Look!: Bertoia Diamond Silhouette at J.Crew

Perhaps it comes as a surprise to no one that clothing retailer J. Crew would hop on the mid-century bandwagon eventually, somehow. But this window decal gives us an idea.

We covet the Bertoia Diamond hardcore, by the way, and the chair actually renders quite nicely in two dimensions. Considering the fact that if we bring another chair into the house we will have no room to stand, a wall decal done right could be a way to work Bertoia's design into our daily life. Not to mention the cost of a real, 3-D one. Perhaps that's what J.Crew was thinking.

But, nah.

Comments (9)

I heart J.Crew.

posted by kerri on April 3rd 2008 at 9:29am
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i like the bubble lamps also.

posted by creativereact on April 3rd 2008 at 9:41am
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did you know old harry made ambient music under the name sonambient? very neat stuff. if you can find it.

posted by andrasklang on April 3rd 2008 at 9:56am
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Can't remember the specifics (and I'm at work - catalog is at home) but they shot a bunch of scenes in their most recent catalog at some historically and design significant MCM home with tons of iconic furniture all around.

Definitely on the MCM bandwagon.

posted by suziegoombs on April 3rd 2008 at 10:28am
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When I was a student, I worked for 4 years as a window dresser/visual presentation specialist for a Club Monaco flagship store. While I never really understood some of the decorations/artifacts used that were outlined from the head office, they always made sense in terms of creating a story.

I cannot say the same for this. It does not highlight the clothing, nor does it make the windows look more inviting. In fact, if anything, it confuses shoppers who are not familiar with the J. Crew brand: so is it a lifestyle store? Why does it only sell clothing? Where can I get the backdrops?

These are all questions that store clerks will have to answer.

posted by siongchinchan on April 3rd 2008 at 10:34am
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I agree with siongchinchan - Are they going to start selling furniture?

posted by Keyse on April 3rd 2008 at 11:24am
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Banana Republic had Eames chairs in their displays/ads a long time ago. Didn't somebody at GAP defect to JCrew recently?

posted by etslee on April 3rd 2008 at 1:37pm
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chico's (the woman's clothing store) is doing the same kind of thing with their marketing. their newest catalog is supposedly set in palm springs and the copy explicitly references the MCM influence.

mid century aesthetics are very trendy right now, not just in furniture and home design. these stores (j crew, chicos, and others) are selling the swing coats and cigarette pants that were popular when bertoia was (note the cinched waist and cropped pants in the j crew window). in that way, it actually *does* accent the clothing and isnt as much about being a "lifestyle store" as it is about giving context to these looks (albeit in a trite, corporate way). i wouldnt be surprised if j crew has 50s lounge music playing...

posted by bridge on April 3rd 2008 at 4:01pm
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siongchinchan - you held my dream job! and for 4 years! wow i wish i could ask you more questions about it!

right now i work in a tiny bedding store tucked away in the quaint downtown core of a university town and i love it but am craving more more more. its hippie, and while that means there are a couple employees and we get to "do it all" including design, rearrange, and dress up as many windows as we like as often as we want, one does get tired of bedding- and even the free flow of it all. Now I'm just craving boundaries and more structure...

who comes up with these original plans?

I'd love to have a front window display position in a well known store on a main street/high density shopping strip!

posted by sarahjam on April 3rd 2008 at 5:32pm
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