ANDY WARHOL

Andrew Warhola (August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987), more commonly known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. After a successful career as a commercial illustrator, Warhol became famous worldwide for his work as a painter, avant-garde filmmaker, record producer, author, and public figure known for his membership in wildly diverse social circles that included bohemian street people, distinguished intellectuals, Hollywood celebrities and wealthy aristocrats.

Warhol has been the subject of numerous retrospective exhibitions, books, and feature and documentary films. He coined the expression “15 minutes of fame“.

As stated, although Andy Warhol is most known for his paintings and films, he has authored works in many different media.

• Drawing: Warhol started his career as a commercial illustrator, producing drawings in “blotted-ink” style for advertisements and magazine articles. Best known of these early works are his drawings of shoes. Some of his personal drawings were self-published in small booklets, such as Yum, Yum, Yum (about food), Ho, Ho, Ho (about Christmas) and (of course) Shoes, Shoes, Shoes. His most artistically acclaimed book of drawings is probably A Gold Book, compiled of sensitive drawings of young men. A Gold Book is so named because of the gold leaf that decorates its pages.
• Sculpture: Warhol’s most famous sculpture is probably his Brillo Boxes, silkscreened ink on wood replicas of Brillo soap pad boxes (designed by James Harvey), part of a series of “grocery carton” sculptures that also included Heinz ketchup and Campbell’s tomato juice cases. Other famous works include the Silver Clouds – helium filled, silver mylar, pillow-shaped balloons. A Silver Cloud was included in the traveling exhibition Air Art (1968-69) curated by Willoughby Sharp. Clouds was also adapted by Warhol for avant-garde choreographer Merce Cunningham’s dance piece RainForest (1968).
• Audio: At one point Warhol carried a portable recorder with him wherever he went, taping everything everybody said and did. He referred to this device as his “wife”. Some of these tapes were the basis for his literary work. Another audio-work of Warhol’s was his “Invisible Sculpture”, a presentation in which burglar alarms would go off when entering the room. Warhol’s cooperation with the musicians of The Velvet Underground was driven by an expressed desire to become a music producer.
• Time Capsules: In 1973, Warhol began saving ephemera from his daily life – correspondence, newspapers, souvenirs, childhood objects, even used plane tickets and food – which was sealed in plain cardboard boxes dubbed Time Capsules. By the time of his death, the collection grew to include 600, individually dated “capsules”. The boxes are now housed at the Andy Warhol Museum.
• Television: Andy Warhol dreamed of a television show that he wanted to call The Nothing Special, a special about his favorite subject: Nothing. Later in his career he did create two cable television shows, Andy Warhol’s TV in 1982 and Andy Warhol’s Fifteen Minutes (based on his famous “fifteen minutes of fame” quotation) for MTV in 1986. Besides his own shows he regularly made guest appearances on other programs, including The Love Boat wherein a Midwestern wife (Marion Ross) fears Andy Warhol will reveal to her husband (Tom Bosley, who starred alongside Ross in sitcom Happy Days) her secret past as a Warhol superstar named Marina del Rey. Warhol also produced a TV commercial for Schrafft’s Restaurants in New York City, for an ice cream dessert appropriately titled the “Underground Sundae”

• Fashion: Warhol is quoted for having said: “I’d rather buy a dress and put it up on the wall, than put a painting, wouldn’t you?”One of his most well-known Superstars, Edie Sedgwick, aspired to be a fashion designer, and his good friend Halston was a famous one. Warhol’s work in fashion includes silkscreened dresses, a short sub-career as a catwalk-model and books on fashion as well as paintings with fashion (shoes) as a subject.
• Performance Art: Warhol and his friends staged theatrical multimedia happenings at parties and public venues, combining music, film, slide projections and even Gerard Malanga in an S&M outfit cracking a whip. The Exploding Plastic Inevitable in 1966 was the culmination of this area of his work.
• Theater: Andy Warhol’s PORK opened on May 5, 1971 at LaMama theater in New York for a two week run and was brought to the Roundhouse in London for a longer run in August, 1971. Pork was based on tape-recorded conversations between Brigin Berlin and Andy during which Brigid would play for Andy tapes she had made of phone conversations between herself and her mother, socialite Honey Berlin. The play featured Jayne County as “Vulva” and Cherry Vanilla as “Amanda Pork”.
• Photography: To produce his silkscreens, Warhol made photographs or had them made by his friends and assistants. These pictures were mostly taken with a specific model of Polaroid camera that Polaroid kept in production especially for Warhol. This photographic approach to painting and his snapshot method of taking pictures has had a great effect on artistic photography. Warhol was an accomplished photographer, and took an enormous amount of photographs of Factory visitors, friends.
• Computer: Warhol used Amiga computers to generate digital art, which he helped design and build with Amiga, Inc. He also displayed the difference between slow fill and fast fill on live TV with Debby Harry as a model.

