Ritzy Paris department store Le Bon Marché is well known for its high standards of visual merchandising, and its swimwear department is no exception.
In place of the usual mannequins sporting bikinis, there are dolls.
The dolls in question lurk in groups all clad in grey and turquoise striped bathing suits.
The outcome is curiously unsettling as the dolls look at you from the upper perimeter through scuba diving masks or while standing at the feet of mannequins.
These days it’s quite straightforward to tell whether a visual merchandising installation works or not. When something works there are always people brandishing smartphones and taking pictures for digital posterity. In the case of Le Bon Marché, almost every visitor seemed to be doing that.
Whether it will put onlookers in the mood to stock up on swimwear or spook them might be open to debate.
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