Courtesy of Univers
Inspired by the power of hope, Gino Gonzales transforms the Univers store windows into an eclectic theatre of light.
In his 1883 novel The Ladies’ Paradise, Émile Zola records the emergence of modern consumer culture. He tells the story of a Parisian department store that both entices and overwhelms with its lavish grandeur, reflecting the social structures within which it operates.
Inspired by the real-life Le Bon Marché and its owner Aristide Boucicaut, Zola’s character Octave Mouret transforms the store into a cathedral of modern commerce; a temple of consumption where window shopping becomes almost like a religion, and women, in particular, are drawn into a world promising celestial escape.
Retail spaces, both large and small, continue to use the power of window displays. Think Bergdorf Goodman in New York, Selfridges in London, and in Manila, Univers. This holiday season, creative director Gino Gonzales designed the windows of the Rockwell and Greenbelt 3 boutiques like a stage, with the imagination of a set designer.
He wasn’t merely merchandising; he was crafting a carte blanche for emotion well before Pantone crowned ‘Cloud Dancer’ as the Color of the Year for 2026. The concept behind ‘The Christmas Lights,’ he says, is simple: hope. The idea began decades ago when Gino asked the late artist and writer Gilda Cordero-Fernando whether there was hope for the arts and the country. Her reply stayed with him.
“You don’t need to solve everything. Each of us can just hold up one candle in the dark. But when you put them together, it’s one bright light.”
This memory became the pearl of wisdom for this year’s windows, inspiring every choice from materials to composition. Gino assembled a mix of candles, plush animals, and wooden planks, complemented by the delicate paper doilies suggested by Univers co-founder Jappy Gonzalez. “I’m very familiar with them as well. I’ve collected a wide variety of doilies over many years of working on Nutcracker ballet sets,” Gino explains. He aimed to channel Univers’ combination of industrial luxury and artistic playfulness, in a similar vein to Zola’s description of the department store as a feast of color, textures, and embellishment.
For the Rockwell window, artisans carved an ornate baroque mirror in Betis, Pampanga. Structural armatures were sketched by hand, digitally drafted, and welded to exact measurements. Every LED candle and metal element was dipped in real wax by hand over several days. “Our recent experience doing the set for the Red Charity Gala gave us a system to do it efficiently,” Gonzales says. Installation took place overnight in each store. “We spent a night at each store to install. Like Santa’s elves. They all had to be complete by daybreak.”
There were challenges. Wax drips on mannequins, the metal framework broke easily, and many pieces cracked during transportation. Repairs had to be made on the spot. Gonzales orchestrated the display as though it were a live performance. “For me, it’s like mounting a play. It has to have the right context and the right actors, in this case, birds, mannequins, and cat.”
Most passersbys on Esperanza Street would spare only a few seconds of attention, so he designed the display to captivate instantly. “What’s currently lacking in most window displays is an emotional tug, that thing which draws people closer.” Being aware that Dior was next door also pushed him creatively. “So I gave them a John Galliano,” he jokes.
Artisan ceramics by Astier de Villatte sit alongside delicate Trudon candles and Bearbrick figures, while footwear and bags from MM6, Rick Owens, and Simone Rocha ground the display firmly in Univers’ chaotic opulence.
For Gonzales, the goal is emotional. “I want them to feel happy. Seriously, with everything that’s been happening in the world and our country, something to lift up one’s spirit on the way to work or through the traffic is quite welcome.”
