There are two kinds of people at Christmas time: the ones decorating their tree on December 1, and the ones wrapping presents the evening that Santa is due to arrive. Here at the Strand Arcade, our enthusiasm for sharing the joy of the festive season is such that, come November, our Christmas installations appear throughout the Arcade to spread cheer and remind all that December 25th is on its way. 

Given that the tree is the centrepiece of every festive display, we draw upon the Strand Arcade’s reputation as Sydney’s hub of art and creativity by tapping an inspiring designer, a contemporary design firm or a creative heavyweight to turn their talents to the Strand’s iconic tree.  

This year, the undeniably striking installations from 2023, created by Sydney-based design firm Visual Inspirations, will return to the Arcade. An immersive Christmas installation that pays homage to Australian flora, it includes a native flower installation suspended from the ceiling — consisting of acrylic green leaves, red budding flowers and whimsical golden gumnuts — which hangs 3.5 metres from the ceiling and spans just under 10 metres long. To complement the hanging installation, on the Ground floor fits a four-by-four metre gumnut sculpture, complete with golden baubles and twinkling lights. This year, the striking centrepieces will also be accompanied by 27,500 individual lights that will adorn the installations themselves and the ornate balustrades.  

Of course, the Strand Arcade has long been synonymous with burgeoning Australian talent — especially of the fashion kind — so longtime shoppers of the Arcade may recall Alex Perry’s take on the Christmas installation in 2013.

Few figures are more renowned in Australia’s fashion landscape than Alex Perry and, having opened his Strand Arcade boutique in 2002, his spin on the Strand Arcade’s Christmas installations remains one of the most memorable. After Perry created a moodboard to inspire the design and celebrate the Arcade’s old-world glamour, BE Design — a Sydney-based design firm — partnered with Matthew Shaw of V2M to turn Perry’s vision into reality. The result saw a show stopping seven-tier tree take pride of place in the centre of the Arcade, adorned with red bows and baubles, while twinkling lights hung from the tree and balustrades. To make the experience multi-sensory, the decorations were accompanied by classical music and the scent of cinnamon and spruce, which was spritzed upon the tree’s foliage. It was a magical Christmas, and we’ve set out to make each one since just as memorable.