Gavelle

Michelle Obama & Jason Wu

Michelle Obama & Jason Wu by gavelle

Michelle Obama's Inaugural Evening Gown

Ahead of the event, speculation runs rampant over what Michelle Obama will wear tonight...will it be the color purple...

Michelle Obama's Night At The Inauguration by gavelle

The Diggs of Michelle Obama's Dress Designer

Picture Windows

Perched atop a turn-of-the-century building in midtown, artist Ruben Toledo and fashion designer Isabel Toledo have created an atelier that feels like a fantasyland.

• By Wendy Goodman 
• Published Feb 12, 2006

(Photo: David Allee)

We would look up into the sky,” remembers Isabel Toledo, “and see this beautiful temple.” She’s talking about the midtown Manhattan loft space in which she and her husband, Ruben, now live, but could only gaze at from the pavement as they walked home from work in 1995. After spying the apartment again while house-hunting across the street, they secured their dream the same year.

When the Toledos finally entered the space, it looked more like a flophouse than the light-filled sanctuary of theirdreams. “It was like archaeology working on this place,” Isabel says. The 300-square-foot upstairs room was originally divided into three, with a dropped ceiling that covered half the giant windows. Moldy carpeting smothered the magnificent terrazzo floors. And the skylit great room below looked “dark, dungeony, basement-like,” says Isabel with a shudder. It took the couple nine months to reveal the apartment’s beautiful bones. Then they filled it with an organic collection of inherited furniture and their own artwork.

The Toledos’ fates have been intertwined since their families fled Cuba separately in the late sixties, and the couple ended up attending the same high school in New Jersey. Isabel became a fashion designer whose eponymous clothing line is followed by everyone from Karl Lagerfeld to Paper magazine editor Kim Hastreiter. Ruben started out doing windows for Fiorucci, was discovered by Andy Warhol and Keith Haring, and now paints and does commissions—a mural for Tiffany & Co., a perfume bottle for Estée Lauder, a Website for Nordstrom. Together, they have established the ideal live-work situation: Isabel takes the elevator down to her workrooms on the lower floors, while Ruben spreads out his paintings beneath the skylight upstairs.

A penthouse disguised as a dingy basement has been restored to its former glory by the vision of two artists who simply went with their gut. “I need to feel space above my head.” Isabel gestures with her hands over her head. “I need to feel the sky is the limit. Literally!”

THE MEZZANINE
(1.) Originally, there was a small loft area above the kitchen. Ruben and Isabel extended it to accommodate a balcony for Ruben’s bookshelves and a sleeping area. Both the mezzanine bookshelves and the remodeled kitchen below were designed by Philip Cozzi.

(2.) The Hula Hoops
Used by Isabel for exercise.

Picture Windows

(Photo: David Allee)

RUBEN’S STUDIO
Where Ruben works on an upcoming book of his artwork, to be published this fall by Karl Lagerfeld and Steidl, as well as illustrated advertising for clients.

(1.) The Lamp Shade
Painted by Ruben and used in a Barneys New York window displaying Isabel’s clothes.

(2.) Bookshelves
By Chris Lehrecke, whose furniture is available through Ralph Pucci International.

(3.) The Cactus
A part of the family, and something of a guard dog. When Woody Allen used the loft as a location for his film Melinda and Melinda, the one thing the crew was asked not to do was move it. They ignored the warning. The cactus retaliated by falling on one of the stars, sending her to the emergency room.

(4.) The Skylight
Comes with amazing views of the Empire State Building.

(5.) The Paintings
Are all by Ruben. This watercolor is a study of a grasshopper Isabel found last summer on their garden terrace.

(6.) The Easels
A hand-me-down collection given to Ruben by friends.

(7.) The Mannequins
Display Isabel’s designs-in-progress.

Picture Windows

(Photo: David Allee)

THE BEDROOM
(1.) The Window
Added by the Toledos and designed by Philip Cozzi.

(2.) The Collage
Made by Ruben from Isabel’s hair cuttings.

