NYC, a rainy Tuesday in March, 7pm. Ask anyone what makes a memorable evening in a legendary New York City space, the answer will be the big people, big places, and above all, the little things encapsulating…humanity. For me, foodie, dancing, or dramatic evenings have nothing on nights when passion turned into action for a place, the arts and the future are celebrated. This turns me on. Music mogul, David Geffen perfectly and simply captured why he supports the arts, with his recent $100 million donation buying naming rights for Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall:
“I’m a kid from Brooklyn,” he said. “I love New York.”
The Scene: Another legendary “kid from NY” is the most iconic, and symbolic Rainbow Room, spinning “Top of the Rock,” aka 30 Rockefeller Center since 1934. This Art Deco skyscraper boasts an “Oh” at top, magnifying and rippling out in 360 degrees, the boldest dreams of its dancers, feasters and revelers. Recently restored and bestowed landmark status, it’s a BIG room.
And what: Another legend roaring awake again these days is the New York School of Interior Design (NYSID), coming around to its Centennial Year in 2016. Voted one of the best in the nation by the industry, the college’s “guiding principle is that the interior environment is a fundamental element of human welfare and the college is committed to actively improving the quality of life for all segments of humanity.”
Choosing The Rainbow Room for this year’s Annual Benefit Dinner was a genius landmark idea. (And PS, the college has a well-celebrated exhibition on now, Rescued, Restored, Reimagined: New York’s Landmark Interiors, until April 24, on Gotham’s greatest landmarked spaces.)
Now that I’ve given you the big space, here are the big people who filled it: The titans and moguls of the interior design industry are my favorite people, as there’s something about negotiating someone’s dreams while juggling their life, space, taste and budget, hmm…sounds something tantamount to marriage. Takes a socially-adept, psychologically-savvy character with a sense of humanity and humor to choose and master this path.
The ID community in NYC not only works internationally, parties much, vigorously supports philanthropy and honors its own, but clearly, enthusiastically supports its own, as testified by the completely sold-out NYSID Annual Benefit Dinner event, supporting scholarships for the designers of tomorrow. (Those are those green-shoot students hunkered down below in search of knowledge pouring over AutoCAD plans whilst the gala goers smartly spin above.)
“It’s one of the design community’s most anticipated annual events,” rightly coos Patricia M. Sovern, NYSID board chairman. So I coo’ed and convinced my talented artist and photographer pal, Alvaro Montagna, to join me and the hundreds come to honor Bunny Williams, John Rosselli, Edmund Hollander, and the New York Restoration Project. Headliners were benefit co-chairs, Alexa Hampton and David Scott, interior designers and NYSID trustees; Betsey Ruprecht, antiques dealer and NYSID trustee; and Newell Turner, editorial director of Hearst Design Group.
Ready to dive in with us and discover the Stars, Legends and Evening Bests?
BEST ELEVATOR UP WITH LEGENDS STORY 
How uncanny to share the elevator up the NBC tower with Ellen Ward Scarborough, antiques dealer, Mrs. to Mr.Chuck Scarborough, the lead anchorman of NBC-TV and Debbie Bancroft! I joined both beauties headed north to the 65th floor. Both in stellar black dresses, dishing about shoes, like any girlfriends, in particular a gift of designer barely-worns from Beth DeWoody. I always heard Beth was super generous in terms of the arts, now you have it, she does shoes, too.
Alvaro was so struck by the women’s golden glow, that he actually tried to elbow Chuck out of this photo, before he realized who the venerable gentle giant and 31-time Emmy award winner was! “Oh, Chuck…sure, um Sir…yes, you get right in there!”
BEST RESCUE-ROMPING ADVENTURE OF THE EVENING 
Life is an Adventure with Alexa! Seen here with Pat Sovern and Newell Turner, Alexa Hampton, in a gorg ombre’d blue gown, was as blue as her dress earlier in the evening. She mistakenly left her speech in her evening purse, in an Uber owned by a “Jose” sixty-five floors down.
I seriously doubt there was an actual memo to dress in Art Deco black and silvers to honor the building’s design, probably just a telepathic design vibe among this crowd. Memo or not, honorees and partners, John Rosselli and Bunny Williams win the prize for best dressed and best life. Their curation was introduced to me by my client, designer, Scott Sanders, he of an impeccable eye. I’d seen the magazine spreads of glorious homes and spectacular antiques, it was a thrill to meet them both. (I always want to call her Bunny Wailer, wait, am I the only one?) (Plug: My silk blouse is from Christine Manthey) (and…one of the little things…John Rosselli’s bright red socks with this ensemble, they say a lot)
BEST NY CHIC TWIN SANDWICH
Also mugging, designers Jayne Michaels, Brad Ford and Joan Michaels brought the dark and delicious intrigue to the mix. Brad in the middle is known for a super sleek, earthy aesthetic as well as his Field and Supply, a modern take on a country craft fair, and designing as 2Michaels, the twins bring a light, savvy eye, and rich history.
If you hadn’t noticed, bringing back the sexy in party pics is what’s next. Beyond stiff portraits, posing and selfies, we vote for old school images, like my favorite below from Miles Ladin. You must admit the bobbed, mugging Michaels above, remind one of Linda Evangelista, below, right?
