Nothing captures holiday magic quite like a department store window. And if you’re one of those shoppers who can’t help but press your nose against a glowing holiday tableau, you’re (quite literally) in for a treat: Harrods has teamed up with Dior for a dazzling Christmastime display that effectively transforms the famed London retail mecca into the world’s most glamorous gingerbread house.
Dubbed “The Fabulous World of Dior,” the exterior takeover features supersize versions of motifs plucked straight from Dior’s 2023 cruise collection. Each element, inspired by those created by artist Pietro Ruffo with the house’s creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri, has been playfully reimagined as an iced Christmas cookie. A gigantic illuminated compass rose (covered in, of course, Dior’s signature roses) towers four stories above Harrods’ entrance, while a glowing galleon sails along the Brompton Road side on waves of flowers and nautical rope.
Harrods’ windows, each devoted to a different category of Dior wares, are radiant vitrines of gingerbread fantasy. A vignette devoted to Dior Maison holds the house’s famed medallion chair, toile de jouy wallcoverings, and Limoges porcelain plates rendered in faux iced biscuits. Baby Dior, meanwhile, has a star-shaped gingerbread dollhouse filled with intricate cookie teddies, diminutive frosted dresses, and the teeniest of furnishings.
Inside, there are even more sugary delights to be had, from a dedicated gingerbread hued Dior café, a pop-up gift shop (where the walls are covered in biscuit bricks and confectionary Dior Jardin Botanique bags), and an atelier with a mantel made from—you guessed it!—more gingerbread. An accompanying gingerbread exhibition showcases the craftsmanship behind Dior’s garments and boasts seriously impressive gingerbread house replicas of both Harrods’ and Dior’s 30 Avenue Montaigne flagship.
It’s all to celebrate Dior’s seven-decade-long relationship with Harrods and as a fanciful tribute to Christian Dior’s love of Christmas. And even if blowing your budget at Harrods isn’t in the cards for you, the exhibition and installations are free and open to the public via timed tickets. It’s a fitting gesture for a store whose Latin motto translates to “all things for all people, everywhere”—and a fitting wish for this season of magic.
Anna Fixsen, Deputy Digital Editor at ELLE DECOR, focuses on how to share the best of the design world through in-depth reportage and online storytelling. Prior to joining the staff, she has held positions at Architectural Digest, Metropolis, and Architectural Record magazines. elledecor.com
