PSFK Window Shopping: Bikes

Anxious to expose the latest trends in storefront windows, the PSFK team set foot roaming the streets of New York in search of the most innovative and creative storefront displays we could find. But to be honest, we were a little uninspired. That’s not to say the overall design and ambiance of stores was anything but first rate, there was just less of an emphasis placed on ornate window displays than we had expected to find… Maybe awesome displays are reserved exclusively for Christmas frenzy?  In any case, we did pick up on a few reoccurring themes for selling stuff in SOHO making use of bicycles. 

Bikes – For one reason or another, bike culture has peddled its way into mainstream with an assortment of cool-clinging companies spinning the tires.  It all began when laptop-toting commuters appropriated messenger bags.  Then came the fixed gear bike craze.  Now people are looking to stick it to the oil companies and hopping on their old school banana seats and beach cruisers.  The nostalgia these two wheelers evoke is evident in the number of custom cruisers and concept bikes propped up in storefront windows around the trendy shopping area of SOHO.

Both Stussy and Paul Frank had fancy custom designed beach cruisers parked in their stores.  Both bikes were custom painted and modified with the companies logo branded upon the top tube.  Despite the dramatic differences in styling, we wouldn’t be surprised to find out that the same company tricked both bikes.
 

Camper shoe store also had a custom designed wood-frame bicycle prominently displayed in their front window.  While their bike may have been around before the whole bike craze took off, they at least had the foresight to keep it around.   

Despite the heat Brooklyn Industries recently took from local bikers who accused the company of “selling out bike culture,” after displaying a tricked out “tall bike” in one of their windows several months ago, we found no evidence that stores are putting the brakes on biking.