BAM

Fifth Avenue Store Windows Honor BAM

One of New York's popular holiday traditions, the Bergdorf Goodman Department Store windows on Fifth Annual, this year pays tribute to seven of the city's cultural institutions, including BAM (the Brooklyn Academy of Music).

The 2017 windows, titled “To New York with Love,” capture the city's appreciation for the visual arts, history, music, film, dance, and other cultural treasures by showcasing representations of BAM, the American Museum of Natural History, Museum of the Moving Image, The New York Botanical Garden, New York Philharmonic, New York Historical Society, and UrbanGlass.

“While exploring this theme, we knew the windows had to be dynamic and multilayered to evoke the excitement of New York today, while simultaneously celebrating the city's past,” David Hoey, senior director of visual presentation, said in a Bergdorf Goodman statement. “Our institutional partners provided an array of subject matter to inspire us, so we crafted a completely different type of window for each organization. And since we love putting on a show, we have made the windows kaleidoscopic and entertaining.”
Ten months in production, the windows created by Hoey and his team of artists and artisans have orchestrated a spectacle that features a range of media, such as papier-mâché, neon, video, resin casting, and the fiber arts.

Six of the sets of the displays are part of the retailer's women's store: the display honoring BAM occupies the four windows of the men's store. "Bergdorf Goodman's team of artists and artisans has created something truly special, with the four window vignettes of the men's store celebrating just a few of the art forms we present at BAM: music, dance, theater, and film," Claire Charlesworth, BAM's director of membership, wrote in an email to BAM members.

In addition to the windows, the holiday partnership between Bergdorf Goodman and the institutions has yielded one-of-a kind cultural experiences and exclusive gifts, as fashion houses and designers such as Loro Piana, Adam Lippes, KITH, Lorraine Schwartz, and David Webb have created pieces that will be available for purchase in store and on BG.com. A percentage of the retail price from each product purchased will be donated to the corresponding institution, while each institution will receive 100 percent of the proceeds from each experience purchased through Sunday, December 24.

BAM's "one-of-a-kind cultural experience" is a performance of Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey into Night next spring plus an "intimate dinner with the cast," which includes Jeremy Irons and Lesley Manville. The price is $2,500 per ticket. The BAM-specific merchandise is a velvet version of Hayward's Shopper tote inspired by the arches of BAM's landmark building at a price tag of $850.

The window displays are up through January 3. Click here for more information on the experiences and merchandise.

December 4, 2017

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