What has 2500 black and yellow balls with silver sparkles, 48 stars measuring two to four meters, 80 animated characters, 100,000 light points, and two miles of light tubes?The Printemps Christmas windows 2008.
Printemps has tapped Karl Lagerfeld to decorate some of the windows this year. His theme is an animated marionette named Coco who dresses in a Chanel quilted suit and strolls through a garden with mystical flowers and plants. Hannah Macgibbon, head designer for Chloe,architects Jakob and Macfarlane and furniture designer Herve Van Straeten have also created windows with the theme of earth, air, and fire.
There's even some adorable, chic black teddy bears playing in outer space.
Printemps
64 Blvd. Haussmann, 9th arr.
Metro: Havre Caumartin
Tel. 01 42 82 50 00
www.printemps.fr
Karl Lagerfeld's Coco marionette
I can almost touch my toes in these ridiculously high boots

I am pleased as punch to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I will personally be leading. The Eye Prefer Paris Tour includes many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes & food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks, and much more.
I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you my insiders Paris.
Check it out at www.eyepreferparistours.com
They don't seem real Christmas-y to me...but aren't they absolutely gorgeous??? Maybe I need to expand my vision of what Christmas looks like!
Posted by: Evelyn | December 04, 2008 at 04:53 PM
Wonderful Richard !! You've put a huge smile on my face this morning. The Printemps windows are delightfully whimsical and spectacularly Parisian this season! Thanks from all of us who won't get to experience this beautiful fantasy in person. I am wholly re-assured that futuristic French fables of couture and Coco will this season trump the lump of coal many Americans may get in their hopefully-hung stockings come Christmas.
With hope that Lagerfeld visits Ebenezer Scrooge on Christmas Eve and shows his inspired vision of the future, with hope that the French economy holds strong and grows greater, and with hope that next year will rain fabulous and inspirational TOURS (!) down on all of us !! - Cheryl
Posted by: Cheryl | December 04, 2008 at 05:20 PM