he next time you’re caught in a CBD lunch hour swarm, look for the nearest shop window. As part of this year’s L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival, stores across the city have collaborated with a number of artists to embellish their shop-fronts with arresting window displays.

The LMFF team have plotted a map of the displays, charting a path through the city that takes in stores from across the retail spectrum, from David Jones and Harrolds to Dedece and Husk.

The store windows provide artists with an opportunity to defy the traditional role of the shop-front and instead use the space to explore broader and experimental forms, creating transient exhibitions at street level.

The man pulling the strings is Alex Zabotto-Bentley, of azb creative, who set about pairing an eclectic bunch of artists, designers and collectors with a clutch of adventurous local stores. With the emphasis on celebrating the city’s broader fashion culture, the Windows by Design project has enlivened our sidewalks with brilliant colour, shape and form.

So for the rest of March, enjoy the wonderful visual melange on show. It sure beats the percussion of endless leather soles pounding the peak-hour pavement.

lmff.com.au