And see the gorgeous, smoking blond in the leopard spots in the back? At this benefit dinner, that role was clearly played by NYSID trustee, Betsey Ruprecht, below.
BLONDS HAVING THE MOST FUN
Betsey…basically brings the life to the party. The gold-studded antiques dealer and designer has the power and presence to draw smiles. Here she’s corralled designer, Sandra Nunnerley, who wore the chic-est silk quarter sleeve top with sleek, cropped black slacks, very 1950’s updated. See more evidence re: The Betsey, below:
Way better than an Ellen-like group selfie here, yes, this is the “gathering, get-ready moment” before the “staged” version…and I love it so much more! L to R, Charlotte Barnes, Debbie Nielsen, Pat Sovern, Betsey and that smiling lady in black, Stacey Bewkes of Quintessence.
TIED FOR BEST TAKE AN ELEVATOR WITH A LEGEND STORY
Above, one husband of Betsey, Bill Ruprecht, former CEO of Sotheby’s. He’s going up, and if you catch him alone in a burled wood elevator, he’s up for some silliness. Alvaro stepped in to join Bill, announced his photo coverage of the party and added, “You know, a little gig between my Sports Illustrated swimwear shoots.” Bill promptly replied, “Yes, it’s just not the season for it, eh?” Ba-dum-bump.
OTHER TOWERS OF DESIGN POWER
The First Lady in this town and beyond is Margaret Russell, editor in chief of Architectural Digest. Joined by Jesse Carrier, one half of the design team, Carrier and Company. (Just a little in favor of the media, fashion, photography, and film types, with Vogue‘s Anna Wintour, Jane Rosenthal, Town and Country’s Jay Fielden, Jason Wu and Annie Leibovitz as clients.)
Drivers of good taste, all: Michael Bruno of 1stdibs.com, Lisa and Cary Kravet (see below) and interior designer, and now author, Suzanne Rheinstein.
I was happy to see Ellen Kravet, trustee at NYSID, a true Kravet, a legend in New York for its family-run, to-the-trade fabric and home furnishings business. How much do I love her Art-Deco get-up? She’s the head woman of her family-owned fabric leader, bring on the patterns! (We wrote about their DVF launch, here.)
Design legend Jamie Drake shares a secret with Clinton Smith about using the inspiration of 30 Rock’s floors in his next project. Mr. Smith reacts.
Martha Stewart is a regular Star at NYSID galas, always escorted by a sharp gent. I’m kind of loving her earthy cape over the wrap dress, with soft gold purse and hair.
Somehow I missed seeing Bari Mattes, most recently, president of the Tory Burch Foundation, alongside such a friendly face in the middle, Archie Gottesman, along with Jill Dienst‘s husband, Dan Dienst, CEO of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia.
One of the main reasons NYSID reached top status for its graduate and undergraduate programs is president, David Sprouls, holding the torch for the growth, strength and professionalism of the industry, here with his wife, Kate Wood, president of the preservation group Landmark West and co-curator of NYSID’s landmarks exhibition. Joining them is Jill Dienst, doyenne of all things Dane and a super fun, energized woman to talk art, design and Feng Shui with.
The light for all the world will shine on true glamour. Combined with giving, everything about this image makes me smile. Viola, we give you Julianne Andersen and Dennis Miller, NYSID Trustee.
BEST DRESSED SECRETS FROM LADIES WHO KNOW THE DEAL
Another cheery woman who always brings a smile is Jane Chen, vice president for finance and administration at NYSID, here with fellow trustee, Anne-Korman and et moi, Jade Dressler. Only at a design event would we be having this much fun over each other and sharing Jane’s best-kept sartorial secret, her Hong Kong tailor. With all the personality these ladies have, I still didn’t get the name of the tailor.
I mean. Wouldn’t you entrust the world to these gals? Presenting Emilia Saint Amand, (love a woman in a silk dress who looks like she could easily commandeer a sailboat in a hurricane.) And Ann Pyne, president of McMillen, Inc, the oldest and most esteemed interior design firm in New York.
De rigeur for boys, ain’t the Thom Browne cute suit anymore, it’s all about the malas! In my favorite Billy Farrell pic from the event, David Kleinberg, Sam Allen, Christopher Spitzmiller compare malas.
BEST INDUSTRY PILLARS AND POOL BOYS
James Druckman is one always-dapper gentleman. At the helm of the industry as president of the New York Design Center and a trustee of NYSID, he is here with designer Ellie Cullman. Dan Quintero on the right, is the hero of Kips Bay Boys and Girls Club, as executive director. The passion the ID community brings to supporting that charity is remarkable! We covered Kips Bay this past fall, here.
So many supporting industry folks in the room, these two pool boys- from the Southhampton-based J. Tortorella company looked like they needed a floater, so we swam over. (I know, so corny, but summer is coming and we all need a laugh, a relief from another snowy, rainy, is-it-Spring-YET-evening?)
CURATORS OF LIVING WELL
While we didn’t meet in an elevator this evening, I have to thank both Susanna Salk, elegant design commentator on multiple platforms and Carolyn Englefield, editor at Hearst, for taking me higher. Golden girls of taste.
