Forefront: The Culture of Shop Window Design (BIRKHÄUSER) - Tapa dura

Stories about ourselves and the desires that drive us: showcasing today's shop window culture. A pane of glass, not more than 1.5 centimeters thick, divides the shop from the pavement. On one side, the climate-controlled interior welcomes those who can afford to pay the price; on the other, the inclement street where the others may, in the time-honored ritual of window-shopping, look for free. Glass is technically a solid liquid, a magical paradox linking the "real" world with a world of luxury. At their finest, the displays behind it are magical, too - spell-binding ensembles greater than the sum of their parts. Enclosed-window retail displays of the highend kind, in which a temporary mise en scene revolves around expensive merchandise, have been neglected as a design discipline, although they continue to play a significant role in our consumer culture.

Schaufenster erzahlen Geschichten uber uns und die Wunsche, die uns antreiben. Eine von Fenstern umgebene Auslage, die effizienteste Art einer temporaren Inszenierung teurer Ware, ist bislang eine vom Design vernachlassigte Disziplin. "Forefront" bietet einen Uberblick uber aktuelles Schaufensterdesign.