La Samaritaine Paris Pont Neuf
For its first Christmas windows since its reopening, La Samaritaine left nothing to chance and made it snow as it unveiled its “Jardins à la Française” theme.
“It was important for us to continue celebrating the French lifestyle and have a very Parisian Christmas,” said Eléonore de Boysson, region president Europe & Middle East of DFS Group Limited, the travel retail business owned by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton.
Rather than any Parisian cliché, the city’s latest department store looked to the French capital’s numerous parks for the inspiration for this dreamlike holiday jaunt.
In its windows, mannequins dressed in festive outfits enjoyed a swing ride or played with the boats on the basins of the Tuileries Garden, as fairy lights dressed the foliage of topiary trees and manicured hedges.
Santa was given a “humorously elegant twist, as is the French way,” as de Boysson put it, appearing as a dandy in a red tailcoat and matching beret. A choir in white overalls belted renditions of carols with witty wordplay, while Christmas trees became impeccably coiffed dancers.
Taking pride of place in the atrium and on the banisters of each floor is a monumental Advent calendar. Every day until Christmas Eve, a raffle will take place, with the prize revealed at 12.24 p.m. by the store’s liveried groom.
A Christmas market and a holiday-minded curation of the ground-floor Boutique de Loulou corner have also taken on the garden theme for products and decor alike.
Visitors can take their own stroll in the interior garden, complete with a 10-meter tree, or take a picture on a bench stating “Samaritaine Paris Scintille” (or “Samaritaine Paris Sparkles.”) – Lily Templeton
