Jay Soonthornsawad

Jay Soonthornsawad extravagant Christmas window displays that the public wait as long as an hour to see. While New York stores do their holiday windows to win the attention of local and visiting customers, Bergdorf’s, as it’s fondly called by New Yorkers, dresses up their legendary windows with more opulence. Jay exudes a quiet and calm demeanour yet his work as a visual display designer presents explosive colours and detailed-filled scenes. One season featured a window named “The Crystal Ball,’ with a mannequin fortune teller, next to Swarovski crystal-studded objects. There’s “Teacher’s Pets,” from a past window done in a black and white colour scheme scattered with ‘pets’ like rabbits, a zebra, an ostrich, and other creatures made from organic materials while the mannequin dons a sequined dress by fashion brand Marchesa. Such spectacular displays are an annual treat for people familiar with the holiday windows. Jay is modest about sharing in the accolades that accompany window scenes that are never subdued, but also can be sublime. The projects with Bergdorf had themes like “Inspired”. Each window featured “The Arts” Right One must peruse at a leisurely pace all the details featured in each fairy tale window. in its category of Literature, Photography, Music, Theatre, Film, Sculpture and the “Literature” window had a collection of famous writers’ needlepoint portraits in different shades of red. The “Theatre” window showcased a mannequin wearing a beaded gold gown on a backdrop of colourful neon lights designed to resemble the theatre district of Broadway’s billboard lights. Any window onlooker simply stops and stares at the wondrous sight. “We’re not selling a product, but a store’s image,” Jay explains, of Bergdorf’s visual feats. A person walking from a distance or sitting in a taxi can take a look out from their window to our window and see the products and know what the store is about, he says. Jay also points out that it’s David Hoey, Bergdorf’s resident ‘window dresser,’ who leads Bergdorf’s, as it’s fondly called by New Yorkers, dresses up their legendary windows with more opulence than the nearby stores. 50 Fah Thai