Yesterday I finally had the opportunity to go by Bergdorf Goodman and experience the 2011 Holiday Windows. This year the theme was “Carnival of the Animals”. It may take 2 full weeks to install the elaborate and highly anticipated Holiday Windows of Bergdorf Goodman but it takes David Hoey and the visual team of BG 60% of the years work hours to make this fantasy come to life. For David Hoey, Bergdorf’s director of visual presentation, the 2011 windows are his fifteenth installment for the Holidays – a pretty major achievement and benchmark in our books!

The visual power of the windows is amazing! In the span of a one block radius you are transported into 5 completely unique worlds that draw you in through the shocking amount of details that tell each story. Each window features a specific material that depicts animals you’ll find from icebergs to the tropics.

The ‘brass menagerie’ (featured above) is full of tropical metal birds made in the 1970’s by artist Sergio Bustamante. Naeem Khan designed a dress specifically for the stylish songstress cooing in the window. Then dive into the deep end with the Aquarium window (below), with fish made by artist Brett Windham that are encrusted with mosaic tile, and rhinestones, gems, and sequins for good measure.