Fortnum & Mason’s Christmas 2025: A Dazzling Tale of Whimsy and Wonder

Each December, Fortnum & Mason transforms Piccadilly into a theatre of festive fantasy — and 2025 might just be its most spectacular performance yet. This year’s windows burst to life in a jubilant celebration of colour, movement, and storybook charm, where imagination reigns supreme and Christmas magic gleams from every pane.

Under the soft glow of London’s winter lights, passersby are greeted by a kaleidoscope of scenes: unicorns prancing beneath glittering disco balls, narwhals leaping through waves of turquoise shimmer, and two lovebirds stealing a moment against a backdrop of fireworks that seem to crackle with joy.

The Spectacle of 2025: A Winter Dream in Motion

The year 2025 brings a truly exceptional festive vision to the windows of Fortnum & Mason at Piccadilly. The display embraces a radiant fantasia: prancing unicorns beneath shimmering disco balls, narwhals leaping through surging waves of colour, and two love-birds perched in a glowing tree against a backdrop of fireworks. All of this orchestrated by Fortnum’s unmistakable brigade of mousey redcoats — small in size, mighty in spirit — marching, frolicking, and bringing joy to each window scene.

It’s a display that stops pedestrians in their tracks. Even the most hurried Londoners — coffee in one hand, phone in the other — pause before the glass, their reflections mingling with those of Fortnum’s miniature world. For a moment, the city slows. The familiar hum of Piccadilly fades, replaced by the glimmering invitation of fantasy.

A Walk Along the Windows

As you stroll past Piccadilly, each of the six window bays unfolds like a chapter in an illustrated storybook. One tableau reveals an icy Alpine world, where snow-dusted fir trees cling to sparkling cliffs, and two of Fortnum’s red-coated mice embark on an expedition up the frozen slopes. Their expressions — earnest, determined — seem to capture the spirit of Christmas itself: industrious, brave, and just a little mischievous.

Nearby, a majestic Highland cow stands proudly amid frosted drifts, its auburn coat glowing with warmth against the cool tones of snow. Its gentle presence anchors the scene in rustic British charm, evoking countryside winters and the scent of pine. The craftsmanship here is remarkable — each strand of fur painted with care, the glass reflecting just enough light to make the creature appear alive.

Further along, a curious parrot perches high upon a stone pedestal, feathers gleaming in emerald and gold. Below, the same brigade of mice — ever resourceful — is hard at work once again. One balances on a toy crane, another hoists a matchstick the size of his body, while a third seems to direct the operation with the authority of a seasoned conductor. It’s Fortnum’s humour distilled into miniature theatre — luxury that smiles, elegance that plays.

And then, there are the fantastical scenes that defy gravity: narwhals twisting through teal waters, unicorns dancing beneath mirrored globes, and birds soaring through fireworks that seem to pulse with colour. Together, these worlds form a narrative of motion and wonder — a kaleidoscopic journey through imagination, craftsmanship, and joy.

A Symphony of Colour and Craft

This year’s windows are painted in rich jewel tones — emerald greens, amethyst purples, sapphire blues — offset by Fortnum’s signature eau-de-nil. Every hue feels intentional, layered with precision to evoke both nostalgia and discovery. As daylight fades, the palette deepens; by twilight, the scenes take on a cinematic quality.

Hand-painted backdrops and intricate sculptural elements give the displays a three-dimensional depth that rivals a stage set. Fortnum’s artisans have long been known for their attention to detail, and 2025 continues that legacy with subtle flourishes: snowflakes carved into the glass, twinkling lights hidden behind ice formations, and delicate brushstrokes that mimic frost on windows. The result is not merely decorative, but transportive — an act of storytelling rendered in texture, light, and form.

Each window plays with contrast of scale, texture, and tone. A glittering disco ball hovers above a rustic tree trunk. A luxurious trunk rests beside a snow-covered hill. It’s this interplay that defines Fortnum’s aesthetic: playful grandeur, never gaudy; intricate, but never overwrought.

The Mice Who Made Christmas

And then, of course, there are the mice — Fortnum’s unofficial mascots of festive cheer. Tiny, tireless, and dressed in their signature scarlet uniforms, they’ve become the thread that ties the whole narrative together.

In one scene, they climb frosted cliffs; in another, they manoeuvre a crane beneath a towering parrot; elsewhere, they seem to direct the action like conductors of a toy orchestra. There’s something deeply charming — even comforting — in their presence. They’re industrious without losing playfulness, echoing the behind-the-scenes magic that Fortnum’s embodies.

They remind us, perhaps unintentionally, of the quiet labour behind all beauty — the unseen hands and hours of craft that bring magic to life. Every whisker, every button, every twinkle on their coats reflects Fortnum’s core philosophy: that joy lies in detail.

The Art of Slow Looking

In a city that moves quickly, Fortnum’s invites us to slow down. The windows aren’t designed to be consumed at a glance; they reward lingering. Look closely, and you’ll notice a mouse’s pawprint pressed into the snow. Step back, and you’ll see the reflection of the building’s Georgian façade blending into the painted backdrop, creating a dreamlike fusion of real and imagined.