(3.) The Streetlights
A gift from a friend, they came from the Watergate Hotel in Washington.

(4.) The Screens
Originally designed by Ruben for the Toledos’ friend Anneliese Estrada, and retrieved when she moved.

Picture Windows

(Photo: David Allee)

DINING-WORKROOM
(1.) The Watercolors
Ceramic teapots, painted by Ruben for a series of fantasy home-design products.

(2.) The Door Frame
Was concealed by an ugly metal door when the Toledos moved in.

(3.) The Iron Railing
Original to the loft.

(4.) The Mannequin
Designed by Ruben for Ralph Pucci International. He painted the graffiti later.

(Photo: David Allee)

(1.) The Table and Chairs
A gift from the late illustrator Antonio Lopez, as is the console by the wall.

(2.) The Chair Jackets
Designed by Isabel to hide the scratches of the previous owner’s cats, they’re like little vests that slip over the chairs.

source: www.nymag.com

Yellow Takes Flight

The color yellow will never go out of style...Michelle Obama's yellow dress on the morning of the inauguration speaks of renewal...fresh, classic, and fun...

Yellow Takes Flight by gavelle

Art That Speaks

The master bedroom in the January 2009 Met Home...the fantastic piece of art is exactly what the times dictate...simple and evocative...check out more of Isa Darleans' work  http://www.isadarleans.com/web-2005/gallery.htm

Mezzanine Library...Movie Resume...anyone?

Christian Lacroix Offers Paris Apartment

By CHRISTINA S.N. LEWIS

Dingreville

Fashion designer Christian Lacroix is selling his Paris apartment.

Fashion designer Christian Lacroix is selling his Paris apartment for €2 million, or about $2.6 million.

The roughly 2,150-square-foot apartment is in the chic Marais district. The house, in a late-17th-century building near the historic Place des Vosges and the Picasso Museum, has an upper floor with public rooms designed around an interior patio of roughly 200 square feet, and a lower floor with four bedrooms.

There's also a mezzanine library. The ceilings are 13 feet high and the apartment has many classic original details, including gilded moldings in the master bedrooms and French doors. The bathrooms and kitchen have been renovated. Mr. Lacroix has already purchased and moved to another apartment in the same neighborhood, according to his listing agent, Xavier Attal, of Paris-based Immo Best International properties.

Tennis's Golovin Lists Condo in Miami

WireImage/Getty Images

Tatiana Golovin

Tatiana Golovin, one of tennis's rising female stars until back problems sidelined her last year, has put her Miami condominium up for sale for $1.3 million.

Ms. Golovin's apartment is in Three Tequesta Point, a 2001 46-story tower on Brickell Key, a triangular island on Biscayne Bay in downtown Miami. The 2,300-square-foot apartment has three bedrooms, three bathrooms and a powder room and includes marble floors and a wraparound balcony, according to the listing. The development has a concierge, a gym, a pool and tennis courts.

Ms. Golovin has spent plenty of time in Florida -- she spent years at the famed tennis camp of Nick Bollettieri. Last year, her back problems forced the Russian-born Ms. Golovin, a French citizen, to drop out of the U.S. Open and the Olympics. Since then, the 20-year-old has made few visits to Miami, according to her listing agent, Polly Schiff, of Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate. Ms. Golovin couldn't be reached for comment.

Mansion With Movie Résumé, $12 Million

In Greenwich, Conn., a restored 1895 home that Hollywood used for the movie "The Good Shepherd" is for sale for $12 million, recently cut from $13.25 million when the house was listed in September.

In the 2006 film, directed by Robert De Niro, the waterfront house stood in for the idyllic childhood home of a blue-blooded CIA spy, Edward Wilson, played by Matt Damon. (The father of Mr. Damon's character commits suicide at the home.)

The 5,000-square-foot colonial-style house, on 1.85 acres, overlooks Long Island Sound and features a wraparound porch overlooking the water and a kitchen with a wood-burning fireplace. The property also has a tennis court and a pool by the water.

Joe Barbieri, of Sotheby's International Realty, has the listing.

