Category: Accessories

Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art of the in-between exhibition

Photo by The Met via Vogue

This year, on the 1st Monday of May a.k.a Costume Institute’s annual The Met Gala happened last night, as I’m sure it’s no news.  This year the exhibition is “Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between” celebrating the unconventional fashion of Comme des Garcons creator, Rei Kawakubo.  An innovator of her own who has always refuse to follow rules when it comes to designing and creating her clothing line.  If you go into Comme des Garcons website you’ll be welcomed with a massage that reads “wear your freedom” in Japanese translated into English.  The celebrated Fashion Designer also owns the department store Dover Street Market with flagships in three different continents including one in London and one in New York.  If you have ever visited one of Dover Street Market stores, you can clearly see the concept is one of its own where the designers show a very strong personal design vision and style.  The exhibition is curated by Andrew Bolton, Curator in Charge of The Costume Institute.  Raul Avila has been in charge of the gala décor since 2007.  Apart from being one of the only places where streaming live from inside is strictly prohibited, the event main purpose is not only to provide a platform where the most coveted celebrities can show the world how beautiful and privilege they are, we all already know that but, the main purpose of the most glamorous night of the year is to raise money for the Costume Institute; the fashion department at the Met.  Last year’s exhibition “Manus ex Machina,  raised $13.5 million.  Tickets this year are $30,000 apiece, and tables are about $275,000.  Anna Wintour, American Vogue editor-in-chief oversees every detail of the event.
The exhibition opens to the public three days later on May 4th and goes  through September 4th, 2017. If you cannot make it to the exhibition, there is a book authored by Andrew Bolton and designed by Fabien Baron, published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art that you can buy here.  Below, some of the most stunning gowns of the night.

Naomi Watts, Stella McCartney and Kate Hudson in Stella McCartney

 Naomi Watts, Stella McCartney and Kate Hudson wearing Stella McCartney.  I love both of these dresses and I think Kate’s very white hair looks great.

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entry way with chevron floors, grey walls and vertigo pendant by constance guisset

In this entryway, the vertigo pendant lamp seems to welcome guests.

Every so often comes the case when a designer creates a classic.  Vertigo Pendant by Constance Guisset is one of those and it appears to have been around for a longer time.  It’s the kind of sculptural lighting that recalls a timeless style although it is a new design.  Its lines are visually strong, feel subtle and organic and I can only imagine how beautiful reflections it
creates on the walls and ceiling when lit up night time.  The pendant supposedly moves when the breeze touches it conveying a sense of freedom and rhythm. This is the kind of lighting fixture that can seamlessly be incorporated in any kind of style, however I’ve
noticed the it looks more cohesive when paired with furniture of neutral colors and pale walls.  Better yet if the walls have some molding on them.  The Vertigo Pendant
which is very light weigh, comes in two different sizes and in different finishing, has slowly become an Interior Designer favorite.  I like it more when it’s fixed to the ceiling rather
than hanging giving the pendant the appearance of an upside down hat.  A bit poetic, a bit fun, a bit young. In Europe you can buy it at Petite Friture.  In the US it is available at MoMa, 1stdibs and Finishing Design Shop.

dining room with modern chairs and vertigo pendant

In this room, the lamp adds to the beautiful composition of modern and old.

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This is a modern take on the classic blue and white home accessories for those who enjoy and are looking to incorporate a younger and fresher version of it.  The different textures, pattern and different shades of blue in this cluster of transitional home accessories can seamlessly be incorporated in either classic or modern decor.

Ceiling lamptable lamp,   folded tall vaseblue abstractlarge wrap objectset of tumblersceramic bowl on standnotebookikat platetop platevelvet pillow.

 

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March 30th to April 2th

This is particularly interesting for young and new collectors because the fair is dedicated to making contemporary art accessible to the widest possible audience, showing some 80 guided tours of the fair as well as a number of specific tools, in particular its elaborate yet eminently practical website.  Art Paris Art Fair is a springtime art fair focusing on discovery bringing together 140 galleries from some 20 countries at the Grand Palais to explore European art from the post war period to the present day as well as international emerging art scenes.

 

Balenciaga: L’oeuvre au noir

Through July 16th 2017
I made a reference about this exhibition in my post about the use of black in Interiors last Thursday.  The Palais Galliera pays a tribute to Cristóbal Balenciaga (1895 – 1972), the most “Couture” of Couturiers, with an exhibition at the Musée Bourdelle entitled “Balenciaga, l’oeuvre au noir”. The exhibition resounds with a black harmony of an Haute Couture alchemist.  Black motivated Balenciaga : the backbone of his work was inspired by the folklore and traditions of his Spanish childhood. Black was this exceptionally skilled tailor’s preference. Black was a monastic influence on the master, about whom Dior once said: “Clothes were his religion”. Balenciaga saw black as a vibrant matter whether it be opaque
or transparent, mate or shiny – a dazzling interplay of light, that owes as much to the luxurious quality of the fabrics as to the apparent simplicity of the cut
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A Joan Michell painting hangs in a dining room designed by Aman and Carson via Architectural Digest.

Over the weekend my husband and I took a short ride to Cleveland where we had a great time.  Besides getting to know a little bit about the city, we paid a visit to the Cleveland Museum of Art, enjoying the temporary exhibit Basquiat: The Unknown Notebooks.  So I guess this is a result of a major inspiration from it.  The must see exhibition runs through April 23rd.

A Robert Motherwell painting.  Design by Thad Hayes

Lauren Santo Domingo Paris Apartment.  Photo by Norman Jean Roy, Vogue, September 2012.  I posted about this gorgeous home here.

Ellsworth Kelly

Josef Albers painting in Kevin Roberts and Timothy Haynes home.

Cy Twombly

A Steven Gambrel Design with an Andy Warhol silkscreen print.

James Nares

Aerin Lauder home designed by Jacques Grange.  I have posted extensively about this amazing designer.  You can read about his home here.

A Willem de Kooning in Valentino’s New York City apartment designed by Jaques Grange via Vanity Fair.  To see another Manhattan apartment designed by Grange click here.

 

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If you find yourself complaining about having nothing to do, here are a few suggestion around the world’s most popular cities for you to choose from.  Because life is too short to spend it inside.

Paris

Saut Hermès: a night-time gallop at the Grand Palais

Wager won, Paris conquered. In seven years, the Saut Hermès at the
Grand Palais has become an unmissable sporting event, which brings the
international show-jumping elite together in the heart of the French
capital. The celebration has always been stunning and it will be so
again on the 17th, 18th and 19th March 2017.

Pad Paris+Art and Design

PAD, pioneering event for Art and Design aficionados and collectors, has
been reinventing for the past 20 years the Cabinet d’Amateur and the
notion of eclecticism, anticipating the esthetic aspirations of its
time. Season after season, it offers an intimate cocoon to those who
have made decorative arts and design the core of their collection,
driven by passion and heritage.  From March 22-26.

New York