BOMBAY SAPPHIRE® Provides a Holiday Storefront Stage for a New Creative Guard and Diverse Artistic Expression

HAMILTON, Bermuda, Dec. 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- BOMBAY SAPPHIRE is proud to unveil its inaugural  holiday window display, celebrating the new artistic guard and New York City's creative comeback. Though the BOMBAY SAPPHIRE holiday windows are inspired by the traditional 5^th Avenue holiday window displays, these have a deeper purpose: to revitalize downtown Manhattan which was stripped of many anchor businesses and to provide a platform for emerging creatives. This avant-garde Holiday Storefront Series will take place in SoHo through December 19^th, in collaboration with visual artist Shavanté Royster, the disruptive fashion designer Romeo Hunte, and New York City dancer Nicole Von Arx.

Over the past year and a half, the pandemic has decimated the livelihood of creatives, small businesses, and retail in New York and beyond. To uplift the artistic community and bring a diverse, vibrant energy to the traditional holiday displays, BOMBAY SAPPHIRE, who has a longstanding history in championing equal representation in the arts and inspiring creativity, has commissioned these visionaries from diverse fields to transform otherwise empty storefronts into veritable 'windows of art'.

The backdrop of each window features a winter dreamscape by artist Shavanté Royster, which also graces the label of the BOMBAY SAPPHIRE new Limited-Edition Gift Pack HERE. This Holiday Storefront Series will light up SoHo during December to mimic the holiday magic of 5th Avenue through the eyes of Shavanté and Romeo, featuring live models clad in Romeo's winter apparel against Shavanté's contemporary picturesque snowy backdrop, along with performances by New York City dancers and local bar-hopping experiences. Romeo Hunte's dedicated window will feature people clad in two bespoke designs that he created exclusively for the space, depicting them getting ready for a holiday show over cocktails. Featuring Romeo's playful sensibility, the garments were inspired by Shavanté's depiction with the color of the jumpsuit playing off the yellow snowboards, sun and hot air balloons and the billows of the garment responding to the ski slopes. His New York edge is showcased in the jacket and pants look, mashing up tailored, preppy and street styles that tie into Shavanté's BOMBAY SAPPHIRE-inspired blue colorscape. The locations of the windows are as follows:

Fashion Window: 423 Broadway / New York, NY 10013
Art Window: 65 Spring Street / New York, NY 10012
Dance Window: 25 Howard Street / New York, NY 10013

"We are thrilled this partnership can ignite inspiration and hero the arts community for the holiday season," says Jaime Keller, Brand Director BOMBAY SAPPHIRE North America. "BOMBAY SAPPHIRE has served as the perfect canvas for creativity, both in cocktails and more broadly. This has been part of our brand DNA for the past three decades, so we are excited to launch this initiative to provide a literal stage for underrepresented and emerging talents and celebrate a creative resurgence overall." 

BOMBAY SAPPHIRE'S Holiday Window Curators added:
"It's been a joy to work on BOMBAY SAPPHIRE's Holiday Storefront Series which pays homage to exciting young creative talents everywhere and the tenacity of New York City coming back after the pandemic. It was refreshing to collaborate with artist Shavanté Royster and the dancers as mixed media has always been an important part of my work, so it was cool to build and see the narrative of the holiday windows come to life with them through different facets, such as the dancers wearing some of my designs. I hope everyone can leave the windows feeling a burst of creativity and inspiration for the holidays, and hope for the year ahead!" said Romeo Hunte.  

"My design for the BOMBAY SAPPHIRE limited-edition collectible holiday spray can represents my journey in the world, re-imagining it as this place where I'm creating the atmosphere, weather, rainbows, clouds and stars. I'm so excited to see it brought to life in the Holiday Storefront Series and partnering with other creatives who inspire me. BOMBAY SAPPHIRE believes and supports up-and-coming artists early in their careers, which is so important for those of us looking to get our work out there. I'm so happy with how this collaboration has progressed. It's a thrill to know that people from all over will be seeing my art come to life this December," said Shavanté Royster.

