The Bond Street Christmas lights in 2016 turn an evening walk through Mayfair into a tour of illuminated shopfronts, jewellery windows and festive street decorations. This Roberts London film starts beside the Ritz on Piccadilly and follows Old Bond Street and New Bond Street towards Fenwick.
Originally published on 13 November 2016, the video records the street during that year’s Christmas season. There are pauses for the lights, a look into Burlington Arcade and a stop beside the cars outside Belstaff. Near the end, Salvation Army carol singers give the walk an unexpected musical finale.
From Piccadilly to Old Bond Street
I begin outside the Ritz, where a Rolls-Royce is parked beneath the hotel’s lights. From here, it is a short walk to the Piccadilly end of Bond Street. The film follows the route north, taking in the shops from the pavement as the evening unfolds.
Bond Street is made up of Old Bond Street and New Bond Street. Walking through both gives the film its shape: smaller shopfronts, larger stores, side streets and junctions provide changing views beneath the decorations. The lights repeatedly draw the camera away from the windows and up towards the sky.
Jewellery, fashion and the Christmas lights
At the Old Bond Street end, the first stops include De Beers and Alexander McQueen. A window display prompts a closer look, while the McQueen shop brings back a memory of searching for a scarf in a particular colour. It is that mixture of window shopping and personal recollection that carries the walk along.
The names continue past the camera: fashion houses, watchmakers and jewellers sit close together. In the film I point out Gucci, Omega, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Prada and Saint Laurent before reaching the area around Tiffany and Cartier. These are the shopfronts encountered on the 2016 route.
Overhead, the Bond Street Christmas lights form bright fans across the road. Seen close up, a coloured centre stands out beneath the radiating strands. From farther along the street, the decorations repeat into the distance, giving the night views a clear rhythm.
A look into Burlington Arcade
A short detour brings the walk to Burlington Arcade. Its entrance is lit, and the camera looks down the passage between the small shopfronts. I pause here before returning to the street, where the Christmas displays are the main attraction of the evening.
The change in scale is part of the appeal. The arcade offers a contained view through its entrance; back on Bond Street, cars, pedestrians and large shop windows fill a much wider scene. The film moves between those views without losing the sense of walking through one neighbourhood.
New Bond Street after dark
Continuing north, the route passes more jewellery houses, including Boodles, Graff and Bulgari. Watches and jewellery are a recurring interest in the commentary, with Breguet and other names drawing attention along the way. Side streets offer further glimpses of the surrounding shops.
Then I stop talking for a while and let the street do the work. The wider shots bring together the festive lights, illuminated façades and passing traffic. They also show how the decorations look from a pedestrian’s position, rather than as isolated close-ups.
Cars outside Belstaff
The walk is not quite over when an interesting group of cars outside Belstaff causes another stop. The camera moves closer to look at their shapes and details. I speculate about their identities in the video, but the pleasure of the sequence is simply taking a closer look.
Belstaff also prompts memories of wearing the brand’s motorcycle clothing while riding around London. It is a small personal aside in a film largely spent looking at the street. Soon afterwards, I continue towards the department store at the northern end of the route.
Fenwick and Christmas carols
Near Fenwick, Salvation Army performers are singing carols outside the shops. Their music provides a pause after the traffic and running commentary. The film stays for part of the performance before taking another look at the surrounding windows.
Fenwick’s illuminated frontage marks the closing stretch of the main walk. There is still one last window-shopping aside about R.M. Williams boots before the camera finally stops. The result is a relaxed record of Bond Street in November 2016, with its festive spectacle and smaller distractions left together.
For more from the same Christmas archive, visit Chelsea’s 2016 Christmas lights party or the 2016 Winter Wonderland walk. The shops, decorations and events described here belong to the original visit.