Super Friv Out, Micro Long In...

'Pink walls and chandeliers don't feel right. We've had enough of frivolity'

How does design respond to a bleak economic landscape? Philippe Starck, Sir Terence Conran and Kirstie Allsopp debate the future of their industries in these lean times. Report by Caroline Roux

 

Sir Terence Conran, Kirstie Allsopp and Phillippe Starck. Photograph: David Levene

What is the role of the designer now, when we are taking a beating both economically and environmentally?

Philippe Starck There are other priorities now. Perhaps in 30 years it will be interesting to come back and speak about the beauty of a chair or a lamp, but today that seems a bit obscene. Even during the time it takes to do this interview, people will die from a lack of water. We must try to stop design for design's sake. Design has always been political, and now more than ever we focus on new goals, which I call democratic ecology. Everyone talks about ecology, but we need to make it happen, not speak about it.

Terence Conran While I partially agree with Philippe, I still believe in promoting intelligent - I prefer that word to good - design that can help improve people's lives. In economic hard times or not, it's still the same.

Kirstie Allsopp I hope the current economic crisis will lead to people looking for longevity. In an average house I see an enormous turnaround of stuff. There are plenty of homes where nothing is more than five years old. What happened to the things that preceded them? What happened to the possessions of previous generations? It's almost like people had no parents or grandparents. Nothing has been passed on.

PS Longevity is something we really to need to think about. We must bring back the idea of heritage and "transfer" things, not just put them in the garbage. The garbage was a trend of the past 30 or 40 years. Now - no more garbage ...

TC ... which means no more plastic.

PS But there are many things made of plastic, and we don't know how to make them in any other way. You can't make the sort of chairs we make now out of recycled plastic - there is no resistance, no intelligence left in the material. So what will we use?

TC Wood is perfectly sustainable, and I will certainly use it. But the big problem behind all this, of course, is employment. If we design everything for longevity and my shoes last two or three generations, what are all our hands going to do?

PS We need to stop thinking about ownership. We need to look at the idea of renting rather than owning.

KA For the British, renting just about anything is alien. We'd need to go through a huge cultural shift.

PS I mean more that when you buy something, you are obliged to give it back. Like we do with bottles. In the future, you buy the chair, you use the chair and, after 20 years, you bring it back.

KA I go to local auction rooms whenever I can. You see things there that cost 25% of what they would have cost 20 years ago. Last week I bought a 1900s wardrobe for £600. It's fantastic - beautifully made and inlaid, and no one else wanted it.

This comes back to taste. Does it change when the economy changes?

TC In the 70s, when I was doing Habitat and it was the time of the three-day week, we started a range called Basics. We went through the standard house creating necessary things that were good value and simple. We kept it going for a few years and franchised it out to a Japanese store called Seibu. They eventually opened stores called Basics, and later these became Muji. So, you see, some of the best things come out of hard times. We're probably entering a time of simpler things now. Pink walls and chandeliers don't feel right. I think we've had enough of frivolity for a while.

PS We can't afford to keep changing taste so fast. Let's hope fashion in design will disappear. There is a lack of respect when the media says, "You must be dressed in pink", and some poor girl dresses in pink, and six months later when it says, "You must dress in green", she's a monster in her pink dress. We can't accept this kind of manipulation.

What would you invest in now?

KA If we lived in a warmer climate, investing in property might be a completely different thing. But look, it's miserable today - you need shelter. For me, having a home is everything.

TC I'd invest in wine. I can look at it and stroke it. And things that improve the quality of life, like art. Philippe, of course, collects houses.

PS I have a sickness for buying houses. [He refuses to divulge how many he owns.] I don't consider that an investment; it's an addiction.

Have we learned any lessons when it comes to design?

TC The population is much better educated about their homes. They're taking things much more seriously when it comes to the furniture, and the house itself. They are concerned with ecological issues.

KA The thing that always strikes me in people's houses is the number of cookery books. I'd like to see people become as confident about furniture and decoration as they have about food.