Warhol had assistants in producing his paintings. This is also true of his film-making and commercial enterprises.

He founded the gossip magazine Interview, a stage for celebrities he “endorsed” and a business staffed by his friends. He collaborated with others on all of his books (some of which were written with Pat Hackett.) He adopted the young painter Jean-Michel Basquiat, and the band The Velvet Underground, presenting them to the public as his latest interest, and collaborating with them. One might even say that he produced people (as in the Warholian “Superstar” and the Warholian portrait). He endorsed products, appeared in commercials, and made frequent celebrity guest appearances on television shows and in films (he appeared in everything from Love Boat to Saturday Night Live and the Richard Pryor movie, Dynamite Chicken).

In this respect Warhol was a fan of “Art Business” and “Business Art” – he, in fact, wrote about his interest in thinking about art as business in The Philosophy of Andy Warhol from A to B and Back Again.

Two museums are dedicated to Andy Warhol. The Andy Warhol Museum, one of the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, is located at 117 Sandusky Street in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is the largest American art museum dedicated to a single artist, holding more than 12,000 works by the artist.

The other museum is the Andy Warhol Museum of Modern Art, established in 1991 by Andy’s brother John Warhola, the Slovak Ministry of Culture, and the Warhol Foundation in New York. It is located in the small town of Medzilaborce, Slovakia. Andy’s parents and his two brothers were born 15 kilometres away in the village of Miková. The museum houses several originals donated mainly by the Andy Warhol Foundation in New York and also personal items donated by Warhol’s relatives.

PHILIPPE STARCK

Philippe Patrick Starck (born January 18, 1949, Paris) is a French Product designer and probably the best known designer in the New Design style. His designs range from spectacular interior designs to mass produced consumer goods such as toothbrushes, chairs, and even houses.

He was educated in Paris at École Nissim de Camondo and in 1968, he founded his first design firm, which specialized in inflatable objects. In 1969, he became art director of his firm along with Pierre Cardin. 

Starck’s career started to climb in earnest in 1982 when he designed the interior for the private apartments of the French President François Mitterrand.

Starck has worked independently as an interior designer and as a product designer since 1975. Most notably, in 2002, he created a number of relatively inexpensive product designs for the large American retailer Target Stores.

His most recent notable designs include an optical mouse for Microsoft, yachts, and even new packaging for a beer company. He was commissioned to design the Virgin Galactic “spaceport” in New Mexico (Foster and Partners are its architects)^.

He made the exihibt Democratic Ecology with Pramac

Unlike most other New Design artists, Starck’s work does not concentrate on the creation of provocative and expensive single pieces. Instead, his product designs are of usable household items which Starck himself helps to market for mass production. His products and furnishings are often stylized, streamlined and organic in their look and are also constructed using unusual combinations of materials (such as glass and stone, plastic and aluminum, plush fabric and chrome, etc.).

PRODUCTS

Two of Starck’s designs include stylized toothbrushes (1989) and a sleek juicer dubbed the Juicy Salif created for Alessi in 1990. The Juicy Salif has become an affordable and popular cult item. In 2008 he created wireless speakers for the iPod and iPhone : Parrot Zikmu.

