Entertaining is back on the menu this holiday season and Bloomingdale’s is going all in to get the party started.
Today, the retailer launches the latest iteration of its rotating pop-up concept, The Carousel @ Bloomingdale’s, with Happy Together Again, a shop curated by Italian chef, restaurateur and TV personality Giada De Laurentiis.
The shop is dedicated to the art of entertaining and De Laurentiis has assembled an assortment of gifts for the holiday season, including a limited-edition collaboration with Giadzy Pantry, her line of elevated cooking ingredients and food from Italy. To complement the food items, the shop includes a special selection of men’s and women’s fashion, beauty, home and kids’ items.
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De Laurentiis told WWD she grew up shopping at Bloomingdale’s with her mother, “and I always loved looking at the Bloomingdale’s holiday window displays. It’s an iconic store, and I’m so thrilled to team up with them for this unbelievable collaboration. This is the first time I’ve partnered with a major retailer to offer special-edition Giadzy boxes, and I’m honored to be able to bring authentic Italian ingredients that are so close to my heart to Bloomingdale’s customers. It’s a dream come true.”
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For the Carousel shop, she said, she was “inspired to share all of the authentic Italian ingredients I grew up on and introduce people to the small purveyors that make them. These purveyors are the heart and soul of Italian culture and I hope everyone enjoys and appreciates these products just as much as I do. I’m excited to bring a taste of Italy to everyone’s dinner table.”
She said sharing Italian ingredient kits has been something she’s wanted to do for as long as she can remember. “The ingredients are a true taste of Italy at home and everything from the tomatoes to the oils, pasta and truffles are made by small, often family-owned farms that have been making them for generations. I chose a selection of eight special edition Giadzy kits that can make a great gift, or an addition to your holiday entertaining plans. If I had to pick a favorite kit, it would be the Choose Your Own Pasta Adventure Kit — a mix of my favorite pasta shapes, fusilli lunghi and strozzapreti, from Naples, the most incredible tomatoes in the world — pomodorini from Corbara — along with my favorite herbs and spices you can transform into various recipes. And the Dolci Delight kit — I can’t live without sweets, and the truffles and chocolate hazelnut spread are divine.”
Celebrating the holidays is especially poignant for her, she said, and evoke fond memories. “I come from a big Italian family, so we always have large gatherings with everyone around the holidays,” she said. “One of my favorite memories when I was a kid were the pizza parties my grandfather used to throw around Christmas time. Everyone would roll out their own dough and get to top their own mini pizza. It was always such a fun time, and one of the reasons why I had to include a pizza party kit as part of the collaboration.”
The Giadzy boxes range in price from $80 for the Dolce Delight box and $90 for the Aperitivo Hour box to $175 for the Dinner Party Alla Romana box.
The shop will include other brands new to the retailer including Aba Love Apothecary, Kerri Rosenthal, Leeway Home, Lynn & Liana, Nashi Home and WithCo. There are LSA champagne saucers, priced at $65; Michael Wainwright gold martini glasses, $125; a Jonathan Adler bar cart, $1,450; dinnerware from Avenida Home, $40 to $80, and Versace candle holders, $350.
The festive apparel offerings include metallic blazers, party dresses and statement bags from Brandon Blackwood and Cult Gaia, as well as holiday pieces from AllSaints, Hugo Boss, Apparis, Mother, NN07, Phenomenal, Proenza Schouler White Label, Rag & Bone and Theory. After the party ends, shoppers can curl up in pajamas, sweaters and shearling slippers.
Open through Jan. 14 at Bloomingdale’s 59th Street flagship, the shop will include a Nespresso pop-up, inspired by the cafés in Italy, with bar seating for guests to enjoy complimentary tastings of the brand’s coffee and espresso.
In addition to the shop, Bloomingdale’s is throwing its muscle behind the return of holiday events by offering a series of in-store culinary events and activations.
“There is even more excitement around the holiday season this year,” said Tony Spring, chief executive officer of Bloomingdale’s. “And, as we anticipate celebrating together once more, Bloomingdale’s is ready to inspire customers to find the perfect gifts and create unforgettable holiday celebrations. Bloomingdale’s has always been a source of holiday inspiration for our customers, and we are excited to be able to provide them with entertaining resources and ideas for Thanksgiving through the New Year, whether they visit us for in-store culinary events or turn to Bloomingdale’s.com for expert video tips.”
The store’s holiday campaign will be centered around the “Give Happy” theme this year, selling everything from stocking stuffers to high-end gifts. The store will introduce The Celebration Shop, a boutique themed to the holidays with cocktail kits, makeup palettes and other products. And there will also be special content and events throughout the season, including Bloomingdale’s On Screen virtual events and in-store activations, original recipes and “how-to” videos with advice on food prep and holiday decorating.
On Nov. 17, De Laurentiis will be joined by Jordan Andino, chef, TV personality and owner of Flip Sigi, on Bloomingdale’s on Screen where they will prepare a classic Italian dish for the holidays.
Andino will also front a six-part cooking series, “A Decadently Delicious Holiday,” for the store where he will partner with other celebrity guests, including Tyler Cameron, with advice and tips on how to create a festive charcuterie board, holiday brunch and special cocktails.
“We’re all excited to celebrate with our family and friends this year,” Andino said. “But for some, it might be the first time they’re together in a couple of years, so we wanted to make it extra special and fun. I’m excited to partner with Bloomingdale’s for our Decadently Delicious Holiday entertaining series to give viewers some fun tips and recipes that will make their holiday events stand out — always in my own style — and have fun while they do it. I’ll be sharing some of my classic recipes that my friends, family and clients love, like oven-roasted brussels sprouts in a sweet chili glaze and the consistently-requested Filipino noodle dish, Pancit Bihon. I’ll be bringing in some of my friends like Giada De Laurentiis for a special holiday pasta dish and my boy Tyler Cameron for an apple cinnamon old-fashioned mixology recipe.”
He continued: “It’s been such a busy year with four restaurant openings on my horizon, and multiple TV shows in various stages of development, but this collaboration with Bloomingdale’s has been in the works for a year and is something I’m so stoked to get started.”
The store will also feature a “Steal of the Day,” a one-day promotion on a single item, which will range from outerwear and loungewear to jewelry and kitchen electrics.
Through Dec. 31, Bloomingdale’s Little Brown Bear will return as well. For every bear sold at the regular price of $22, the store will make a $5 donation to Child Mind Institute. Bloomingdale’s has partnered with CMI since 2009, raising more than $2 million dollars to support its mission of transforming the lives of children and families struggling with mental health and learning disorders.
Bloomingdale’s will unveil its holiday windows on Nov. 18 at the 59th Street store.