Browns Jubilee Windows - Part 1

Browns Jubilee Windows,  London.

So in case you haven't strolled down South Molton Street in the last week, or you missed it on Twitter, I've been working on a really special project with iconic fashion boutique Browns over the last couple of months. And I wanted to tell you all about it. I was contacted by their Visual Merchandising team, headed up by a super lovely lady - Joanna Galanis - earlier this year and asked whether I would like to design the Jubilee windows. Joanna had seen my pencil work and in particular an Illustration I had done based around London monuments, and they wanted something similar in style, so I was delighted to say yes!

We then met again in April to discuss ideas for the concept. Joanna had also come across the work of paper artists Anissa lee and Ivana Nohel, so brought them on board to add another dimension to the window displays and give them a real 'wow factor. We agreed we didn't want to do anything too cliché for Browns - we wanted to keep the windows elegant and reflect the Majesty and Britishness of the Jubilee in a sophisticated manner, whilst also keeping in mind that Browns is all about fashion. So the concept we can up with centred around strong majestic animals - unicorns, horses, lions - and diamonds and jewels. Ivana and Anissa were tasked with coming up with designing huge paper animals which would burst through gigantic union jack flags, and jewellery which would adorn the mannequins, whilst I was responsible for designing the backdrops and Illustrations which would be hand-drawn on to the glass.  

Anissa Lee paper Jewellery

Ivana Nohel paper lion.

In addition to the trumpets, diamond and crowns that I drew for the backdrops, I also created a Jubilee crest for Browns, which incorporated a lion, unicorn, diamonds, a crown and of course a 'B' in the centre. I also designed some intricate bunting, with each section made up of dozens of tiny hand-drawn jewels, crowns and other royal emblems. If you wander through South Molten Passage to the rear of the store, you can see the bunting in the window and painstakingly hand-drawn along the length of the glass (I'm sure I have RSI in the wrist after that!). 

Browns Crest.

Jubilee Bunting Illustration.

To add the finishing touches, I also created diamond illustrations which I drew onto the glass of all the windows which creates a feeling of depth and layering, and the other girls created a stunning gold paper throne for one of the mannequins to sit on. 

 The overall effect is a real bust of colour, majesty and grandeur, with the quirkiness that unicorns wearing oversized pendants brings! Everything hangs together beautifully, and says 'British' in a elegant, sophisticated way. Joanna did a splendid job of coordinating a vast team of creatives in a relatively short amount of time and it was fantastic working with such talented people.