Exclusive first look: Harrods teams with Dolce & Gabbana to bring London traditional Italian Christmas windows

Animated puppets, disco balls and cuckoo clocks will be decorating the windows of Harrods as part of its Christmas campaign this year.

The Standard can exclusively reveal that this year the Knightsbridge emporium has teamed up with fashion designers Dolce & Gabbana to bring shoppers a glimpse into a traditional Italian Christmas.

Renowned for its designer collaborations – last year saw British brand Burberry take over the windows in ‘A Very British Fairytale’ - Harrods is now looking further afield for its festive inspiration.

Each of the displays on Brompton Road and Hans Crescent will explore Christmas through the eyes of Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana and will showcase an element of their own Christmas traditions as well as their latest collection.

Harrods Chief Merchant, Helen David, said of the collaboration, “Domenico and Stefano take us through their festive Italian Christmas via the exciting window displays that they have created for Harrods.

“Our windows this Christmas will be alight with tradition, the love of family, and an all-around celebration of this special time of year with a hefty dose of fun and Italian spirit”

Streamers and neon lights adorn the Let’s Party window and mannequins donning rollers and silk dressing gowns sit amongst the kitsch Italian Beauty display. Italian influences can be seen throughout, from the traditional men’s tailor to the Pinocchio – esque cuckoo clock workshop. With its retro wallpaper, Smeg fridge and mountains of tomatoes, The Italian Kitchen takes the showstopper crown.

Each of the 14 scenes also features the designer duo as Sicilian puppets – styling hair, making dinner and handing out gifts to their families.

As part of the collaboration, Dolce & Gabbana have also taken over the store and shoppers can look forward to an Italian food market, luxury stocking filler pop – up and even a designer Christmas tree – all of which will be open to the public today.

Preparing to unveil the tree and turn on the lights this evening, the designer pair shared some of the inspiration behind their designs: "We brought the best of the festive Italian spirit to London done in our way.

“The Harrods windows have big curtains like a theatre where inside you can enjoy our passions and love for fashion and life. We hope that kids from all around the world will love looking at the puppets we created for them."

The windows will be on display from November 2 until December 28.

For more information visit Harrods.com