What: Galeries Lafayette has enlisted French designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac to create the Christmas windows and decorations at its Boulevard Haussmann flagship, to be unveiled Nov. 12 under the theme “At the Heart of Christmas.”

Why it is important: The collaboration extends a recurring pattern of designer-led holiday windows at Galeries Lafayette, following its 2024 partnership with Kevin Germanier, showing how flagship stores use continuity with creative talent to sustain festive appeal year after year.

Galeries Lafayette has reunited with French designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac to create the Christmas windows and decorations at its Boulevard Haussmann flagship in Paris, to be unveiled on Nov. 12 under the theme “Au cœur de Noël” (“At the Heart of Christmas”). The relationship between the two dates back to 1980, when Castelbajac took part in the store’s inaugural Fashion Festival, and includes his 1989 windows marking the bicentenary of the French Revolution, the official poster for the retailer’s 100th anniversary, its 2005 holiday decorations, and a campaign shot by Jean-Paul Goude.

Guillaume Houzé, chief image and innovation officer, framed the project as marking almost 50 years of creative friendship, calling it a “balm for the soul” amid a difficult global backdrop. The activation will also draw in several of Castelbajac’s regular collaborators across music and art. Castelbajac recently completed a retrospective at Les Abattoirs in Toulouse that drew more than 100,000 visitors between December and August, spanning his work with figures from Andy Warhol to Lady Gaga. CEO Arthur Lemoine linked the campaign to a strong second half, following double-digit summer growth helped by the renovation of the store’s beauty department.

IADS Notes: The Castelbajac appointment continues a pattern of designer-led Christmas windows at Galeries Lafayette, following its 2024 collaboration with Kevin Germanier (WWD, September 2024), and sits within a broader Parisian trend of immersive, story-driven holiday displays documented across the flagship district for the 2025 season (Fashion Network, November 2025). It also extends a recent run of culture-led activations at the Haussmann store, most recently a Céline Dion-themed pop-up tied to the singer’s Paris concert residency (Fashion United, September 2026), while a comparable strategy is visible at a rival Parisian flagship, where a collaboration with artist JR was used to strengthen destination appeal and footfall (WWD, June 2026). The timing also aligns with Galeries Lafayette’s financial trajectory, as stable Q1 2026 sales and a sustained investment plan through 2030 underpinned the flagship’s positioning as a top international luxury destination (BoF, April 2026).

Galeries Lafayette taps Jean-Charles de Castelbajac to design holiday windows