Challenge

Liberty wanted to create an iconic, show-stopping moment for London’s Christmas Shoppers, one which cut through the festive noise.

So, the heritage department store challenged us to realise the impossible – an eight-metre-high luxuriously festive and bejewelled bonsai tree suspended in the centre of their iconic atrium.

Inspired by their tale of the mythical ‘Tree of Liberty’ far far away in an Age of Wonder, we referenced Liberty’s creative concept, bringing it to life to transform the store’s windows and atrium into a fantastical, unearthly wilderness.

Solution

Liberty came to us with their initial thoughts, a moodboard and a sketch, and our design team developed this into something wonderfully extravagant, something that would stop you in your tracks and stand out against the festive competition.

But a huge design like this takes some serious consideration to bring it to execution. When you need magic, get our technical team on the case. Designed to WOW, and brought to life with the perfect equilibrium of engineering and artistry.

We hand-sculpted the vast Tree of Liberty, wrapping it in deep teal velvet. Branches adorned with natural moss to evoke blossoms were scattered with twinkling lights. Rich shimmering terrain created an organic, earthy landscape.

Mythical fruits adorned the display, constructed in shattered resin, hand-painted and cocooned in velvet. Magical animals created by Billie Achilleos completed an intriguing and majestical menagerie of colour.

Over 400kg of moss and approximately 230 metres of teal cotton velvet were used in this expansive display for Liberty windows and atrium.

Results

The tree featured in Dezeen’s global roundup of the top ten Christmas trees in 2019.

Liberty’s Instagram received over 45,000 likes for the Tree on Instagram. StudioXAG also received 1,799 likes on Instagram, experiencing an increase in visibility by 620%, and an increase in comments by 4000%.