In Pictures: Selfridges unveils its Christmas windows

Selfridges has unveiled its Christmas windows today – on day one of England's Lockdown 2 – which have been designed to reflect a longing for a traditional Christmas.

The Once Upon a Christmas campaign includes festive windows at stores in Oxford Street, London, Manchester and Birmingham, as well as digital activations at Selfridges.com and on social channels.

While its stores are closed, with the exception of its Food Hall and pharmacy in London, Selfridges was not going to allow the pandemic to prevent it from its 111-year-old tradition of installing creative festive windows.

Customers may still visit its stores for Click & Collect services, which have permission to run while England remains under lockdown until at least 2 December.

“Through ‘Once Upon A Christmas’ we hope to celebrate the traditions of Christmas in non-traditional ways, reimagined for the challenges of today. We are here to help our customers make the festive season special, however they might be celebrating and in readiness for a Christmas like no other,” said Selfridges executive stores director, Maeve Wall.

The Selfridges digital shop at selfridges.com and the Selfridges App offers curated Christmas edits and unique gifts, virtual services that allow customers to shop from Selfridges’ stores via video call, inspiration and ideas for the festive season and virtual experiences for customers to enjoy from the comfort of home.

Its window displays feature Santa Claus and the Fairy Godmother among other recognisable characters and also include artists’ windows featuring bespoke Christmas trees by Anthony Burrill, Hanna Hansdotter and Helen Bullock.

Selfridges also said the windows have been designed with more focus on sustainable and recycled materials, coming after it announced ambitious sustainability targets through its Project Earth commitments earlier this year.