The window of London department store Selfridges has been dressed with a selection of new inventions by British designer Dominic Wilcox, including a reverse listening device and binoculars for viewing the future (+ slideshow).

Dominic Wilcox chose ideas from his Variations on Normal collection of absurd but logical inventions for the window display, which is part of Selfridges' Festival of Imagination.

"The theme I was working to was extremely broad, simply 'Imagination'," Wilcox told Dezeen. "I started adding ideas into my sketchbook one at a time and eventually filled a few pages with a rough outline of thoughts. Once I started selecting materials and making the ideas into real objects they naturally changed and developed."

His handmade sparkling beard is made from 2000 crystals and a Wedgwood cup and saucer has been modified to include a fan for cooling a piping hot brew.

An umbrella with inbuilt flowers pots is designed so the user can water their plants and stay dry at the same time. The Reverse Listening Device - shown in the short movie above - allows the wearer to listen to sounds on their left side in their right ear and vice versa. "It was interesting to use the device and find out that it actually worked well," said Wilcox.

He created a pair of binoculars through which the user could view the future and past, simply by inputting their chosen date and looking through the eyepieces.

An alarm clock with a brass bugle attached to the side is powered by mini compressor to create a noise loud enough to ensure you wake up.

Metal objects are given a punk makeover by covering them in spikes include a faucet, a teapot and a hip flask.

Wilcox proposes attaching small aeroplane wings to the sides of London's black cabs to alleviate the city's traffic congestion.

A suitcase with legs so it can walk on its own instead of being dragged along and toothbrushes with maracas on the bottom to make cleaning teeth more musical also feature in the display.

The items are suspended in the window beside bubbles of text to explain their functions.

Wilcox's No Place Like Home GPS shoes are on display in Selfridges as part of the Imagine Shop curated by Dezeen, which also features an augmented reality watch store and giant yacht - watch our movie about the pop-up here.

Wilcox will give a talk about his creations and other work in the OMA-designed Imaginarium in Selfridges' basement, at 12:30pm on 7 February.