Opening of Galeries Lafayette's Christmas window displays today: Castelbajac sees the holidays in technicolor!

The 2026 Christmas window displays at Galeries Lafayette are unveiled today! This Thursday, November 12, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac turns Haussmann Boulevard on its head with "Au cœur de Noël," a pop fairy tale populated with fantastical creatures. And beneath the Cupola, his giant tree also promises to dazzle with a riot of color.

On Boulevard Haussmann, Christmas is taking shape with a wave of a magic wand… and a flourish of colored pencils! After Printemps, which kicks off the Christmas window displays, it’s the turn of Galeries Lafayette Haussmann to take center stage! Starting November 12, 2026, the department store in the 9th arrondissement is giving Jean-Charles de Castelbajac free rein to create "At the Heart of Christmas", a colorful pop fairy tale in which angels spread their wings, hearts race, and imagination takes over. At the opening, Adèle Castillon, Jean-Charles De Castelbajac and Sébastien Tellier will be there.

Castelbajac and Galeries Lafayette, it’s a long‑standing love story. Their collaboration spans nearly fifty years, and this season the designer returns with his signature colors, his collages, freehand drawings, and whimsical symbols. In his world, a heart wears wings, angels burst with color, and childhood memories feed a universe that is as graphic as it is poetic.

And the Christmas window displays for 2026 look as if straight out of his sketchbook! On Boulevard Haussmann, they unfold like the pages of a grand fairy-tale book, with animated tableaux and a host of characters imagined by the designer. Guiding us is a certain Armand, who draws us into this quirky world where Christmas traditions take a few liberties.

Behind the shop windows, Santa is buried under an avalanche of letters from children, the Princess of Clearings picks her tree, and the angels bustle to recover the lost star. This little world eventually gathers around a grand banquet, in a sequence of color-filled, humorous scenes. And the spectacle even spills out of the windows to light up the store's storefront!

Under the famous Dome, the Christmas tree also goes into Castelbajac's hands! The designer abandons the traditional conifer to imagine a protective tree with the look of a giant sculpture, featuring oversized colorful branches, fantastical characters and an angel watching over the top. The silhouette unfolds beneath the glass roof in a graphic composition that echoes the shapes and colors dear to the stylist.

The Visual System collective adds the luminous touch to this installation, with effects that wrap the tree in light and set its colorful shapes in motion. Under the Dome, the display takes on the look of a living painting, to be admired from the store’s various floors.

Christmas 2026: a skating rink with a view of the Eiffel Tower will soon be back at Galeries Lafayette!
Glide with Paris at your feet—it's coming soon! Starting November 24, 2026, the Galeries Lafayette Haussmann ice rink will rise to new heights and stay open until January 3, 2027, at the very top of the department store. [Read more]

The designer's signature touch extends to the shelves! Galeries Lafayette is rolling out his universe through several collaborations and exclusive collections, with accessories and objects adorned with his iconic motifs. And for those who prefer ice figures to drawings on paper, the rooftop ice rink returns from November 24, 2026, with views over the Paris rooftops and the Eiffel Tower.

So, ready to glimpse Christmas through Castelbajac's eyes?

The featured image shows the shop windows for the 2025/2026 edition

A brief history:

The last 13 Christmas trees at Galeries Lafayette from 2025 to 2013
Discovering the huge Christmas tree at Galeries Lafayette has become a real tradition in Paris. Every year since 1976, it has adorned the center of the dome of the famous Parisian department store. Like every year, everyone has their say on whether it was better or worse than last year. So we thought a little falsh back of the photos from the last 12 years would give you a better opportunity to compare. [Read more]

Christmas in Paris: the story of the legendary Christmas tree at Galeries Lafayette Haussmann
Every year, Galeries Lafayette enchants the holiday season with its iconic Christmas tree, which attracts curious visitors from around the world. This tradition dates back many years! Let's take a look back at the history of this essential part of Christmas in Paris! [Read more]

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