A Magical Christmas Legacy: Repurposing the Harrods Christmas Decorations

When Loro Piana, renowned for their luxurious cashmere and iconic craftsmanship, took over Harrods’ Christmas windows and storefront for Christmas 2024, the result was nothing short of spectacular. With their signature elegance, they transformed the world-famous department store into a workshop of wonders of stars, clouds, cogs and festive features, drawing in countless visitors to experience the magic of Christmas amongst the lights of London. 

To design and create their vision Loro Piana turned to Sculptivate, the creative production studio known for designing transformative experiences.

But what happens to those decorations once the season ends?

In a brilliant collaboration with Sculptivate and Event Cycle, the festive installations and accompanying flags found a new purpose. Instead of ending up in storage, energy-intensive recycling or landfill, decorations from the store front were carefully dismantled and redistributed to charities and community groups across the UK, spreading joy long after the holidays had passed. The flags were respuprosed into storage bags by a social enterprise before being donated. And, of course, we sent some technicians to make sure the lights remained bright at their end destinations.

From Storefront to Social Impact

The decorations, which included large stars, clouds, cogs, flags and other festive elements, were repurposed to brighten spaces and enrich lives in community centres, schools, and charities. These items, once dazzling on the front of Harrods facade, are now providing light, warmth, and creativity to those in need, proving that even the most luxurious displays can have a lasting impact beyond their initial purpose.

Here’s where the magic landed:

Sutton Community Champions is a grassroots community group focused on reducing food waste and promoting sustainability. The clouds and stars they received now illuminate their community shop, a space dedicated to clothes swaps and local family support. The decorations help transform the dark, high-ceilinged space into a welcoming hub of hope and sustainability. The charity also received some of the storage bags.

" The bags have been absolutely amazing! 

We run quite a few projects that these are being used for such as our school uniform clothes bank, our Christmas shop, prom dresses for those in need plus our clothes bank."

Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee School, which is part of the Federation of Westminster Specialist Schools, meets the needs of children and young people with a diagnosis of profound and multiple learning difficulties and/or with severe physical needs, severe learning difficulties and complex autism. In this school learning and exploration is person centred and sensory based which is when the most effective and potent learning happens.

For the learners at Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee School, the decorations are more than just beautiful—they are tools for storytelling. These sensory items create an immersive Christmas narrative, enabling children with complex needs to explore, learn, and engage in a way that words alone cannot achieve.

“In SEND schools, Christmas sensory story usually runs for several weeks so our learners can have enough time for repetition to understand a simple Christmas narrative as they cannot cognitively cope with reading or retaining story narratives but instead explore through props and a simple role play narrative with props.” 

The Conservation Volunteers (TCV) want healthier, happier communities for everyone. They work together with people, communities and partners to deliver practical actions that have a lasting impact on people's health prospects and outdoor places. One of their projects, the TCV Meridian One Community Garden, is a welcoming green space for the local community to connect, grow food, and share skills. The donated festive decorations now add a touch of charm to a vibrant space dedicated to health, happiness, and community engagement.

The People’s Army supports low income families, the homeless and vulnerable people by providing them with events they can attend for free as well as supplying them with food. This grassroots organisation found a practical use for the flags that adorned the roof of Harrods over Christmas. With the help of Calluna Upcycling and Event Cycle the flags were transformed into storage bags, making them perfect for food distribution packages. These simple yet vital tools save the organisation from purchasing new bags, allowing funds to be spent on their much needed services instead. 

Descendants is a history and arts-focused organisation aimed at children and young people aged between 4-16 years old, primarily but not exclusively of African and Caribbean descent. The charity works to create an environment where children and young people are able to learn and grow together by experiencing each other's diverse cultures and traditions through mediums of art, craft, music, drama and dance. 

The decorations from Harrods will be used during their February half-term project to inspire creativity and cultural learning. The festive items will add vibrancy to their workshops, promoting pride and self-confidence in the young participants.

Restore Church helps the local community in Boston with housing, a social supermarket and a food distribution van that runs 6 nights a week. In the chilly evenings of Boston, Lincolnshire, Restore Church will be using the donated stars to light up their car park. This may not seem like a lot but this welcoming glow will provide comfort to the homeless and vulnerable people served by their food van, spreading warmth and joy throughout the winter.

Langley Grammar School is an innovative and forward-thinking school, committed to developing students into well-rounded, confident and successful young adults. They support art students by supplying them with equipment and encourage them to try new materials and technics. For the students at Langley Grammar School, the decorations have become a creative resource. Whether inspiring art projects or enhancing dramatic productions, these stars and clouds are igniting the imaginations of GCSE and A-level students, encouraging them to think outside the box 

Selby Community Recycling & Arts Project provides work placements & experience for adults with learning difficulties and additional needs. They collect leftover materials and products which can be used for arts, crafts and creative projects in the community schools, theatres and local groups. Selby also does workshops demonstrating crafting skills using materials that they have collected. 

The donated clouds have been placed in their relaxation corner, creating a calming space for participants to unwind and reflect. They also plan to share the decorations with other arts organisations working with adults with additional needs.

"These are going to be on our memory wall, so if you can picture this from cloud to cloud there will be a rainbow and in between photos of people we have lost long the way. The people I have the pleasure of working with are so excited about this.

The other clouds are going to be used in a garden for children with different needs, it is going to be part of their relax reading corner."

Illuminating a Brighter Future

This collaboration between Loro Piana, Harrods, Sculptivate, and Event Cycle shows that celebration, charity and sustainability can go hand in hand. By redistributing decorations to organisations where they can make a real difference, this initiative turned a famous festive display into a lasting legacy gift to communities across the UK.

The Christmas stars and clouds may no longer hang on the front of Harrods, but their light shines on in community centres, schools and gardens bringing joy and hope to countless individuals beyond the fun festivities at Christmas. 

This project truly embraces the magic of Christmas, proving that with a little creativity and a lot of care, the spirit of the season can last all year.

Want to know more about the stats behind the hard work?

Check out our highlights below or read the full report here:

Event Cycle _ Loro Piana - Harrods Takeover - January 25.pdf

Download PDF • 6.92MB

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