Barneys New York’s holiday windows are dazzling Madison Avenue today after an unveiling last night. This year’s Chillin’ Out theme, a twist on traditional winter motifs, playfully elevates ice to an art form with daily live ice carving by Queens-based Okamoto Studio and sparkling glass sculptures by the artist Dale Chihuly.
Wearing metallic Moncler Gamme Bleu jumpsuits designed by Thom Browne, the Okamoto Studio ice carvers will work in a 35-foot ice locker chilled to below 15 degrees; every day they’ll sculpt ice blocks into penguins, snowflakes, and New York landmarks with electric-chainsaw finesse. For another window collaboration with Lexus, three crystal-encrusted penguins in model cars race around a scaffolded ice castle.
Here, in an exclusive video from the retailer, the Cut presents a behind-the-scenes look at how the displays are made. “It’s always, How do we take it one step further? — in this case, let’s freeze the windows,” says creative director Dennis Freedman. Watch the video above.