Scrooge
It’s that time of year, the days have gotten shorter and colder as Winter begins to lay it’s head upon us once again. With the season comes transformation, the trees shed their leaves, holiday lights adorn buildings and city sidewalks, and storefronts turn into their very own holiday worlds. This year’s theme, the first for the Gary Graham Flagship Store in Tribeca, is based off Ebenezer Scrooge from Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol. Playing off the backstage theme of the space, the design was a creative collaboration between Gary and William Bryan Purcell whom both loved the idea of a set design based on the story. The front window portrays Scrooge’s parlor, an asymmetrical fireplace sits on the far wall while Jacob Marley’s chains rest on the parlor floor adorned with cash boxes and keys. For those unfamiliar with the story, Marley was Scrooge’s business partner in life, and at the start of the story he’s been dead seven years. He is the first ghost to visit Scrooge, his body is bound in chains which are a representation of the subconscious chains he built around himself in life. He warns Scrooge that he too will bear the weight of such chains for all eternity if he does not change his greedy ways. His visit also heralds the arrival of three more spirits, the spirits of Christmas Past, Present, and Future.
Upon entering the store as you move past the parlor, standing tall amidst the racks of clothes in the center of the space sits Scrooge’s bed. As if it were a real live stage prop, the large canopy bed rests on caster wheels and like everything else in the store is movable. Gary and Bryan both loved the idea of his bed, which was like a cage. He was so cheap he was sleeping in the bed where his friend died. It’s such a rich tale. The bed was constructed within the store, it’s curtains were born from fabric of seasons past, and like many of Gary’s pieces the fabric, a jacquard print based on medieval tapestries, was meant to have a worn look. In this story, the spirits of Past, Present, and Future are the influential factors that change Scrooge in the end. Gary’s clothing is deeply inspired by historical pieces while at the same time maintaining a modern and timeless feel. Just as Scrooge sees and learns from the past, for Gary, “fashion is always about the future but we can use the past to learn so much and keep it relevant for today.” Come and see the space for yourself, it’s an invitation to become a character in your very own holiday story.
