playfully suspended with luxury pieces hooked — bags, shoes, scarves — floating elegantly as if caught from the sea.

Lighting:

• Soft underwater-style glow, with shimmering reflections mimicking sunlight on water.

Textures and Materials:

• Soft cotton and cashmere fabrics to replicate the texture and heritage of le pull, the colors of the sunset and ocean featured in the clothing and accessories 

Color Palette:

• Bright colors alongside touches of signature Gucci green and red.

Message:

• A journey from the humble origins of le pull to the allure of contemporary luxury, staged on the world’s most famous avenue.