By night, the entire composition transforms again. The lighting is layered, never harsh — it flickers like candlelight, guiding the eye gently from one vignette to another. The scenes appear to breathe; the snow seems to glimmer anew.

There’s a poetic intelligence at play here — a sense of rhythm and restraint that few retailers manage to achieve. Fortnum’s windows are not advertisements. They’re moments. Living, breathing compositions that invite both nostalgia and wonder.

Behind the Glass: A Season of Creation

What makes these windows so exceptional is not simply what we see, but how they came to be. Months before the unveiling, teams of artists, sculptors, set designers, and lighting specialists collaborate — sketching, painting, carving, wiring, and testing.

Each prop is handmade, often bespoke. The parrot, for instance, began as a clay model before being sculpted in lightweight resin and painted in layers of iridescent pigment. The Highland cow’s fur was hand-brushed and tinted to catch the light differently depending on the time of day. The mice — all unique — were individually cast and dressed in miniature uniforms tailored to perfection.

It’s an extraordinary synthesis of artistry and craftsmanship — the kind of detail more commonly found in theatre or film than in retail design. But that’s what Fortnum’s does best: it elevates display to the level of performance, inviting the public to become audience members in a story told through glass and glitter.

The Poetry of Place

Part of the magic lies in its setting. Fortnum & Mason’s Piccadilly flagship is a London landmark in itself — a building steeped in heritage, its teal façade gleaming like a jewel box under the glow of Christmas lights. The windows spill their light onto the pavement, casting a soft, cinematic hue over passersby. It’s impossible not to be drawn in.

Inside, the store hums with its own festive symphony — the scent of mulled wine, the rustle of tissue paper, the low murmur of carols floating up the stairwell. But even before you step through the revolving doors, the magic begins outside. The windows serve as a prologue, a story that draws you in with every careful detail.

For design lovers, the 2025 display is particularly rewarding. There’s an architectural precision to how each element is positioned, an almost mathematical balance between density and space. The composition echoes the symmetry of the building itself — a dance between historical restraint and creative exuberance.

A Season of Whimsy and Heritage

Fortnum & Mason has always understood that Christmas is as much about feeling as it is about festivity. The 2025 display captures that emotional duality perfectly — it’s whimsical, yes, but also deeply grounded in tradition.

The choice of motifs — the Highland cow, the forested slopes, the red-coated mice — speaks to Fortnum’s British roots, while the flashes of surrealism (a parrot overseeing the mice’s antics, a disco ball over a unicorn) nod to its modern spirit. This fusion of heritage and humour feels unmistakably Fortnum’s: confident, clever, and unafraid to surprise.

Each window, in essence, tells a story of joyful contradiction — where luxury meets laughter, where craftsmanship meets curiosity, and where the familiar meets the fantastical.

The Light Within

There’s a quiet metaphor woven through the 2025 display — that of light. From the twinkling disco balls to the gentle glow surrounding each miniature scene, illumination becomes a narrative thread. The lights don’t just decorate; they animate. They reveal textures, shadows, gestures — they make the windows breathe.

As evening deepens, the lights draw colour from the snow, reflecting off icicles and mirrored surfaces in a symphony of motion. The result is hypnotic. You find yourself watching as if waiting for the mice to move, for the parrot to turn its head, for the story to continue just beyond your sight.

In an age saturated with digital spectacle, this tactile, analogue form of enchantment feels deeply human. It asks nothing of us but our attention — and rewards it with beauty.

A Gift to the City

Beyond its artistry, Fortnum’s Christmas display performs another vital function: it gifts Londoners a moment of shared delight. In a city often divided by haste, these windows create a small, glowing community of onlookers — families, tourists, locals, all momentarily united in wonder.

Parents lift children to see the mice. Strangers exchange smiles. Cameras flash, but mostly, people just stand — quiet, smiling, content. That’s the real achievement: to create not just a visual spectacle, but a collective pause.

It’s a reminder that joy doesn’t have to be grand to be profound. Sometimes, it’s a miniature mouse in a scarlet coat, balancing on a matchstick.

The Lasting Impression

What lingers after you leave is not any single detail, but the feeling — that rare mixture of nostalgia and discovery that Fortnum’s evokes so well. The windows aren’t just festive décor; they’re storytelling in motion. They whisper of craftsmanship, imagination, and the enduring human desire to find beauty in the everyday.

And in the hush of winter evenings, when the lights of Piccadilly shimmer on wet pavements and the air carries the faint scent of roasted chestnuts, those windows glow like portals to another world — one where joy is small but infinite, and wonder waits quietly behind glass.

So, this Christmas, if you find yourself in London, take a detour to Piccadilly. Wrap up warm. Slow your pace. Let yourself be drawn into the glow of Fortnum’s windows — those luminous little theatres of imagination, where unicorns leap, narwhals swim, and mice in scarlet coats work tirelessly to keep the spirit of Christmas alive.

Because, as Fortnum & Mason reminds us each year, some stories are best told not in words, but in windows. *Photos by Ina (WithinLondon, Ina.Wanders)