PS I think Mydeco [design website mydeco.com] represents this, too. A young guy in London can paint his chair by hand, put it on Mydeco, and a woman in Australia will say, "It's so nice, much better than Starck." And she asks him to design something for her. There will be no more superstar designers like me. The next years will be the time of the microstar. It's our duty, people like me and Terence and Kirstie, to help this new solution along. To make the revolution happen.

Sir Terence Conran, Philippe Starck and Kirstie Allsopp are all on the board of mydeco.com

www.guardian.co.uk

Velvet Flocks Back

Dress the walls with this delicious Velvet Flock Wallpaper at www.creativewallcovering.com

A Neutral version with a textural carry...bergamasque rose at www.designersguild.com

These papers will personalize...the half bath, the dressing room, over or under the chair rail...any space they claim...

Track Trend : Catwalk To Couch

Inside the Mania for Fashion as Art

How a Sedate Museum Ventured to Create a Home for a Sumptuous Costume Collection

Soon after Michael Govan took over at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art three years ago, costumes and textiles curator Sharon Takeda stepped into his office with an unlikely proposal.

She suggested acquiring a rare private trove of European clothes: 550 items of women's, men's and children's pieces -- including exquisite, gold-embroidered courtiers' clothing and Queen Victoria's nightie. While the collection was cohesive and substantial, covering clothing from 1700 to 1915, Ms. Takeda wondered if the new museum director -- a specialist in contemporary art -- would put his reputation on the line for fashion.

Los Angeles County Museum Art

"It wasn't always fashionable to have costume and textile in a museum," she explains. "For many years, we were the poor cousin even within our own museum. Many of our colleagues weren't sure what to do with it -- or whether it was really art."

The ensuing struggle to secure the collection says a great deal about the increasing value that museums are placing on fashion, which is wildly popular with the public yet costs less to collect than painting and sculpture.

Fashion and costume exhibitions have become big draws for museums, bringing new donors and visitors and generating lavish publicity for star-studded opening galas. Last year, New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art drew 576,000 visitors to its "Superheroes" exhibit, says a spokeswoman. A 2005 Chanel exhibit there drew 463,000 visitors. Other notable exhibits include the Philadelphia Museum of Art's exhibition on Italian designer Elsa Schiaparelli in 2004; San Francisco's de Young Museum's Yves St. Laurent exhibit; and the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art's 2006 "Skin & Bones" exhibition on fashion and architecture.

Heard on the Runway

What's more, even as prices for painting and sculpture have blown sky-high in recent years, fashion and textiles remained bargain-priced. Mr. Govan muses, "How much would it cost to be No. 1 in European painting? You couldn't do it at any cost."

Mr. Govan sought change for the museum, which lacked the esteem of many of the city's own residents. Indeed, a few days earlier, he had challenged the staff to find significant, "museum-altering" pieces to acquire.

Yet valuing, acquiring and showcasing a significant fashion collection still posed major hurdles. Mr. Govan was not accustomed to working with fashion -- a word that still draws the occasional wince from him because of its frivolous and commercial connotations. "I had not a clue how to raise money for this. All my friends are in contemporary art," says Mr. Govan. "There are not people sitting around waiting to spend millions of dollars on ... costume."

Still, to Ms. Takeda's delight, he joined her in the fall of 2006 to comb through the European collection in a Basel, Switzerland, warehouse. Ellen Michelson, a longtime donor to the museum, accompanied them to watch as Wolfgang Ruf, a co-seller with Martin Kamer, pulled out items such as men's suits embroidered with gold and elaborate dresses designed to display the wealth of the wearers. One delicately embroidered silk petticoat proved that the more things change, the more they stay the same: It was made in China for export to the West.

There was an exuberant knitted men's vest from the time of the French Revolution. On the left collar was knitted a butterfly and a pair of scissors. On the right, the butterfly's wings lay snipped off, like the metaphorical wings of the country's royalists.

Mr. Govan was intrigued. The museum won't reveal the exact price but says it was several million dollars, less than a single sculpture. "A Richard Serra costs $10 million," he says. "This was less."

