Skip to main content

Catapult yourself in the midst of New York’s Christmas-themed streets with Google’s ‘Window Wonderland’, even in VR [Video]

If there’s one thing that New York City and the Christmas festivity have in common, magic is surely it. Its streets get decorated with specially-themed ornaments of all kinds, and the retail stores’ windows are tweaked accordingly, as well.

And Google, with its latest initiative, wanted to capture that magic as best as it could…

“New York’s holiday window tradition dates back nearly 150 years,” Google says. “This year, walk with us through the streets of Manhattan — past Santa’s high-tech command center, cotton candy couture gowns, ice skating bunny rabbits, and the gang from “South Park”.”

It’s what Google Shopping calls “Window Wonderland”; a collaboration between Google and seventeen famous retailers that will let you experience the magical holiday window displays with your phone, tablet or computer — even in VR, either Daydream or Google Cardboard, which obviously add immersivity to the whole experience.

There’s also an interactive element: “Some windows let you enter a magical world: in Lord & Taylor’s Enchanted Forest, bunnies ice skate while raccoons fish on a frozen pond. Others include a chance to visit the museum — such as Barney’s, where artist Nick Cave takes on the issue of race and gender in sculpture,” Google’s official blogpost reads.

You will of course be able to zoom in at any point in your “walk” to better appreciate the detail of these intricate displays, and listen to accompanying audio guides if you were interesting in finding out more about their conception and the process behind their creation.

The partners are ABC Carpet and Home, American Girl, Barneys New York , Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdale’s, Burberry, Fendi, Henri Bendel, Lord & Taylor, Louis Vuitton, Macy’s, Michael Kors, Ralph Lauren, Saks Fifth Avenue, Tiffany & Co. and Tory Burch. That’s quite a comprehensive selection to draw from.

Make sure to head over to Google’s dedicated website to start your window-gazing walk, and watch the video down below.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

You’re reading 9to5Google — experts who break news about Google and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Google on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

Comments

Author

Avatar for Edoardo Maggio Edoardo Maggio

Italian. Tech geek, video games, photography and music lover, comics-based movies enthusiast, and a sucker for good design. Amateur photographer (VSCO, 500px), writer and reporter for 9to5Google.


Edoardo Maggio's favorite gear