Maxine Morse · Mar 7, 2023 · 4 mins

Fantastic Fortnum and Mason Windows of Folded Paper Summer 2021

Updated: Mar 7

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Fortnum and Mason in Piccadilly famed as the Queen’s grocer, has just taken its fabulous window dressing to a whole new level with its Summer 2021 window display created entirely in paper…paper that is coloured, printed, cut out or folded into a jubilant origami display showcasing its summer wines and groceries.

Fortnum and Mason Paper Window Display – Summer 2021

Prior to Mr Selfridge transforming the Selfridges department store in Oxford Street, little thought was given to shop windows, they were often used as places to store excess stock. Now in a sprit of competition our key department stores are raising the standards of window displays to dizzying levels.

Fortnum and Mason has just gone stratospheric with their joyously colourful windows dressed entirely in cut out paper.

The source of the inspiration and the craft involved in its execution remains a mystery, so we can only focus on the paper window displays themselves.

Apricot and Cherry Cold Brew Infusion Window

Apricots, strawberries and cherries dance among ferns and daisies with boxes of tea nestling in the papery undergrowth.

English Sparkling Wine Window

Green bottles are offset by a zinging combination of purple and lilac wisteria, lime green grapes and punchiest, adorable yellow and black striped bees.

Summer Cup Window

Is this window good enough to drink? Can you imagine slurping wine mixed with lemonade on clattering ice, garnished with cherries, peaches and sliced oranges?

The Summer Cup window is brilliantly evocative of summer.

Rose Petal Chutney Window

Delicate multi petalled roses vie for attention with bright green apples.

Lemon and Parsley Olives Window

Marinated green olives are a Summer staple and these ones are enveloped in lemon and parsley.

Chiaretto Rose Window

The Charetto Rose window leaves you in no doubt that this wine has notes of raspberries, apples and cherries and notice the lush and lavish bunch of purple red grapes and the verdant back drop of vine leaves. Some poor s*d has spent half the year assembling these fruits by hand.

Smoked Salmon Window

The photograph of the smoked salmon window doesn’t capture the stunning way that the cardboard smoked salmon wrapper conceals a coloured pink board engraved with cream, of realistic sliced and layered salmon.

And if you don’t know how to serve your salmon, this window has given you a suggestion – make a dressing of lemon and red onion (I would add olive oil and black pepper) and serve on a bed of watercress…some brown bread and butter would be nice too.

Piccadilly Piccalilli Window

This window is my favourite, I love the way that the cauliflower florets have been created by overlapping intricate cream scalloped paper. The green veined outer leaves gently curl around the base. Halved red pepper have cute raised seeds. The red onion is realistic in its paperiness and non conformity.

The colours of this window are something straight out of a 1950s children’s book…love it!

What is your favourite window? And Fortnum and Mason please tell us how you crafted these and who were the magicians who performed the paper assembly?

Information on their opening hours can be found on their website. Fortnum and Masons windows can be seen at 181 Piccadilly, St. James’s, London W1A 1ER.

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