Velvet has unveiled a stunning gold and glittering Christmas display in their shop window in Church Street, Hove.

Store manager, Emma Draper, said she wanted to go the extra mile this year after lockdown meant she could not host a celebration to mark the business’s 20th year.

She told The Argus: “We’re 20 years old next week, which is a really exciting milestone and we were going to have a massive party, but obviously because of lockdown all that can’t happen and the worst thing is we aren’t even home.

“But because we are closed we decided to put the window displays in and we’ve really gone for it.

“We’ve probably put even more glitter and gold in than we planned.”

Every year, the team travel to Holland to visit their suppliers and search Christmas fairs for inspiration for their upcoming festive display.

They come up with a theme based around what has worked well in previous years and what is expected to be in fashion by December.

And their preparation seems to have paid off as Emma has been “overwhelmed” with passers-by stopping to compliment the display.

“We’re really good at doing Christmas,” Emma said.

“Every five minutes someone has knocked on the window and clapped or smiled and it’s been wonderful.

“I can’t tell you how lovely it has been, we’ve had so many people taking pictures of it, so it’s obviously been the right thing to do.

“I think people just want some light relief and that’s why I thought I’ll call the electrician and get the outdoor lights up too. So we will be lit up very brightly.”

After the fashion and homeware store was forced to close its doors for three months during the first national lockdown, Emma said the news that non-essential retail would have to shut again was “devastating.”

However, she has been overwhelmed with the support from customers.

She said: “It’s been so lovely, the few days we had after the latest lockdown was announced and people were just so lovely saying that they wanted to support us and it was amazing.

“They know we’re a Brighton institution and we’ve been here for so long and, as it’s a family business, we have lots of regulars and everyone has been coming in to wish us luck and to buy things.

“I’ve got 15 staff and I’ve managed to furlough them all. Thank goodness for that.

“If we can open on Thursday, December 3 then we will be OK.”

After the first lockdown, the business recorded record sales during the summer months, with demand for homeware and clothing going “through the roof.”

“We were really clawing back three months of being closed and then this hit us again. But we’re a strong business and I think we’ll have a crazy few weeks before Christmas,” said Emma.

“We’ve sold lots of baubles but we’ve still got plenty more to sell.”

People are encouraged to stop outside the store to take photos of the display and share them on social media.