Window Display - New Visual Merchandising by Tony Morgan, Laurence King Publishing; 2010. ISBN: 978-1-85669-685-2. £22.50
The new book by Tony Morgan boasts some excellent photographs of the best recent windows in London, New York, Paris and beyond. Morgan takes us on a personal journey with his writing, which shines through his passion for display. The book is well structured and looks at windows from different perspectives in seven chapters such as Colour, Lighting and Theatre. The book covers the top department stores from New Yorks Bergdorf Goodman to London’s Selfridges (Morgan worked as Head of Visual Merchandising there for 18 years), designer shops such as Prada and Moschino, as well as high street fashion concepts by TopShop and Zara.
With relevant images and captions he shows how a window is more than just a useful space to promote products. “Today these glazed canvases promote the store’s brand identity, keep the customer informed of fashion trends and ultimately drive sales.” He explores several ways to make the stores windows stand out from their competitors. Would a tyrannosaurus Rex eating a mannequin get your attention? He quite rightly argues that good windows are the talk of the town.
The book successfully highlights how different elements of window design can inspire and increase sales. Morgan celebrates ”the creative retail gurus” who design the schemes. I always wonder who designed the windows, therefore I wish he would have explored this further. Overall I strongly recommend the book.
Tony Morgan teaches visual merchandising at Fashion Retail Academy and is a guest lecturer at London College of Fashion. His previous book is called Visual Merchandising: Window and In-store Displays for Retail.
All images by Laurence King Publishing.
