Christmas Window Displays: Saks dons Swarovski for Holidays

This year, Saks Fifth Avenue is emphasizing high fashion in storefront displays of snowflakes and Santas. Partnering with Crystallized Swarovski Elements, the flagship store commissioned exclusive gowns from top designers, including Carolina Herrera, Oscar de la Renta and Michael Kors. Each piece took over 12 weeks to make and incorporates hand-embroidery and massive amounts of crystals. -->

All 26 of Saks Fifth Avenue New York store windows will be branded and decorated with CRYSTALLIZED[TM] - Swarovski Elements for six weeks of the holiday season. The CRYSTALLIZED[TM] Holiday windows and decoration will also be on display at the Saks Holiday Season festivities in Beverly Hills, San Francisco, Chicago, Bal Harbor, Boston, Atlanta and Houston. The windows will feature one-of-a-kind, CRYSTALLIZED[TM] creations from design icons such as Ralph Lauren, Zac Posen, Missoni, Giambattista Valli, Isaac Mizrahi, Oscar de la Renta, Bill Blass, Carolina Herrera, Michael Kors and KaufmanFranco, as well as commercially available products all embellished with CRYSTALLIZED[TM] - Swarovski Elements.

What amounts to a moment's thrill for those who pass by the windows is the result of months of tedious, highly guarded planning among retailers, who are looking for much more than appreciative gawking: they see the windows as a competitive tool for increasing news media attention and store traffic.

''The windows are certainly competitive,'' said Sheri Wilson-Gray, executive vice president of marketing at Saks. ''Christmas is a key selling season with lots of tourists and infrequent customers, and great windows give you an advantage.''

Window dressing has attracted even more attention in recent years as competition among department stores has grown increasingly intense at the same time that their merchandise has become increasingly similar. The windows, then, set the tone and image for each retailer, especially for those shoppers who come only at Christmas and may not know the character or style of each store. The competition is especially heightened this year, as New York City experiences a record flow of tourists, or in the stores' views, potential shoppers.