design:retail - April/May 2018 - 26

026

Photo by SMILJANA
PEROS

Bloomingdale's to speak to one of her classes. "She
was so incredible, so fabulous-a tiger," Kong reflects. "I thought, wow, this person is so inspiring.
I said to myself that day, 'I will work at Bloomingdale's for Candy.'"

WORKING IN THE WINDOWS
Sure enough, upon graduating from FIT,
Kong's dream was fulfilled when she landed
a position at Bloomingdale's for the infamous
"first woman" display director, Candy Pratts
Price. "My world blossomed as I came to know
the major personalities in our industry-Gene
Moore, Robert Benzio, Colin Birch, Bob Currie
and, of course, Andrew Markopoulos," Kong says.
"I would do anything I could to watch them or talk
with people in the industry. It was life-changing to
hear their design philosophy. Those were incredible years."
Kong's résumé includes time at Bloomingdale's,
Bonwit Teller and Macy's Herald Square under
Joseph Cicio. "Under the direction of Joe Cicio,
Macy's was the place to be," Kong
says. "I was a junior trimmer, styling
the windows on Broadway and 34th
Street and shared the cubicle next to
Linda Fargo (another member of The
Markopolous Circle, now at Bergdorf
Goodman)." This immersed her in
projects such as the Flower Show,
the Macy's Day Parade and installing
Christmas the night before Thanksgiving. "I learned to work with the
fashion office, plan events, purchase
mannequins, direct floor moves and
assemble fixturing," she notes.

Jack2018
Hruska DESIGNRETAILONLINE.COM
Alfredo
Paredes
APRIL/MAY
GLOBALSHOP.ORG

As Bonwit's prepared to make a comeback, her
old boss lured her to be part of one of the most prestigious store openings with an enormous budget
and multiple entrances. Her career flourished, she
climbed the ladder and was working in an environment where no expense was spared. She handled
main floor Christmas trims, collaborated with the
White House's holiday decorator, and one year filled
the main floor with hundreds of cooing doves.
At this point in her story, she cautions professionals to "be careful what you wish for," as one of
her other career goals was to hold the title of display
director. She did achieve that goal at Bonwit Teller,
but when she found herself stuck behind a desk
without the hands-on work, the creativity and fun
of the windows and floor displays, she knew she
needed to change her path. (She has kept that business card as a reminder of that achievement...and to
be careful of your wishes.)
Her change in trajectory took her to London,
where she worked on theater sets for the new
musical, "Jean Seberg," under the direction of
Christopher Adler and Marvin Hamlish. "At this
time, I consulted with Gemini Mannequin Co., numerous architects on store design and fell in love,
which eventually brought me back to New York City."
After seven years of working for big brands and
organizations, it was time for another change. Kong
started her own business with colleague Robert
Balavender. Their complementary skill sets were the
perfect fit, and she was even able to involve her sister
on projects, as well as her husband, photographer
David Kong. From SoHo to Madison Avenue to work
with ad agencies and retailers, she was able to let her
creativity soar on her own terms. She ushered the
Lycra brand to fame with DuPont and collaborated

Ralph Pucci

2011

2008

2007

While Kong felt more like a misfit in high school,
she became a star at FIT. "I fit in like a puzzle piece,"
Kong says. "I was surrounded by aspiring, energetic
talent, so I flourished."
During this time, she immersed herself in everything the school had to offer. She founded the
Display Club and organized a student field trip to
the opening of Bloomingdale's Tysons Corner. She
was known as "Miss Display." She spent every possible moment in the city worshipping the windows
on Fifth Avenue and getting a front-row view on
opening window night.
"I watched the windows change at Bonwit
Teller, Henri Bendel and Bergdorf Goodman, that
was how I spent my spare time," Kong says. "Normal people were going out, dating, etc. I was dating
our industry; it was my lifelong love."
Kong loved the school's connection to the
industry and appreciated that the faculty also were
working in the field. A distinct memory for her
was having Candy Pratts Price come from

↙ The Hue_Color_Tint_
Shade exhibition by
FIT students in the
Visual Presentation
and Exhibition
Design Program.

2010

"MISS DISPLAY"

↑ Joe Klaus and Anne
Kong work on his
senior capstone
proposal.

2009

talking about design, creating, sewing, making
and upholstering furniture, fixing cars, etc. "It was
strange and wonderful to be surrounded by that
creativity when I was young and to observe all of
that. That was my 'normal' growing up," Kong says.
Her parents weren't her only creative influence.
She attributes her artistic sister, Mary (now deceased), for helping her find her way to FIT. Both
were accepted to a women's Catholic college, where
Mary ultimately attended and excelled in the fine
arts. But, they both knew this was not the right fit for
Kong's more commercial approach to art. "Thanks
to my sister's insights, I ended up at FIT," she says.

Tom Beebe

Denny Gerdeman

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