Designed to be the perfect addition to any holiday bar cart, the bottle turned spray paint can is an unexpected gift that captures winter adventures on the 750ml cans with figures gliding through snowy peaks on snowboards and in hot air balloons in the sky. Born from Shavanté's vivid imagination, the set is available nationwide at ReserveBar.com and at select stores across the country (SRP: $22.99)  

Each window brings a different dimension to Shavanté Royster's artistic backdrop, serving as a space for live entertainment and consumer education. These window displays not only spotlight diverse creative artforms, but are designed to bring foot traffic to the respective businesses around downtown New York for the holidays. Lastly, the holiday season wouldn't be complete without a cocktail in hand, so BOMBAY SAPPHIRE has partnered with neighboring bars to serve festive holiday cocktails designed by the creatives for window viewers to continue the merriment and celebrate the holidays.

COCKTAIL RECIPES

ROMEO HUNTE'S WHAT'S GOOD

1.5 oz Bombay Sapphire
3 oz Ginger Beer
2 oz Cranberry Juice

METHOD: Build ingredients in your favorite balloon glass or collins glass and garnish with a lime wedge.

SHAVANTÉ ROYSTER'S WINTER DAYDREAM

1.5 oz Bombay Sapphire
.5 oz St Germain
.5 oz Lime Juice
5 oz Fever Tree Elderflower Tonic

METHOD: Build in a balloon glass and garnish with a ribbon of cucumber.

Link to high-res imagery HERE 

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NOTES TO EDITORS:

About BOMBAY SAPPHIRE^® brand
BOMBAY SAPPHIRE is the world's number one premium gin by value and volume (IWSR). Based on a 1761 recipe, BOMBAY SAPPHIRE gin is created by perfectly balancing a unique combination of 10 hand-selected exotic botanicals from around the world. The BOMBAY SAPPHIRE distillery at Laverstoke Mill has won a BREEAM award for sustainability and is the home of the unique Vapour Infusion process, where the natural flavours of the botanicals are skillfully captured, resulting in the fresh and vibrant taste with which BOMBAY SAPPHIRE is synonymous.  

BOMBAY SAPPHIRE has recently been awarded the prestigious Double Gold and Gold medal at the 17th San Francisco World Spirits Competition (SFWSC).

The BOMBAY SAPPHIRE brand is part of the portfolio of Bacardi Limited, headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda. Bacardi Limited refers to the Bacardi group of companies, including Bacardi International Limited.

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For the facts: www.BombaySapphire.com.
BOMBAY SAPPHIRE AND BOMBAY BRAMBLE ARE TRADEMARKS

ABOUT BOMBAY SAPPHIRE^® AND CREATIVITY
Launching the 'Stir Creativity' campaign in 2018, BOMBAY SAPPHIRE is leading a global mission - a call to arms for everyone to engage with their creativity and unlock their creative potential.  From advocacy programmes including World's Most Imaginative Bartender competition running in the US for the last 11 years to hosting The Glasshouse Project, a global advocacy programme bringing together the world's top bartenders in a series of creative workshops designed to push the boundaries of cocktail creativity. 

For nine years, BOMBAY SAPPHIRE ran The Artisan Series, an art competition created by the brand to provide emerging artists with an international platform. The brand has also partnered with well-known artists and creators such as Tracey Emin, Thomas Heatherwick and Tom Dixon for the BOMBAY SAPPHIRE Designer Glassware Competition.

ABOUT ROMEO HUNTE
Romeo Hunte New York is a definitive lifestyle apparel brand created for those who appreciate intricate details. Designed in New York City, the collection embodies an aesthetic that is edgy yet sophisticated with a balance of feminine and masculine attributes. The brand emphasizes impeccable transitional yet transformable pieces. Signature Romeo Hunte pieces are a hybrid of luxurious outerwear and attire that highlight modern apparel with a chic flair. The Romeo Hunte woman and man are a dynamic duo; confident, yet innovative with an admirable passion for the arts and pop culture.

www.romeohunte.com

ABOUT SHAVANTÉ ROYSTER
Shavanté Royster is a graphic designer and illustrator based in Brooklyn, NY. She has worked as a designer and visual artist since 2009. Shavanté developed a passion for art very early in life. Her body of work consists of digital illustration, painting, and mixed media. Raised in a military household, she spent her developing years travelling around the world. Her travelling experiences inspired her creativity and travel has become a common theme in her artwork. She explores ideas of what it means to have a home and a place to belong. She expresses both the challenges and the excitement of being uprooted through her expressive use of shapes and rich, vivid colours.

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