Yet Mr. Govan remained skeptical as the group awaited return flights at the Zurich airport. Where would the funding for the purchase come from?

At that moment, Ms. Michelson offered to commit one-third of the price -- enough to negotiate the shipment of the collection to Los Angeles on a three-year payment plan.

Still, the drama wasn't over. The value of the dollar plummeted wildly, raising the cost of Swiss francs, the currency of the deal. Credit markets yo-yoed. Fund-raising stalled. The museum was on the brink of losing the collection for lack of funds by the time the third installment payment was due last summer, when Mr. Govan was seated beside Suzanne Saperstein at a private dinner.

A well-known collector of haute couture, Ms. Saperstein had never before supported the museum. But by dessert, she was ready to see the costume collection, still under wraps in a storeroom. Soon, she was bringing friends to see the collection, including layered silk dresses that display the progress of dressmaking from hand-sewing and vegetable dyes and Paul Poiret pieces that show his elimination of the corset. Eventually, she committed more than half the price of the collection, enabling the museum to seal the deal. Ms. Takeda and her staff are cataloging the collection -- whose acquisition was announced last week -- for a 2010 debut exhibition.

The L.A. museum recently formed "Atelier" -- an elite group of patrons who will help expand the museum's textile collection. As a founding member, Ms. Saperstein has her own hopes for the mark the costume collection might make on her city. "L.A. from a fashion point of view has always been looked down on a little bit," she says. "Hopefully, it'll attract a new group of people -- and hopefully a fashion-forward group of people."

Meanwhile, Mr. Govan has a new commitment to fashion's role in the art world. "When you see this collection, not only are the things visually engaging, but you see a map: In all the elements of fashion are all the elements of how ideas are conveyed through society," he says. "Instead of being frivolous, it turns out to be a core artifact."

by Christina Binkley, www.wsj.com

Green Home Advice

Getting a Consult to 'Green' Your Home

We Hire Eco-Consultants in Four Cities; One Wields a Gizmo to Measure Air Quality By JANE HODGES

American consumers eager to correct their energy-wasting ways and create a more environmentally friendly home can now hire eco-consultants. This growing breed of advisers charge anywhere from $99 to a few hundred dollars for a home visit followed by extensive prescriptions designed to address particular concerns.

Scott Pollack

The field of eco-consulting is mostly composed of small contractors or franchises reliant on solo practitioners in different markets, meaning that the experience of eco-consulting and the training of the consultant can vary. Some eco-consultants offer their services as adjuncts to green cleaning or landscaping businesses, while others offer consults in addition to green remodeling services.

To find out how we could improve our homes' energy consumption, air and water quality, and appliance efficiency, we hired five practitioners in four cities: Green Irene in Seattle; EcoHome Chicago in Chicago; Green on the Inside in Boston; GreenHouse Eco-Cleaning in New York; and Pure Habitat NYC in New York.

Consultants spent anywhere from one hour (EcoHome Chicago) to three hours (Green on the Inside) assessing our homes. In Pure Habitat's case, we arranged a five-hour deep cleaning (for $215), followed by a $40 to $80 eco-consultation. Prices varied from $99 for a Green Irene visit to $250 for an appointment with EcoHome Chicago, the latter of which included two consultants.

Both Green on the Inside and GreenHouse Eco-Cleaning asked us to fill out questionnaires in advance to streamline our meetings, while other consultants asked us questions upon arrival. We told Pure Habitat and GreenHouse Eco-Cleaning, for instance, that we're expecting a new baby and wanted to offer our child a clean indoor environment. We told Green on the Inside about a possible kitchen remodel, and informed Green Irene that we plan to add insulation to our attic and basement in future remodeling efforts.

While consultants did provide well-trod energy tips (swap out regular bulbs for compact fluorescents, don't microwave plastic containers, use a programmable thermostat), they also addressed our specific questions and generally provided concrete alternatives to any problems identified. In many cases, consultants identified solutions for our problems -- or local vendors who could help -- which they then shared with us in follow-up emails.