The one note of green in the room, a nice nod to that aspect of outdoor design and sustainability on trustee and designer, David Scott. Top of the always-elegant list, publicist and home decor platform expert, Cristina Juarez and Traditional Home magazine design editor, Star, Tori Mellott.
Tori’s self admitted “just tossed together” ensemble wins my Best Shoes of the Evening Prize, for her silver Roger Vivier‘s paired with wine-hued stockings. Which by the way is a definite spring trend. I am seeing it once a day on the gamine gams of NYC. I also saw it on a creme colored ronoculous flower edged in wine yesterday in a flower shop…I diverge…but you design folks get it.
GLAMINES OF NEW YORK
It’s so easy to swoon over Amy Lau, a redhead designer with a taste for red or gold dresses + dramatic entrances and spaces, see our coverage on her Ciao, Roma! room at Holiday House, here. Congrats to Sophie Donelson, the new editor in chief at House Beautiful. Between her midnight blue dress, mane of power brown hair, looking for all the world like Jackie O‘s sister…she ruled the room!
MORE RED PASSION IN ACTION
This girl in red. Watch her. She’s like Waldo. When I worked with NYSID, Catarine Wright was everywhere, volunteering, leading, giving events…showing up at events. Now a designer with James Rixner, this girl knows how to celebrate, give her time and basically put her passion into action. This is a huge ingredient for Star Interior Designer Status and Success. It was so good to see her (can you tell there’s mutual love here?)
STARS OF THE BEST NEXT GENERATION
Here just may be Catarine’s successor…world, please meet Jourdun Kristopher. Sartorially-smart, wise for his years, he’s a new student at NYSID, already volunteering with to help with the dinner.
It was fun to chat with him after the party moved inside for the dinner. Our evening’s work a wrap, Alvaro and I asked the bartender for two Manhattans, seemed like a good way to toast a super-fun evening with some of NYC’s top design legends partying for the next wave of design stars…before we headed out into the rain and rainbow neon of midtown NYC.
Alvaro Montagna and I wish to thank NYSID, David Sprouls, Ellen Fisher, Samantha Hoover, Elizabeth Kogen, Samantha Fingleton, Michael McGraw, John Mineri and Billy Farrell for their various gifts, such as the invitation, time, support, and for an exquisite evening!
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Written by Jade Dressler, most images by Alvaro Montagna with supporting images from Billy Farrell. Please let us know of any names or titles we goofed on. Thank You!
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Filed under: ARCHITECTURE, INTERIOR DESIGN, NEW YORK, NEW YORK Restaurants, NEW YORK Style, NY GREEN | Closed
Tags: 2Michaels, 30 Rock, Alexa Hampton, Alvaro Montagna, Amy Lau, Ann Pyne, Anne Korman, annual dinner, Bari Mattes, Beth DeWoody, Betsey Ruprecht, Bill Ruprecht, Brad Ford, Bunny Williams, Carolyn Englefield, Cary Kravet, Catarine Wright, Charlotte Barnes, Christine Manthey, Christopher Spitzmiller, Chuck Scarborough, Clinton Smith, Cristina Juarez, Dan Dienst, Dan Quintero, David Geffen, David Kleinberg, David Scott, David Sprouls, Debbie Bancroft, Debbie Nielsen, Deborah Marton, Dennis Miller, design scholarships, Edmund Hollander, Elizabeth Kogen, Ellen Fisher, Ellen Kravet, Ellen Ward Scarborough, Ellie Cullman, Emilia Saint Amand, interior design, J. Tortorella, James Druckman, Jamie Drake, Jane Chen, Jayne Michael, Jesse Carrier, Jill Dienst, Jim Druckman, Joan Michael, John Rosselli, Jourdun Kristopher, Julieanne Andersen, Kate Wood, landmarks, Linda Evangelista, Lisa Kravet, Margaret Russell, Martha Stewart, Michael Bruno, Michael McGraw, miles ladin, New York School of Interior Design, Newell Turner, NYRP, NYSID, NYSID gala 2015, Patricia Sovern, philanthropy, Sam Allen, Samantha Fingleton, Samantha Hoover, Sandra Nunnerly, Scott Sanders, Sophie Donelson, Susanna Salk, Suzanne Rheinstein, The New York Restoration Project, The Rainbow Room, Top of the Rock, Tori Mellott
As the wintry, snowy mix in #NYC this week ebbs…we found our own mix + warmth as usual in fluff from flashy awards + fashion shows, and snarky media to nature and the esoteric.
We’ve spotted 9 trends, c’mon follow our series for instant transformation of the deep chill of 2015,
*from group sleepovers at the home of a dominatrix to astonishing tinder surveys to star-shaped snowflakes to…*
#4 venerating ancestors, grey elders of ‘un certain age,’ now a ‘plus ultra trend’ playing everywhere!
Winter is always about tucking in to the Time-honored, an homage to roots buried deep in the snow. While the Elder Demographic this winter was suddenly chicer than ever… I am dedicating this post to my own living elder ancestor, my mother, now recovering from surgery, and below her stint as Snow Princess in a wintry parade, circa 1950’s. Here’s hoping this trend towards ELDERS continues, even as the earth warms to Spring.