FURNISHINGS

Regarding Starck’s furniture designs, he is famous for his designs for the Italian manufacturer Kartell, many of which are made from polycarbonate plastic. World famous products he has designed include the transparent Louis Ghost chair, Ero|S| chair, Bubble Club sofa, and La Bohème stool. He has also been involved in the relaunch of the World War II-era Navy Chair in the U.S., designing a classic furniture collection around it.

The Bubble Club chair is featured prominently in the television series Boston Legal. A pair sit on the balcony outside Denny Crane’s office, where he and Alan Shore end each episode with a cigar and a glass of Scotch while discussing the events of the episode.

RESTAURANT INTERIORS

Among his interior designs for restaurants, Starck design the Felix restaurant-bar at the The Peninsula Hong Kong, a classic hotel facing the Hong Kong harbour on the Kowloon side. This design, located on the 28th floor, is known for several design features including the men’s washroom, which features urinals facing glass, and a spectacular view of the Kowloon cityscape.

An earlier design by Starck, now world famous, was for the Café Costes in Paris (1984).

HOTEL INTERIORS

In 1988, Starck was commissioned by famed nightclub impresario Ian Schrager, former co-owner of Studio 54, to refit the Royalton Hotel on New York’s East 44th Street. It was a design moment that has since changed the hotel industry; boutique hotels, where design is an important factor, became the industry buzz. However the Schrager hotels are also known for their celebrity and publicity orientations that attract attention to the hotels.

The Starck-Schrager design hotel partnerships continued in New York at the Paramount hotel, and then spread to Miami with the opening of the Delano Hotel  in South Beach in 1995, to Los Angeles with the Mondrian Hotel in December 1996 , to London with both the St. Martins Lane hotel in 1999 and the Sanderson hotel in 2000, to San Francisco and the Clift hotel, and finally back to New York with the Hudson hotel, with what is described as “Cheap Chic”.

The look and feel of Starck-Schrager hotels has been highly influential, including the approaches at Starwood’s W hotels.

Starck also designed Jia, the first Philippe Starck-designed boutique hotel in Asia.

From 2007 until 2022, Starck is under an exclusive contract with nightclub mogul Sam Nazarian to design Nazarian’s new hotel brand, SLS Hotels. The first property, SLS Los Angeles at Beverly Hills (a massive renovation of the former Le Méridien At Beverly Hills), is currently scheduled to open on October 28, 2008, and will be entirely designed by Starck. The hotel lobby will feature unique Starck-designed display cases featuring rotating design items curated by gallerist Murray Moss.

From December 2007, Philippe Starck and his daughter Ara were involved in the redecoration of public areas at Le Meurice, Paris.

PROPERTY DEVELOPMENTS

Through residential design company Yoo Ltd, Starck has been involved in the development of several properties featuring Starck interiors.

 WIND ENERGY

His work with the Pramac energy group, has produced a design for windmills that also function as wind instruments.

He has created a personal power-generating windmill (L’éolienne individuelle Pramac) in polycarbonate resting on one platform in wood, that can be purchased for about 400 Euros (about $633). It is a design, but also functional, generating 20 to 60 percent of a home’s energy needs.

Why you should listen to him: www.starck.com

Philippe Starck is a legend of modern design. He’s known for his luxurious hotels and boites around the world — notably the Peninsula Hotel restaurant in Hong Kong, the Teatron in Mexico, the Hotel Delano in Miami, the Mondrian in Los Angeles, the Asia de Cuba restaurant in New York — designing the total environment from layout to furniture to linens.

But he has made perhaps his most permanent mark on design through his bold reworkings of everyday objects. In reimagining and rethinking the quotidian, he has produced some of the iconic shapes of the 20th century, including his leggy chrome juice squeezer , the reimagined Emeco aluminum chairs, and the witty Louis Ghost polycarbonate fauteuil.

When Starck turns his bold vision toward a chair, a shoe, a toothbrush, it’s clear he thinks deeper than the glossy surface.

DIDIER GOMEZ

 Didier Gomez began his career as an opera singer before branching out into the world of interior and product design in 1985 with his association with the architect JJ Ory. His expertise is highly acclaimed. Winner of numerous design awards, he has designed boutiques, large stores, restaurants, apartments, houses and head offices all over the world.

