Design on a Dime Miami Style

After attending Design on a Dime in New York for the last several years I was excited to see how Miami does it.  One of the most fun events of the season went South ~ Design on a Dime Miami in the heart of the Design District is in its 3rd year.  The fundraiser benefits Housing Works, a healing community supporting those living with and affected by HIV/AIDS and homelessness.

I have written about the NY event here, here and here.

Being greeted by a handsome guy in a towel at the Elle Decor booth is a crowd pleaser, no matter where the place!

B + G Design with Janet Patterson created a layered, lady boss lair

Amanda Lindroth and Serena and Lily help accent a perfect Palm Beach pad.

A. Keith Powell's booth was powerful in its visual geometry.

Fava Design Group features a strong woman front and center.

A hip, groovy music lounge by Nicole White Designs

The Moore building in Miami's design district is a busy event venue, especially during Art Basel.  The space was as beautiful as it was challenging for an event such as this.

I wish I had a better picture of Nicole Fuller's chic Parisian boutique hotel inspired vignette, featuring many John Pomp pieces.  I am assuming the art is by her artist husband Alexander Yulish.  I should have grabbed that!

Monica Arellano, Stephannie Benhamu and Miguel Lewis pooled their talents .

Endless possibilities inspired the Eolo A & I Design space.

It was fun to see the similarities and differences of the designer vignettes between the two cities. Miami does have a unique vibe, New York always "brings it."  I'm now thinking LA needs to get in on the act!

Design from Within Workshop

If you are in the area I'd love for you to join us!   If not, Claudia has a beautiful store  Four Winds  Natural  check it out at your leisure.

Fashioning Art from Paper

I don't think I have ever re-published a story in all the years I have been blogging, until now.  I had originally seen Isabelle de Borchgrave in Washington at Doris Duke's home, Hillwood,  When her exhibit popped up in Palm Beach all these years later, I wanted MORE.  These paper creations are so poetic, so ethereal!  There was a Q and A with Isabelle herself making a rare appearence.   It was fun to here the story I painted for you here, from her own French accented lips.

Isabelle de Borchgrave, a Belgian artist, after a visit to the Met, began thinking about the stunning period clothing she had seen and wondered, "What those would be like if made out of paper?"  She turned her eye towards tromp l'oeil paper costumes.

This painting by Francois Boucher of  Madame de Pompadour inspired de Borchgrave's dress depicting the excess of mid 17th C France.

"Crumpled, pleated, and painted, ordinary paper becomes haute couture in the hands of the Belgian artist Isabelle de Borchgrave."

From a distance you cannot tell this is not fabric, beads, trim, pearls, jewels, and lace.  She manipulates the humble material into extraordinary interpretations of costumes from museums around the world.

These highly complicated to reproduce costumes are very true to the original inspiration that they are inspired by. This is Isabelle's trademark.  You can see (in person) the painstaking detail that goes into every piece she creates, and she isn't one to shy away from the heavily embellished, accessorized or highly stylized dresses.

Robe à la polouaise is an ankle length dress with 3 distinct draped sections operated by a cord pulley system.  Can you imagine?  To further complicate the project, the paper was waxed for a contrasting, see thru effect.  I literally stood there agape for 10 minutes examining every nuance of this gown.

A Mantua dress ~ a T shaped dress worn by the ladies in the court of England.  The intricate bodice and wide hips made this the most challenging dress in the collection

To date she has reinterpreted four collections:

 I Medici ~

Fortuny ~

Ballets Russes ~

ph:Renee Stoeltie

Papiers à la Mode ~ a fresh look at 300 years of fashion.  This is the largest collection.

Poiret, Lanvin, and Redfern inspired these paper dolls and represented a loosening up of the corseted dresses of the previous century.

Some costumes were placed in the rooms at Hillwood.  In some cases, an outfit was inspired by the decor of the room or a painting hanging on the wall, almost as if it jumped off the canvas.

Japanese textiles inspired this robe for Tsar Peter the Great ~

In Isabella's deft hands, Countess Samoilova's dress, lifted from the painting, appears carefree and quite accurate in its depiction.

Some of Isabelle's creations are in permanent exhibitions around the world.  She is often commissioned to create something specific, as in the case of Jackie Kennedy's wedding gown in the Kennedy Memorial in Boston.  She said this was one of the hardest dresses she ever created.

She also creates designs for paper products and porcelain for Gien.  You have probably seen her work and not even realized it.

For Target ~

For Caspari ~

To read more about Isabelle, there are several books including Pulp Fashion. 

 The exhibit at Society of the Four Arts will be there until April 15th 2018. If you are in Palm Beach, it is a. must see.