Call it a modern form of Ancestor Worship. We like it.
Every winter in NYC, we sail through the gates of the majestic Armory to join the parade of princesses and princes of Young Collectors Night at the Winter Antiques Show. It is a cold-snap tradition, an homage to the elders of design.
Inside the vast, stately Park Avenue Armory, this year I was most transfixed by a late 17th/early 18th century pair of carved Bath stone armorial hounds, on duty above, oddly wise and laughing in the naive style. I kept petting the pups’ moss, feeling like it was the oldest, realist energy in the space and touching it might connect me to timeless Celtic Druids or even the elder hotness of Madonna/Annie Lennox at the Grammys, as if these were the energetic guardians of the gates of 2015.
I somehow managed this little elder ecstasy while also strolling the show with our client, designer Scott Sanders and Austin of Fremont Blue Events. Other worship-worthy elder statesmen and women paraded about, those royal guardians of design, emerged from their winter lairs, including curators, Tracy Stern and Renee Vara (seen below with me); publicists Michael McGraw and Stacy McLaughlin; designer, Geoffrey Bradfield; editors, Newell Turner, Wendy Goodman; and curator, Liz O’Brien. Legends, Ivanka Trump, Nate Berkus and Isaac Mizrahi were also strolling through, testifying to this growing passion for antiques, a sort of ELDERS worship. The lure and intrigue of ancient relics in our lives, re-purposed, taps us into the Timeless. (And can you spot the vintage frocks below?)
This season the trends at the show included naive, Early Americana, and I love it for the simple, wise, soothing vibe. To wit, look at this wise ‘ole owl. I love him/her as a reminder of what the grey gardens of Winter and Elders can reveal. You can see it paired in a well-lit modern barn or warehouse adaptive -reuse abode with something cooly modern and fluffy, like a light orange Creamsicle or lavender velvet chaise, yes? Those all-knowing, sneering, put-you-in-your-place-eyes, …hmmm…
…I think they are something akin to The Elder Prince‘s knowing, creamsicle-covered, wise King-sneer, yes? As truly the most exciting thing at this year’s Grammy Awards, you know it’s because he is the King Elder of music, having taught everyone…everything!
Pop culture has been rife with Elders Rule evidence lately. Now we see that Prince rules the music world, as does Tom Jones’ woo-woo-ing again at the Grammys, and of course, Lady Gaga’s teaming with Tony Bennett. In fashion, among many examples, there was the recent hot Father Time guys in Goth gear for Rick Owens’ Fall/Winter 2014 look book, featuring no less than a sprite 93-year old model.
And you saw legendary musician, Joni Mitchell’s appearance on a recent cover of New York mag which followed designers Celine and Saint Laurent crowning as muses, Joan Didion and Joni, respectively, yes? We all know gals like Joan and Joni, elders gifted with piercing eyes, words and hearts.
“Yes, Spring is coming,” said my friend Lucy Raubertas, who is one of THEM, and whose age 59 looks more like yesterday’s 33, on a winter’s evening visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art...and she should know. She has created a portal to the immortal lady Clarimonde, based on the 1908 story, a compendium of historical artifacts for modern lives desiring to dip and dive into the past at will. Lucy is a self-proclaimed hedonist, so many wise ELDERS are for good reason, so let drip the icicles, time to get back in the flow.
Like Pandora’s box, ancient people, places and things as libraries, museums, and portals of ancient wisdom are opening via Pinterest to Fountain of Youth-worthy breakthroughs, such as scientists’ recent freezing of light, the fastest traveling ‘thing,’ itself. Still, the equation remains the same. We are between Earth and Sky. The earth still rolls in the sky, even while we practice ancient arts like yoga and stop our breath and thoughts with meditation. This veneration of elders is more likely a return and remembering the roots of everything. We can go deeper than venerating sporty, older legendary pop stars or cool antiques alone. Let me lead you through a couple of layers plucked from 1000’s of years of ancient trends re-surfacing. Here, just let your inner wise person nod your head and say,”y…e…s…”
The art of the past two-thousand years opens The Plains Indians: Artists of Earth and Sky this Spring at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Below, a man’s shirt, easily imagined on a Brooklyn hipster. YES.
Seen on runways, kids sporting fringe reaching to the earth like roots, is sure to proliferate as hipsters roam the earth as she thaws. How many of those elder-worshipping beards, trapper caps, vintage furs and seventies fringe will be among us this Spring? More ancient than human ancestors, finding ways to honor the animal brother and sister elders is an Original People concept we have yet to explore. YES.
Our hipster might also be touching further on the elder-kinship wheel of life, drinking the hot, juicy Winter tonic of elderberries found in new kinds of age-defying elixirs, such as Komucha probiotic beer from Beyond Brewing Company. Anthropomorphising of nature’s plant world is a form of ancestor worship we as a culture still have as a vast plains to explore, way beyond Disney characters. Can any of us identify a medicinal plant as easily as a Mid-Century chair? NO. (I thought not.)
