Open Season, Part III

FIRST PLACE
NON-HOLIDAY WINDOW DISPLAYS
“BASEMAN X COACH: THE SHRINE”
COACH, NEW YORK

In collaboration with contemporary artist Gary Baseman and retailer Colette (Paris), these windows for Coach’s spring 2015 ready-to-wear collection packed a showstopping punch.

The “shrine” that focuses on several Baseman characters, including “Le Fauve Buster” (the chrome figure, shown) and “Emmanuel Hare Ray” (the blindfolded rabbit on the banner), was turned into a 3-D reality derived from pencil sketches Baseman drew especially for Coach.

The artist regularly features embroidery and appliqués in his art exhibitions, which were an inspiration during the window’s conceptualization. Coach then tasked several New York-based artists with embroidering the backdrop banner and tablecloth. “We hired someone who does a lot of hand embroidery; it took them an insane amount of hours, along with two other people, working around the clock nonstop,” says Samar Younes, global design director, creative development, Coach.

Blindfolded mannequins on either side of the table, holding merchandise featuring Baseman’s characters, helped drive the surreal narrative. “There’s striking impact in symmetry,” said Visual Competition judge Marty McCauley, design director, FRCH Design Worldwide (Cincinnati).

“There’s so much to see,” said fellow judge Michael Brindley, creative director, Fitch (Columbus). “It creates intrigue – I’d stop and look at this for 10 minutes.”

Read more about the 22nd annual Visual Competition winners featured in VMSD's July 2016 issue by clicking here, and be sure to check vmsd.com throughout the month of July for parts IV & V of this Visual Competition coverage.

Click here to read about the Best in Show winner.
Click here to view Part II.