We learned something new from each of our consultants' visits: EcoHome Chicago taught us that condenser coils behind the refrigerator need semi-annual cleaning to maximize efficiency. GreenHouse Eco-Cleaning used a special measuring device to reassure us that our indoor air quality fell within acceptable levels, but was also able to recommend specific air purifiers. As part of their incredibly thorough "green" cleaning service, Pure Habitat sorted which cleaning products to keep (more eco-friendly ones) versus discard and also referred us to local contractors that test paint for lead content. Green on the Inside articulated why recycled granite, glass or composite materials make better countertops than new granite or formica, and showed us how to check for refrigerator air leaks. Green Irene outlined our options for nontoxic spray insulation (suggested material: Icynene), told us about a balloon-like device that reduces chimney drafts, and gave us referrals for outdoor-lighting specialists and other contractors.

The main difficulty with the consultants, we found, was setting up appointments and receiving follow-up information. With Green Irene, our consultant had a busy schedule and needed to book us at least a week out. In Pure Habitat's case, days would go by before we received a response to email messages. We also received only half of our Pure Habitat final report: We got an email with some specific recommendations, but never did receive the promised package via mail. (At various times, we were told that it had been returned for insufficient postage and that the company had an incorrect ZIP Code for us.) Pure Habitat, to its credit, did not charge us for the eco-consulting portion of our cleaning/consulting appointment. The company's founder, Cory Tixier, said in a phone interview following our meeting that her business is a small operation and is having some growing pains.

While all the eco-consultants offered solutions that may save us money over time, it seems that in the near-term, we'll need to spend it. In the green economy where these eco-consultants operate, going green costs green.

COMPANY/WEB SITE	PRICE/LENGTH OF CONSULTATION	FOCUS AND FINDINGS	COMMENT
Green on the Inside, Boston greenontheinside.net	$175/initial; $75 per hour for follow-ups; $20 travel fee may apply in suburbs.	Consult focused on keeping home environment healthy. Kitchen needed most work in terms of energy waste, use of toxic materials, and lowering bacteria potential.	Consultant promised two-page follow-up report but provided six pages of tips. She also offers other services, such as eco-friendly gardening.
Green Irene, Seattle greenirene.com	$99, 2 hours.	Visit went through nine categories of information. Saving on energy was a major focus, with tips on insulation, plumbing, electrical use, and appliance maintenance/repair.	Green Irene is available in 30 states and the $99 fee includes 6 months of access to "Ask Green Irene," an informal research service and chatboard. Consulting for small businesses (under 50 workers) debuted in January 2009, priced at $250 and up for a four-hour assessment.
GreenHouse Eco-Cleaning, New York greenhouseecocleaning.com	$150, one hour.	Follow-up proposal was filled with specific recommendations, including filters for our shower to remove chlorine and Web sites where we could find organic crib mattresses and beauty products.	We appreciated that our proposal included prices for recommended products and links to where to find many. The local "Greenoipia" guide to eco-friendly services that was included with our follow-up package was a welcome extra.
Pure Habitat NYC, New York purehabitatnyc.com	$215 for deep-clean (5 hours) of a one-bedroom apartment; consult runs $40 to $80 per hour (but we were not charged).	Firm focuses on "green" cleaning with eco-friendly products; recommended local services that could test for lead paint and certain types of plants to help improve air quality.	The cleaning was incredibly thorough: Pure Habitat washed our floors by hand and tackled dustbunnies hiding under furniture. The 'thank you' note and bottle of fabric softener left on our table after the cleaning was a nice touch.
EcoHome Chicago, Chicago ecohomechicago.com	$250, one hour.	Reducing carbon footprint and saving on energy costs. Solutions suggested: Thicker curtains to minimize draft, wrapping water-heater pipes, washing laundry on cold and line drying.	EcoHome offered dozens of helpful tips to save money and cut a home's carbon footprint, but the price seemed high for a one-hour consultation and written report.

—David Kesmodel, Jennifer Levitz and Andrea Petersen contributed to this article.