TREND SPOTTING LEAN: We have a ways to go my fellow Earthwalkers. Get to know snowy owls here or bone up on botanicals here. Chat up these elders today!
BUY IT: If you are more inclined, get a pair of stoned dogs from Barbara Israel Garden Antiques or a 1860’s folk owl oil painting at Jeffrey Tillou Antiques…Prince, I know we all want him, but HIM, honey, money can’t buy, he’s priceless.
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by Jade Dressler, images happily credited.
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Filed under: FASHION, HOME, NEW YORK, STYLE, TRENDS | Closed
Tags: Annie Lennox, Barbara Israel, Beyond Brewing Company, Celine, Clarimonde, elderberries, elders, Fremont Blue Events, Geoffrey Bradfield, Grammys, Isaac Mizrahi, Ivanka Trump, Jeffrey Tillou Antiques, JOan Didion, JOni Mitchell, Lady Gaga, Liz O'Brien, Lucy Raubertas, Madonna, Michael McGraw, Nate Berkus, Newell Turner, Park Avenue Armory, Plains Indians, Prince, Renee Vara, Rick Owens, Saint Laurent, Scott Sanders, snow princess, snowy owls, Stacy McLaughlin, Tom JOnes, Tony Bennett, Tracy Stern, Wendy Goodman, Winter Antiques Show
Wintry mix in #NYC this week…we are finding our own mix + warmth as usual in fluff from flashy awards + fashion shows, and snarky media, to nature and the esoteric.
We’ve spotted 9 trends, c’mon follow our series for instant transformation of the deep chill,
*from group sleepovers at the home of a dominatrix to astonishing tinder surveys to star-shaped snowflakes to…*
#3 self-made everywhere!
Sleep no more! Wait no more!
It’s not everyday you get an evening invite to the home of a A Real Dominatrix to cuddle and watch a classic movie with 20 gal pals. One thing was clear, this “Domme” was a SELF-MADE woman! Maybe it’s the backlash (no pun intended) from the incessant whippings everywhere (!) of 50 Shades of Grey. Or maybe it’s the subtle surfing of emotional accomplishment that a woman-dominatrix represents, this appeals, simply and suddenly, that the gift of transformation, play, and magic appear in her midst.
THE OFFERING OF SELF-MADE AT ALTAR
“We all have so many sides of ourselves, so many rich personalities living deep within us that want to play, that never get a chance to have their existence validated.” says The Real Dominatrix. “We end up playing with the same ones over and over again, ad nauseum, and our cultural myth of a single ego/identity does nothing to help. The tyranny of consistency in communication and being will kill us all or bore us to death. It’s responsible for so much of the gray, restless dissatisfaction that is rampant.”
Are you surprised that The Real Dominatrix is also an artist and this photo below is by her?
The idea of SELF-MADE today is much more than a person who has created wealth or a persona “without inheritance” or from nothing. There are more of these types than ever before, I see this idea as literally the option for all of us to recognize that to play, to be the changeling, is the whole truth.
Every altar is for sacrifice in the name of LOVE, whether in the name of spirituality, sex play or beyond. The gold of SELF-MADE is enlightenment itself, the un-bounding of fixed roles. Becoming the altar for someone else in the name of LOVE is the highest play. We explore this making in roles, genders and disguises and venerate those venturing goes beyond the limits of a 50% Mommy, 50% Daddy composition, those leaping into the 100% universal energetic playground!
“I am what I am because of who we all are” is a rallying cry and definition for humanity, and also defines that relationships and the roles we play are integral to individuality.
Now, mind you, I live in NYC, full of the most fascinating, passionate SELF-MADE individuals in the world. However, Houston, we have a problem. Too many of us sophisticates are clueless on who we are and what we want in relationships. For example, take this experiment on Thrillist recently:
A WOMAN ASKED 100 MEN ON A DATE ON TINDER
That’s the boys, girls…worse:
I ASKED ONE HUNDRED NYC WOMEN ON TINDER DATES. HERE’S WHAT I LEARNED.
They joke, they say Paris, they say Chuckie Cheese, and lastly, sadly, the Thrillist Tinder dating experiment here, revealed that a majority of average, submissive woman, when asked where they want to go on a date, have no clue how to tell a man where their desire is.
Have these gals not heard of The Law of Attraction? Where are their Spirit Animals???
MISTRESS OF SELF MADE: MADONNA
#AskHerMore is not a hashtag regarding your dominatrix or dullard potential date, it was a campaign on the red carpets at this season’s award shows spearheaded by Reese Witherspoon, Shonda Rhimes, and Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls, decrying the typical reporter questions to women emphasizing who dressed/made them vs. more thoughtful questions on their art. While I applaud this focus, basic media training insists one take the ‘bull by the horns’ in one’s response to any reporter question! Stop whining lady stars! A Real Dominatrix would seamlessly and creatively mention one’s outfit, the symbolism, and make a statement about oneself in one breath.
Artist/Changeling/Madonna does this every time. Her toreador outfit choice placed her again as the Top Domme of Play. Even her Rebel Heart lyrics taunted the bulls and nay-sayers of her signature metamorphosis with: “I’ve shed my skin, Letting it go and I’ll start again, start again, Never look back.”
