Below is a fragment from Loewy's autobiography "Never Leave Well Enough Alone"(1951) which appears to be a great example of some difficulties and obstacles Loewy had to overcome promoting his vision of simplicity and style. Such episodes were present at different stages of his career. Fortunately Raymond Loewy had the talent and the charisma to convince the client that the product is going to sell ever since:
"…The critter commissioned me to do one key window on herald Square. At that time the technique was to cram the window with a truckload of stuff, including half a dozen dummies on which tones of merchandise were piled up in layers. The result looked somewhat like a drawing room in the mansion of those two eccentric Collyer brothers of upper Fifth Avenue who never went out in fifteen years and were found dead under a piano or something. My feeling for simplicity blended with a dash of French logic indicated a different solution. That same night I worked out my scheme along simple lines. I dresses one dummy with a neat black evening gown, spread a luscious mink coat at its feet, and casually scattered around some accessories. Instead of the usual blaze of diffused floodlights, I left the window in semidarkness. The only illumination came from three powerful spotlights focused on the figure. The result was a contrast of violet highlights and deep shadows. It was dramatic, simple, and potent. It sang.
Around midnight, pleased with my experiment, I went to get a few hours' rest before the store's opening in the morning. Then I returned to see the results. There was quite a crowd in front of "my display". Mostly executives. They were talking in hushed tones as if the founders' daughter had been found raped in the window. It was a cataclysm, all right. Window dressers were already on the scene of the disaster doing rescue work by bringing armfuls of merchandise in order to repair the damage. My boss was in the window too, puffing and sweating in the flood-lights. I quickly figured out that if I could get in store fast, I might have a chance to reach the window, take him by surprise, and say "I'm through" before he had a chance "You are fired!" This is exactly what happened. To this day I have a satisfaction of being able to say that I've never been fired. Some may call it a close decision on technicality, but it stands nevertheless. This was first job I ever had; it lasted twenty-four hours, and I decided there and then that I would never accept a position with any firm again. I would be my own boss."
"…The critter commissioned me to do one key window on herald Square. At that time the technique was to cram the window with a truckload of stuff, including half a dozen dummies on which tones of merchandise were piled up in layers. The result looked somewhat like a drawing room in the mansion of those two eccentric Collyer brothers of upper Fifth Avenue who never went out in fifteen years and were found dead under a piano or something. My feeling for simplicity blended with a dash of French logic indicated a different solution. That same night I worked out my scheme along simple lines. I dresses one dummy with a neat black evening gown, spread a luscious mink coat at its feet, and casually scattered around some accessories. Instead of the usual blaze of diffused floodlights, I left the window in semidarkness. The only illumination came from three powerful spotlights focused on the figure. The result was a contrast of violet highlights and deep shadows. It was dramatic, simple, and potent. It sang.
Around midnight, pleased with my experiment, I went to get a few hours' rest before the store's opening in the morning. Then I returned to see the results. There was quite a crowd in front of "my display". Mostly executives. They were talking in hushed tones as if the founders' daughter had been found raped in the window. It was a cataclysm, all right. Window dressers were already on the scene of the disaster doing rescue work by bringing armfuls of merchandise in order to repair the damage. My boss was in the window too, puffing and sweating in the flood-lights. I quickly figured out that if I could get in store fast, I might have a chance to reach the window, take him by surprise, and say "I'm through" before he had a chance "You are fired!" This is exactly what happened. To this day I have a satisfaction of being able to say that I've never been fired. Some may call it a close decision on technicality, but it stands nevertheless. This was first job I ever had; it lasted twenty-four hours, and I decided there and then that I would never accept a position with any firm again. I would be my own boss."
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