Christopher Boots is lighting up the Hermès holiday windows this season as the latest designer in the storied brand’s on-going artist window program, “Vitrine D’Artiste.” The Australian lighting designer’s is often inspired by the patterns and structures found in plants, animals, and minerals, making him a good match to interpret Hermès’ theme of metamorphosis this year.
Boots took the traditional holiday hues of emerald green, icy blue, silver, and gold and combined them with unpolished crystals and geometric lighting structures to create beautiful, contemporary displays. In one window, copper and crystal stalactites hang over pillars holding sleek perfume bottles. Clustered globular lights descend from the ceiling like falling snowflakes over a green marbled mountain range.
In another window, a pearlescent Hermès bag sits inside an icy blue sphere illuminated by crystalline boulders. The window is minimal, yet dynamic, thanks to energetic strokes of various blues across the display. In another, Boots’ lighting is paired with delicate Hermès ceramics and scarves, creating a visually stunning combination of classic and contemporary design.
Boots managed to successfully elevate holiday imagery from common winter tropes to elegant, refined scenery—a metamorphosis indeed.
The Hermès window installations are on view until January 15, 2015 at the brand’s New York flagship on Madison Avenue.