(and, I say we can really celebrate when men can be as free as the women to play this way on the red carpet!)
The Madonna gets points for always being on the make…the SELF-MAKE. Peep her soul bearing comments on ‘regrets’ which are actually way more SELF-revealing and inspiring than her outfits:
“Everyone has regrets. I have regrets for the smaller things, which ultimately are the bigger things in life. For instance, I regret not being more grateful certain times in my life. I regret not being more compassionate. I regret not saying I’m sorry. I don’t have any career regrets. I have human-being regrets.”
BULL-LEAPING. THE HOW-TO DO SELF-MADE BETWEEN TWO
‘Taking the bull between the horns,’ dominating and by turns giving in to another was an ancient ritual sport, today the ritual is played out in bedrooms to balance the beasts of boardrooms, schoolrooms, and everywhere we make our selves.
My favorite new take on meeting oneself in another, leaping in faith with one’s raging bullish desires, is the boy meets girl dance in Eugenio Recuenco‘s video,Toro, playing out underneath a big symbol of a bull. Dancing with aggression and passion tames the beast…something like LOVE. The setting, the lonely highway, the lonely mountain top, the play back and forth of emotion, posturing the SELF, drawn to, and pilgrimaging towards the MADE.
Take a run with us and the bulls here, a condensed version of the video’s visual treats.
He is The Bull, stands his ground on his mountain, albeit, his projected self, propped up.
She sees him on the mountain, from below, taking her time to ponder moving towards him.
She begins towards him, fluffy, pink.
She bares more, as the pace picks up, a Venus in a Rudi Gernreich-ish bathing suit.
He then is the Doubter, he demurs, like a child on a swing, hiding, he sacrifices his masculinity. Or does he?
She is the Pioneer. She advances, cocooned in black, with one red stripe of passion, a Venus in fur.
She is the seeker, red passion on her foundation, soft pink at her heart.
The male god grooms, he waits in rebel stance, albeit in surrendering white.
Back in black, he postures, he watches her.
She re-evaluates. She is the sun, the tart lemon, the winged bird.
They meet. She is silvery, fluid, a mirror. What happens next? Aha! The Real Dominatrix would never tell the ending! See for YOURSELF the Toro video from Eugenio Recuenco here.
MASTER OF SELF MADE: KANYE
LOVE or HATE on Kanye the Controversial, in a stance most vulnerable, a recent interview by Dirk Standon in Style.com reveals how he took a whipping and kept on ticking.
On Kanye the Versatile as a fashion designer, previously submissive to the fashion press, now getting all SELF-MADE with it:
“I realized that it had all been a scam, that it had all been smoke and mirrors to present this concept that a straight black guy out of Chicago that’s a rapper, that’s married to a reality star, could somehow not design a coat, that can’t design a T-shirt, that can’t have enough of an opinion. You know, it’s like voting. Fashion is merely an opinion.”
Perhaps Kanye intrigues for all his ego, his fumbling, his vulnerability. There is the key. It’s not hidden by drugs, handlers, or a refined, bogus pretension. Nope, he’s all there, raw, un-censored, SELF-MADE, figuring it out, and the hell with what everyone else thinks.
GOT NO INHERITANCE, TRUST FUND, HANDLERS, SUBORDINATES, WHIPPING BOYS, OR GIRLS? FEAR NOT! YOU HAVE IMAGINATION!
TREND SPOTTING: “You’re the Director!” challenges goddess-like Vanda to her sub-boy- director in Venus in Furs from Roman Polanski. It’s my favorite line, see here my previous post on the same movie The Real Dominatrix screened the night of our sleepover. (so worth seeing twice!) Then here’s just one of millions now, a SELF-MADE blogger, Instagram-conquering gal, Aimee Song, constantly looking fabulous and my biggest props, she’s a DIY’er, hand-making her clothes!, here she is in her $ELF-MADE shirt above and below. Did she make this shirt? If you are too busy to care or making your millions, you can get her look for less with a Rick Ross T here. I imagine she made it, while domme-dancing somewhere, rapping with Ross, “Born to win, Look around, From the projects to the penthouse, Our vision never changed, we SELF-MADE.”
HOW TO’s: If you are still feeling clueless, the name of the Dominitrix is Kasia Urbaniak. No link, she’s not good at marketing, she says. If you want it, you have to go and get it. Ladies, she’s offering classes, men…you’re on your own. (update…the anti-marketer, The Real Dominatrix has deigned, and gives her digits thusly…kasia@kasiaurbaniak.com)
(and yep, group sleepovers at the home of a dominatrix was the teaser,
I’ve out with it.
Will you still read the next 6 in the series? Say it. YES, Mistress, I will😉
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Filed under: FASHION, FILM | Closed
Tags: #askhermore, 50 shades of grey, aimee song, Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls, bull-leaping, dating, Dirk Standen, dominatrix, Eugenio Recuenco, Kanye, Kasia Urbaniak, Madonna, NYC, Reese Witherspoon, Rick Ross, Roman Polanski, Rudi Gernreich, SELF-MADE, Shonda Rhimes, Thrillist, Tinder, toro, Venus in Fur
#2 crazy, sexy quilts of prophetesses, everywhere!
