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Paul Olszewski

manhattan beach boy

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While Paul Olszewski has an East Coast address, he still has one foot firmly planted on a surfboard.

 

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Olszewski grew up riding the waves. “I surfed every chance I got – my high school even had its own beach,” he says.

After graduating with an arts degree from California State University at Long Beach, Olszewski indulged his creativity as a visual stylist for Neiman Marcus in Beverly Hills. “Working in visual right out of college was like being in my art studio classes every day, except I got paid for it!” he says.

Visual presentation, specifically windows, became his lifeblood for the next 20 years. Olszewski migrated east – first to New Jersey’s Garden State Plaza as the store-level visual director for Neiman Marcus, then to New York, where he instilled his vision and panache for capturing the art of fashion as visual manager at Bergdorf Goodman, and then back to Neiman’s.

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Now, he’s the window director for Macy’s Herald Square in New York. “It’s been a dream of mine to live in New York, but my heart will always be in L.A.,” he says. “I go back twice a year, and when it’s time to fly east again, I usually have to be dragged to the airport kicking and screaming. But when I realize that it’s New York I’m going back to – it makes it easier.”

Good thing, because otherwise we’d miss his windows. (See more of his and others’ work beginning on page 40.)

 

How do you relax once your holiday windows are finished and unveiled to the public?

I can’t relax. Making sure that everything works and that the crowds see everything working perfectly is a full-time job. The Christmas windows are like my children. As with any parent, helping them grow, then worrying about them when they’re on their own, is natural.

What excites you most about your job?

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The creative freedom I have and the daily challenges, plus the fact that so many people see and talk about the windows.

How do you determine the success of your window displays?

For Christmas, it’s the size of the crowds and the looks on their faces. I make a point to walk by the windows and blend in to hear what people are really saying. For the rest of the year, it’s a combination of sales results and the feedback from my colleagues and my customers: the merchants and the store.

Growing up, which TV family did you wish was yours?

The Carringtons from “Dynasty” (or, depending on the episode, the Colbys).

What one visual mistake of the past still makes you shiver?

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I’ve gone my whole career without doing a wig. Let’s just say there’s a reason for that.

If there was a movie made about your life, who would play you?

Ellen DeGeneres.

What fashion statement have you tried that you will never try again?

I’ll never tell, and I’ve burned the photos!

What on your iPod would you be most embarrassed for the world to know?

The complete first and second seasons of “Desperate Housewives.”

What never fails to surprise you about this industry?

That something I have so much fun doing has such an impact on the company.

The pop-up storybook windows last holiday season were amazing. How do you keep topping those?

It’s not really about topping them. It’s about making them different, exciting and new every time.

What five words describe New York in February for you?

Ready to be warm again…..

 

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