Brief: Van Cleef & Arpels unveils whimsical holiday windows

In one fanciful window at 744 Fifth Avenue, two rings from the Van Cleef & Arpels Peau d’Âne collection — the “Beaute Celeste” and the “Tour Enchantée”— bookend a yellow diamond, emerald, and white diamond butterfly ring. Photos courtesy Van Cleef & Arpels; © Richard Cadan Photography.

In one fanciful window at 744 Fifth Avenue, two rings from the Van Cleef & Arpels Peau d’Âne collection — the “Beaute Celeste” and the “Tour Enchantée”— bookend a yellow diamond, emerald, and white diamond butterfly ring. Photos courtesy Van Cleef & Arpels; © Richard Cadan Photography.

This is the fourth time Van Cleef & Arpels has collaborated with visual storyteller Douglas Little. Here, his stunning scene centers around diamonds, sapphires, and rubies from the Maison’s various collections.

This is the fourth time Van Cleef & Arpels has collaborated with visual storyteller Douglas Little. Here, his stunning scene centers around diamonds, sapphires, and rubies from the Maison’s various collections.

BY KAREN AANONSEN

A magical winter wonderland has descended upon New York courtesy of Van Cleef & Arpels. The maison’s Fifth Avenue boutique recently unveiled an enchanting, snowy series of Douglas Little-designed windows for the holiday season. With the display, passersby are drawn through the French fairy tale of Peau d’Âne, chapter by chapter. The story — involving a princess, her fairy godmother, an escape into the forest, and a chance encounter with an unshakeable prince — also inspired Van Cleef & Arpels’s latest high jewelry collection, the aptly named Peau d’Âne, which marks its US debut with the windows.

—Nov. 14, 2014