Kiss Me Kate was reviewed amazingly in the New York Times! I'm so proud.
Photo: T Charles Erickson
Husband Watch: Kiss Me Kate
Fabio designed the production of Kiss Me Kate now at Hartford Stage and the Old Globe in San Diego soon. The show is directed by Darko Tresnjak with love of both Shakespeare and also Old Broadway that gives it remarkable resonance. I'm not a musical theater guy, but I let out a yelp during the show that was an expression of pure joy.
Fabio's costumes got to be both back stage in the late 40s and also theatery Shakespeare. He really made some magic. I am proud to say one of my designs made it into a snood!
Photo: T. Charles Erickson
Photo: T. Charles Erickson
Photo: T. Charles Erickson
Photo: T. Charles Erickson
Photo: T. Charles Erickson
Photo: T. Charles Erickson
Photo: T. Charles Erickson
Peacockery at the Met
Elaborate Embroidery: Fabrics for Menswear before 1815 is just two walls of cases showing swatches. It is a little hard to find being down a small stair case off of a medieval room. This beautiful succinct show gives us a moment when men’s clothing was adorned with a care and cost one can’t really fathom now. The thoughtfulness and precision are a marvel and worth spending some time with. Some of the samples are visible online.
The show is concurrent with the Met’s huge, full, and decontexturalizing China: Through the looking glass. This much smaller and focused show in the Antonio Ratti Textile Center is a restful and clear counterpoint to the other show's bombast and breadth.
Ratti is a hot mill in Como, Italy. Any vintage Larsen Velvet (that isn’t batiked) was made by Ratti. Mr. Ratti had a love of textiles that so deep he founded this small center and also a museum in Como.
I love the sensitive use of paillettes in this fabric and the one below.
Reflective Spray Paint
My friend and collaborator Kiera sent me info on Volvo’s new reflective paint. I really like this kind of light play and can think of a ton of uses for it. Really I’d like to spray it on everything. My current fantasy is getting this phosphorescent bike and spraying it. Reflective and Glow- what could be better?
Inspired Living: Rudolf Schindler
Ms. Burke and I were able to spend a wonderful week in Los Angeles recently. I had the pleasure of bringing her to the Schindler House in West Hollywood.
Schindler was rethinking the whole possibility of living after coming out of the stodgy, late 1800s. His home expresses this beautifully, if unphotographably. He was thinking of a home for two families- where each would have shared space and also private space in both the interior and the exterior.
Sleeping happened in exterior rooftop balconies. Ms. Burke pointed out Schindler was really trying to get as close to nature as was possible. Walls are concrete- with small long glass panes imbedded on sides that might require privacy, but huge open spaces to protected lawns. The rest is unfinished redwood, lager panels of glass, and panels of a inexpensive pressed fiberboard.
The 2 bathrooms are among my favorite spaces in the world. Full of low indirect light and cast concrete with exposed diagrammatic plumbing, these spaces are intensely calming and pleasing.
The home is run by the MAK and can be easily visited. The staff is smart and knowledgeable.
Exterior Showing the rooftop sleeping balcony. Photo from galinsky.com
photo by Jonathan Smith
Photo from aftercorbu.com
photo by Stacy Laviolette
Escape Maps
Pilots in WW2 needed maps in case they went down behind enemy lines. The maps needed to be durable, able to get wet, and quiet to handle. The solution was printing on silk. Fine woven silk has a grain tight enough that ultra fine printing required for maps was legible, and also could be printed on both sides. Sometimes Parachute silk that wasn’t up to the job of being a parachute would be used.
As the US’s engagement in the war loomed, Our access to silk from Japan was threatened. Rayon was already being produced but was developed, refined and scaled up for the war effort.
Pilots would sometimes sew their escape maps into the lining of their jackets to make sure it was on them even if they had to quickly eject. This is the antecedent to map printed linings in Bomber Jackets of today and also my high school years.
Right now these maps are available on eBay for what seems like too little money.
I just bought this one that shows New Guinea, but mostly the wind, wave, and current patterns in the surrounding water. My hubby Fabio had an Aunt who had a stylish blouse made of these maps. I never got to see that but it lives on as a stylish and frugal use of beautiful fine silk.
Happy New Year!
I believe the children are the future.
The future looks great.
Portrait Process
Here are two gifs I made of Tolstoy and Victor Hugo for the Bergdorf Goodman windows. I really like gifs ..... a lot and have recently heard them called ubiquitous mini cinema. Tolstoy is made on our own Ottoman Mioré in Red.
Scatter My Ashes at Burke & Pryde
Bergdorf Goodman is a sanctuary of taste and design. Their holiday windows exempllfy the things about BG that I love. I got to be part of the Burke & Pryde studio realization of the most expensive Bergdorf Goodman window ever! I was in charge of about half of the 60 author portraits, and all of the text. The red library was rendered entirely in thread, fabric and wool. It was a hard and long project. When I get to be part of something like this I feel like it is a decorative spa- a chance to really soak in a totally different and special perspective. It is also always a pleasure to work with boss lady and friend Johanna Burke.
photo by Ricky Zehavi
photo by Ken Hamm
The WSJ covered the ramp up to the windows and I didn’t get a cameo, but my machine did! I'm very proud that the window includes our own Ottoman Moiré in red.
David Reid, my hubby and I got to soak in the glare of a camera flash at the glamorous unveiling after party.
Kevin Walz is in the NYT!
Kevin is a dear friend and a great designer. He is just back in the US and getting himself situated and decorated. See it all in the Times. I'm just thrilled that our Moonlight gets to be in his life and is mentioned in the article.
Photo by Jane Beiles for The New York Times