Wintry mix in #NYC this week…we are finding our own mix + warmth as usual in fluff from flashy awards + fashion shows, and snarky media, to nature and the esoteric.
We’ve spotted 9 trends, c’mon follow our series for instant transformation of the deep chill,
*from group sleepovers at the home of a dominatrix to astonishing tinder surveys to star-shaped snowflakes to…*
#2 crazy, sexy quilts of prophetesses, everywhere!
In days of yore, Winter-crazy, sexy girls transformed the long nights by “crazy quilt” making, gossip, wise women cures, and creative pre-Pinterest-like maneuvers with cloth and comradeship. Today the ladies of transformation gather followers on Twitter, New Moon soirees, and fill auditoriums everywhere, this time, talking good old, spiritual truths sown together from precious scraps of ancient wisdom (plus general overall Kindness to self and others.) Cometh the quilt-mistresses advising on how to patch and re-work lives from grey clouds to shiny stars. I call this: “Home-Spun Girls Representing” or QUILT, for short.
The Universe is smiling from above at this new QUILT of seekers and sowers.
One frigid eve, my integrative physician doctor client, Dr. Vincent Pedre, and I joined two of my favorite “Home Girls” for a new quilting bee of 900 true believers, 99% women and over 1000 more streaming live around the world. A gathering for centuries-old wisdom re-worked in new comforting, albeit, “rockstar” lingo. We settled into our seats at the Tisch Center for the Arts at 92 St. Y, which is well-known for its gatherings of thought leaders for long, long time now. No doubt this trend for comforter gatherings serving up wisdom, food, and truth appeal to our fireside chat primals percolating after too much time staring at the big blue computer screen gods. Was it quilt-ish and cultish? Yes. Warm and cozy. Why Yes.
On stage, the silvery, beautiful Kris Carr and my old friend and PR partner, in all her new brilliance, Gabby Bernstein, were like prophetess phoenixes shining in glittery, quilt patterned dresses bestowing chill-out wisdom. They shared their triumphs over cancer and addiction from a new, shining mountaintop, complete with Grandmother stories and a quilt of admitted, egoic-guilt-trips thrown into the scrap heap to be re-sown with new mantras of self-love. Onward crazy, sexy soldier-esses!
Quilting re-orders functioning. Scraps turn into sacred geometry, patches mend holes, souls, and are a re-think of our impact on the material world, the hand-made craze…
OK, it’s a 1970’s redux! Groovy, quilt oracles and mantras on repeat coming soon to your body and home.
Above, the case-in-points-flowers-dots-patterns of one my favorite brands, House of Holland, above for Spring 2015. Maybe it’s what’s next after urban knit bombing or maybe a reaction to terrorist bombings…I think it’s more in line with this cultural shift proffered by a Prophetess, a ‘global gatekeeper,’ also known as a fashion director for Vogue India,
“Our era is about the cross-pollination of ideas and I love it when I can be part of projects that require different ideas, cultures and sensibilities,” said Bandana Tewari in Business of Fashion recently.
Watch how this quilted patchwork is emerging from hearts, the streets, into fashion and home trends, and watch how designer, Henry Holland, evolves a pop pattern aesthetic mixing into “patchwork” for the next two seasons…as just one thread…
Like an ‘Ain’t no stopping’ us Now” mantra, these war-painted macaw birds, above, for Resort are ready to pilgrimage Warmth and Snaky Transformation into Fall 2015, below evolving into one of the best Mix of Madras, Secretary Skirt, and 90’s grunge-cleaned-up I’ve ever witnessed! Praise!
And then, recently both a top interior designer and a luxury product developer independently whispered to me the word “quilts” in terms of inspiration…and suddenly Grandma Moses Chic is proclaimed from on high! Patchwork was all over the streets during fashion weeks…
…and the design shows, from New York’s The Collective last year to Paris’ Maison & Objet this January…
We saw sleek modern pastiches that remind me of my 1960’s Barbie-doll furniture to this prophetic, enough-with-Mid-Century-Modernism!, Colonialism meets Ikea piece, below, which opened The Collective Show last season. Set in a cozy mis-en-scene, next to a little cozy coffee-klatch space in a vast former post-office warehouse space, a re-mix message was delivered to the masses. Coming soon to West Elm.
Also, at the Collective, homey-fabrics and sewing stitches on ceramics and furniture is the signature of Hella Jongerius, her fabric “water jugs” below are from design gurus, Murray Moss and Franklin Edward Getchell of Moss Bureau, preacher-eases of this aesthetic, long, long time now.
At Maison & Objet in Paris this January, Missoni Home‘s new color plays, are not your 90’s pattern mix…or is it?
I still love, love bright African prints, a very wise, ageless, long-tail trend given all the fashion and interiors product development going on there. For me, these new frontiers harken back to my work with Aid To Artisans in the 1980’s, now in full swing, on a much grander scale. Peep this patched pattern armchair by Philippe Bestenheider seen in dezeen. Because, what’s original contains the seeds of wisdom, re-working, repeating, and re-tracing is so QUILT!
