A Fall Market Round Up ~ Part 1

Kelly Behun, ph:Eric Piasecki

Twice a year the showrooms at D and D building roll out the red carpet to show the newest lines, the wonderful collaborations, the latest and greatest.  There were inspiring speakers, book launches from some of my favorite designers, and a bit of an education along the way about what is happening in this changing, dynamic industry.
Michael Boodroo lead a discussion on what luxury means now.  It was part of a larger theme running throughout the two day period, because the ideas came up again and again.

Susanne Rheinstein, ph:Roger Davies

Elle Decor polled many designers ~ Here's what they had to say:

               Design and quality were important, not brands and logos
               It's less about dazzling guests and more about private spaces
               Designers are most positive about business in 2013
               An indoor/outdoor connection is important
               Luxury is more a state of mind than a state of pocketbook
               Flexibility and a high/low sensibility
               The return to an artisanal touch
               Over the top means OVER

Alexa Hampton, ph:Scott Francis

       
            People want to stand out in a standardized world
            Clients want to spend their money well
            Highly functional spaces; kitchens, closets, baths are considered the height of luxury

Mick De Gulio

As designers we must educate clients and inspire them to buy the best they can afford.


I was lucky enough to attend the Stars of Design award dinner.  I was in awe of so much talent in the room.  Iconic architects, forward thinking urban planners, designers I have admired for a long time.  It was warm, wonderful, and lighthearted.

Looking around the room and seeing
  Alexa Hampton, Mario Buatta, Juan Montoya, Richard Meier among others blew my mind!

Tamara of Nestnestnest, me, Raina of A Stylist Life

I always like a good take-away ~ here it is:  The flowers on the table at the award banquet were so simple and so beautiful.  Three matching vases at varying heights with coordinating colored flowers. Humble zinnias and roses in autumnal colors that ANYONE could recreate.

Come back for more on D and D fall market next time.

The Pink Chair Project

For the past 3 Octobers, October being Breast Cancer awareness month, Suite NY has rallied designers and architects to put their individual design spins on a classic chair.  This year the Pink Jalk Project benefitting BCRF will auction off all these one of a kind GJ chair creations; see all the entries here.  You have until the end of the month to bid, if you like.  It's a rare opportunity to own an iconic Greta Jalk chair.

Sara Story's inspiration:
"Grete Jalk’s GJ Chair is a straightforward but complex form, simply two pieces of bent plywood. We decided to play up its form, lacquering it with a continuous pattern to represent a tough – but thin – skin, the metaphorical body armor with which women who suffer from cancer protect themselves. It can also represent the way in which the outer trappings that may ‘decorate’ our bodies also can give us confidence – like warriors who paint themselves with body paint, or women who make sure they look their best before going into a tough situation. In this instance, we can see the inside and the outside – the interior is a mirror image of what is happening on the outside, as if its insides were exposed.

Aerin Lauder's inspiration:
"What immediately struck me about this chair was its bold, modern design. While my aesthetic can be very modern, I’m also very classic in my approach. I chose to soften the clean lines of the chair with a lovely, braided jute - a personal favorite of mine. I feel this treatment is both strong and neutral, adding a gentle more natural element while allowing the chair to remain a beautiful statement piece in any room."

Darryl Carter's inspiration:
"As I studied the chair, I became profoundly aware of its perfection ‘as was.’ My instinct was to protect it.

Hariri & Hariri's inspiration for their chair:
"Our concept highlights women taking charge of their own bodies, their rights, and their health. We added corset-like leather straps over the iconic chair by Grete Jalk. Ironically it is a rebellion against bondage and submission of women. Making the corset as an under garment, inside out and exposing it on the top, is like revealing the epidemic of a tumor. The Pink leather straps also Band-Aid and are hope to hold our souls and bodies together while researching for the cure for cancer."

Amanda Nisbet's inspiration:
"Amanda saw a really beautiful finish that one of her designers brought to her attention, and then tracked down the workroom. She then decided to use it on this chair as it is new, interesting and very modern.
To further draw out the chairs architectural elements and add a little tension in its elegance , she chose two complimentary but opposite treatments. Glossy surfboard finish on the front and Macassar ebony veneer on the back and inside back, finished with small french railheads on the perimeter for a touch of texture and metal."

Emily Summer's inspiration for her chair:
"Emily Summers Design Associates (ESDA) sought to keep the elegant primary design of Greta Jalk’s GJ Chair and add a secondary decorative element that would tie the chair to the late founder of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF), Evelyn H. Lauder, and the Lauder family. ESDA turned to one of the most beautiful decorative artists, Dagobert Peche (1887 – 1923 Austria), whose work is collected by the Lauder family (Mrs. Lauder’s brother- in-law, Ronald S. Lauder, opened the museum committed to early twentieth-century German and Austrian art) at Neue Gallery and was celebrated in a 2011 exhibit, Vienna 1900: Style and Identity. Evelyn Hausner (Lauder) was born in Vienna in 1936. This particular pattern is entitled Blumen and is interpreted in iconic pink and wrapped around the original walnut finish of the sculptural ribbon form.




The GJ chair was originally designed in 1963.  It is considered the Danish designer's best known work.  About 300 pieces went into limited production, only a few remain, which explains the high cost of the original.  The sculptural quality and complexity of the conjoined molded plywood is an example of Danish modern design at its best.  The chair is seeing a resurgence in popularity, therefore, reproductions have proliferated.  This Jalk chair and a nesting table will again take their places in the pantheon of classic design.  These just happen to be a little more decorative than most.


photos and quotes : Suite NY

McQueen Bee

Call it a coincidence, call it serendipity, call it "great minds..." While I was writing my story on the fabulousness of the honeycomb or hexagon shape, a pregnant Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen was sending beautiful beekeepers down the runway in Paris!  She must have heard the same "buzz" about the bee shortage.  Literally, 30% of the world wide bee population has died off!  All Sarah's little worker bees were busy readying the runway and outfitting the models in waist accentuating belts, corsets, cages, and dramatic jeweled silhouettes with a honey of a theme indicative of the late, great McQueen.

Gold bees adorned many of the accessories.  The tortoise shell harnesses, while hard for anyone who is not a waif to wear, were spectacular.

Talk about raising awareness.  I doubt that was her intention, but the John Maybury film showing swarming bees playing in the background quite literally took you through the bees swarming in a frenzy to referencing bees pollenating flowers as big crinoline floral dresses closed the show.

WOW!


ph: Monica Feudi; close ups, Marcus Tondo for Vogue.com