The House That Fashion Built

Filed under: Design, etc, House Tours, Architecture, News & Trends

Fashion's biggest names are celebrated in a new show house in New York City.

Imagine your favorite fashion designers' styles transformed into high-style interiors in a luxurious Manhattan high-rise -- that's essentially what the recently opened American Fashion: Designers At The Aldyn is. American Fashion is a show house to benefit the Council of Fashion Designers of America Foundation (CFDA), and it's a doozy of a design destination.

Inspired by the recent publication of American Fashion Designers at Home (Assouline), which highlights the homes of more than 100 members of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, the CFDA decided to bring the spirit of the book to life at the Aldyn. Interior designers like Jonathan Adler, Jennifer Agus and Kerry Delrose, among others, were each tasked with translating a fashion designer's style into a 3-dimensional living space.

From rooms inspired by today's top designers, like CFDA president Diane von Furstenberg and Elie Tahari, to spaces that were sparked by fashion legends like Halston, the show house is packed with style.

Shall we take a peek inside?

Edith Head by Last Detail
This navy-walled living room was inspired by Edith Head, a costume designer who worked on more than a thousand films (including a long-time collaboration with Alfred Hitchcock) and dressed nearly every star of her day, including the elegant Grace Kelly. Designer Carey Karlan of Last Detail says she wanted to translate Edith Head's old Hollywood vibe into the present day with luxe upholstery, feminine furnishings and touches of metallic throughout the space.


Elie Tahari with Malcom James Kutner
Malcom James Kutner created a mini bachelor pad for Elie Tahari, complete with a bedroom, dressing room and study. Kutner chose the sleek chairs and side table seen in the study above to reflect Tahari's love of mid-century design - natural, but with a sexy, urban edge. The Nan Golden photographs above the chairs and a Bert Stern photograph of Marilyn Monroe in the bedroom were pulled from Tahari's personal collection.


Jeffrey Banks with Jack Levy Design
When you walk into the two rooms by Jack Levy, inspired by designer Jeffrey Banks, you were assaulted with plaids. However, the plaid-on-plaid-on-plaid is a natural fit for designer Jeffrey Banks, who is known for his classic menswear and is co-author of the book Tartan: Romancing the Plaid (Rizzoli). From plaid garments in the closet to checked upholstery to a bed dressed in four different tartan prints, Levy wasn't shy with his use of pattern. However, Levy manages to make it work by opting for furniture pieces with simple, clean lines; deep-hued wall colors like the green above help ground the mad-for-plaid aesthetic.


Ceil Chapman by ARDEN Interior Architecture & Design
When Arden Stephenson of ARDEN Interior Architecture & Design chose Ceil Chapman as her inspiration, she knew nothing about the mid-century dress designer who created frocks for both Gloria Vanderbilt and Marilyn Monroe. However, Stephenson quickly discovered that her own mother had worn a Ceil Chapman dress to her rehearsal dinner (the dress and a photo of Stephenson's mother were both in the room). The luscious fabrics and the feminine details reflect Chapman's style, which is often credited with bringing femininity back to women's fashion in post-war America.


Claire McCardell by Eric Hilton Ltd.
Another lesser-known designer who was highlighted at the show house was Claire McCardell, whom Eric Hilton chose for both her personal strength and her contributions to the fashion world. Hilton noted that McCardell was the first woman to graduate from Parson's in 1928; in the 1940s she essentially launched ready-to-wear in the States (our very own Coco Chanel, if you will). Hilton's tribute to McCardell focused on a rich palette of purples that alludes to the mid-century era and subtle nods to her accomplishments as a working woman, including a desk primed for work with an office staple from a bygone time: An ashtray.


Diane von Furstenberg with Delrose Design Group
In a few instances, you could enter a room and immediately know for whom it was designed - Diane von Furstenberg's bold loft space was exactly this kind of interior. Designer Kerry Delrose of Delrose Design Group used many of von Furstenberg's signature prints, which appeared on her Rug Company rugs, upholstery from her forthcoming fabric line and bed linens from her bedding collection, which launches in 2011. Delrose even used von Furstenberg's own travel photos as wall art - some snaps from a recent trip to Thailand appear above the sofa.

Liz Lange with Jonathan Adler
In a reversal of the instantly recognizable fashion name, the interior designer's hand was readily apparent in Jonathan Adler's room for Liz Lange. The child's room, filled with pieces from Adler's new Jonathan Adler Junior line, was a fitting tribute to Lange, who is known for completely changing the maternity wear industry with her chic designs. Adler and Lange also share a love of all things playful and colorful, as is evidenced by this happy-chic room.


Nicole Miller with Jennifer Garrigues and Diana El Daher
Designer Jennifer Garrigues was channeling Carnaby Street of late 1960s London when she designed this mod study. Both Garrigues and Nicole Miller share a fascination of the "swinging sixties," which is the era in which Miller came of age. While heavily influenced by the past, the room also alludes to Miller's own designs, which are feminine and colorful with a bit of a sexy edge.


Alabama Chanin with Agus Interiors
The minute you discover that this quietly chic room was inspired by Nathalie Chanin and her Alabama Chanin studio, you think, "Of course!" The space reflects Chanin's Southern style and incorporates the same eco-friendly, natural and recycled materials that she uses in her fashion designs. In fact, designer Jen Agus of Agus Interiors even convinced Chanin to share some of her signature recycled t-shirt fabric to upholster a day bed (not shown). While Agus admits she wasn't very familiar with Chanin before their collaboration, Agus has managed to create a pitch-perfect tribute to one of fashion's most unique names.

We loved this house, but we're also thinking about:
-How much you can do in the kitchen with a can of paint
-How clean is your home? Take our quiz
-Where the best flea markets are

 

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