And yes, Virginia, quilts are going crazy as never before, evolving into modern art like this computer “threads” design, above to this ‘i” quilt from Quiltcon, below.
“At times I feel alone, but I am not. I am supported by many friends and family,” says Kathy York, who won Best of Show for her “i Quilt,” “These are the little ‘i’ blocks that make up the big central ‘i.’ The other ‘i’ blocks in the field are for all the people I have never met that support my life.”
What a mystical, material girl!
Yo, Are you getting cozy with it?
TREND SPOTTING: The gals redefining wellness as per Refinery 29 to the goods, Parson Gray’s hipster quilting fabrics.
GET ENLIGHTENED: Miracles Now: 108 Life-Changing Tools for Less Stress, More Flow and Finding Your True Purpose by Gabrielle Bernstein, published by Hay House, which is fronted by a Queen Bee, the prophetic 88-year old wise woman, Louise Hay, whose 1976 little blue book Heal Your Body, is a bible I’ve been thumping for years!
Yo, “Home-Spun Girls Representing” are you QUILT’in yet? XOXO LOVE.
(and yep, group sleepovers at the home of a dominatrix was a teaser,
you’ll just have to read the next 7 in the series!)
********
by Jade Dressler, images happily credited.
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Filed under: FASHION | Closed
Tags: 92nd St Y, Aid to Artisans, bandana tewari, business of fashion, crazy, Dezeen, Franklin Edward Getchell, Gabrielle Bernstein, Hella Jongerius, henry holland, house of holland, Kathy York, Kris Carr, Louise Hay, Maison et Objet, Missoni Home, Moss Bureau, Murray Moss, Parson Gray, patches, Philippe Bestenheider, quiltcon, quilts, sexy, The Collective Show
Wintry mix in #NYC this week…we are finding our own mix + warmth as usual in fluff from flashy awards + fashion shows, and snarky media, to nature and the esoteric.
We’ve spotted 9 trends, c’mon follow our series for instant transformation of the deep chill,
*from group sleepovers at the home of a dominatrix to astonishing tinder surveys to star-shaped snowflakes*
#1 star love is everywhere!
Star Snowflakes have been gifted! Thank God I am not crazy! I saw the wee #Star #Snowflakes above one morning and I was astonished. I’ve never seen these in my whole life. I took them for something akin to the plasticine soy patties faking life as hamburgers. I had paranoid thoughts as if this was a fake NASA seeded #snow storm, or help! maybe these were drones peopled by microscopic, galactic Air b-n-b’ers.
Of course there’s a reason! Of course, Gothamist trolled Twitter and probed galactic science for a tidy explanation of the perfect white stars.
Meanwhile, galaxy-risings in range of my laser beam from street muralists, The London Police (as above) to (as below) gold street walking jackets and sneakers added to snowy, starry, icicle fringy whites in Paris to…
…Valentino’s runway where gamine Princess Leia’s appeared in constellation patterns, a beckoning of Katy Perry and Beyonce…
…as both emerged as the next worship-worthy space bride gal at the Grammy Awards. STAR-LOVE is everywhere!
Do you believe in communication from the stars? Well, in the midst of writing this post (and creating this illustration below) I did. One night in the snowy countryside, cuddled in bed, the clearest star beamed into the window. Then, back in the city one early evening, the biggest, brightest star, (Venus?) radiated so clearly in the dusky sky as I have never seen it, same window, same curtain closing for almost fifteen years. Astonishing, like snow stars.
And my drawing above, was half-completed, when suddenly, after my STAR LOVE communiques, I found the perfect snowy, starry sky image to carry it. If this is a trend, I am more than happy to dance with the stars, for real!
TREND SPOTTINGS: Galactica reigns from everyone, everywhere now knowing to fear/love The Mercury Retrograde to the new ‘TV’ show from Susan Miller’s Astrologyzone to the first ever, upcoming NYC Drone Film Festival, from my friend, founder, Randy Scott Slavin. Randy is joined by my star-producer pal, Kim Jackson, STAR-LOVER from way-back, known to read light books like Treatise on Cosmic Fire, from theosophist-to-the-stars, Alice A. Bailey while sunning on the beach. (We were communicating with Tibetans that #TBT way before the Dalai Lama,Ye-ah Transformed!)
GET THE STARS: Get spacey with star-galloping babes and creatures in art from Corey Helford Gallery and get tons of ideas for spacey gowns and gear at The Numinous, home for mystical gals in the material world.
Or just go outside, look up and commune. XOXO LOVE.
(and yep, group sleepovers at the home of a dominatrix was a teaser,
you’ll just have to read the next 8 in the series!)
*********
Snow Star Art by Jade Dressler, all other images happily credited.
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Filed under: FASHION, FILM | Closed
Tags: Alice A. Bailey, astrology, Astrology Zone, Beyonce, Corey Helford Gallery, Dalai Lama, galactic, gothamist, Grammys, Katy Perry, Kim Jackson, NYC, NYC Drone Film Festival, performance, Princess Leia, Randy Scott Slavin, snow stars, Susan Miller, the london police, The Numinous, The Tibetan, Trends, Winter
