Las Vegas Sun: GRAND DESIGNS: Stefanou brings passion & size to displays at Fashion Show Mall, November 25, 2003 Las Vegas Sun Newspaper

Las Vegas Sun Newspaper by Kristen Peterson November 25, 2003
Stephen Stefanou likes big things. His dreams are big. His passions are big. when it comes to the holidays, his designs are copious.
At the Fashion Show Mall, his Erte-inspired holiday display features sculpted, jeweled ornaments of slender women, stretching as much as 25-ft and costumed in red velvet and lace.
I need a client who needs something really different," Stefanou said. "I always dream everything big, which requires architectural design, thought and engineering."
"We didn't just want a decorating scheme to decorate the building," Karen Kozemchak, Fashion Show mall marketing director, said. "We want to create an environmental feeling and link it to what we're about, fashion and design."
"With this square footage, you cannot decorate the mall," Stefanou said. "You have to create destinations within the mall."
"Erte was arguably the greatest costume designer in history," said Stefanou. " His designs are glamorous, unusual elegant and opulent. All those characteristics translate extremely well into holiday decor well suited to the fashion retail environment."