The quality of his work speaks for itself, with clients including Yves Saint-Laurent, Pierre Bergé, Carrousel du Louvre, LVMH, Bernard Arnault, Céline, Louis Vuitton, Galeries Lafayette, Vivendi Universal, Kenzo, Christian Dior, Pomelato, De Beers and L’Oréal.

DIDIER GOMEZ 

Began working with Ligne Roset some fifteen years ago. Both he and Michel Roset have since forged an enduring partnership based on a creative synergy. The number of creations for Ligne Roset seems countless, but numbering among the most successful are his upholstery collections. Feng, Opium and Fugue have become symbols of his sleek, contemporary take on classic urban style. Rue de Seine looks set to follow. Didier Gomez and Ligne Roset were awarded the ‘Nombre d’or’ by the Salon du Meuble de Paris, in recognition of their exemplary collaboration.

Ligne Roset, France’s premier modern furniture manufacturer will open its first ever boutique concept store worldwide in Austin, Texas to be located in the 2nd Street District, reflecting the “cool, urban energy of the trendy downtown locale“. The Ligne Roset Boutique will offer a collection based on their best-selling products and select design-forward pieces that are an iconic part of the brand. These smaller-scale selections created by some of the brand’s most sought after designers will offer consumers instant gratification that will surpass the delivery process. As many of you may know from our reviews on the outstanding designer furniture of Ligne Roset, many well known names in the business like Pierre Paulin, Pascal Mourgue, Didier Gomez, Peter Maly, Michel Ducaroy, Ronan & Erwan, and Bouroullec have contributed to the stunning collection of furniture and accessories geared toward the modern lifestyle. See the Ligne Roset Boutique collection here. 

www.didiergomez.com

* Before I started my studies in Interior Design at FIDM( Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandizing). I worked as a  Docent for the French Trade Commissioner at The PDC( Pacific Design Center), hosting Didier Gomez exhibit.It was one of my inspirations.

ANDREE PUTMAN

BACKGROUND

She began her interior design career in 1978 when she formed her agency Ecart after the extraordinary publicity generated by the projects she did for residences of friends and her own home. At the same time, she specialized in reediting furniture designed by leading architects of the modern movement who remained largely unrecognized during their lifetime. Eileen Gray, Jean-Michel Frank, Pierre Chareau, Robert Mallet-Stevens, Mariano Fortuny, Antonio Gaudi, René Herbst, and Jacques-Henri Lartigue. Because she does not stop in discovering new approaches, in 1997, she created a new firm in her own name. Restrained, eclectic and contemporary, her personal style continues to be immediately identifiable. Spaces are enhanced by fine and rich surfaces combined with inexpensive materials. The effect is simple, though undeniably modern. Her style transcends the boundaries of trends into a timeless classicism. With liberty and simple ideas, space is sculpted and then enhanced by a delicate play of light which creates places that are at the same moment new and familiar. Whether an apartment or a hotel, a gallery or museum, a rug or chair each project is treated with the same level of attention by Andrée Putman and her team. Surrounded by architects, stylists and designers, she works on each project from start to finish. For certain projects exterior consultants and local architects join the home team. Experience gained from numerous projects around the world ensures each client that the team works easily within the constraints of projects designed and built outside of France.

INTERIOR DESIGN

The American architect, Elliott Barnes, AIA, partner in the firm, animates a team of interior designers, designers and stylists, and works on each project from its conception to its detailing. The experience from built work in Europe, Asia, and the United States ensures each client that the firm can respond to the demands of projects built abroad.

DESIGN

A design group conceived in August 1997 with Vincent Beaurin. (I like to discover new approaches free from standard machine like attitudes.) Using the permanent exchange model, the group reunites young designers and students of all nationalities. 

SPECIALIZATIONS

 ADMINISTRATION – COLLECTIVITIES MINISTERIAL OFFICES – 1986/1987 TOWN HALL OF BORDEAUX REGION – 1985 EBEL HEADQUARTERS ; VILLA TURQUE (LE CORBUSIER) – 1989 ARCH OF LA DEFENSE: OFFICE OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – 1988/1990 MUSEUM OF MODERN ART OF BORDEAUX (C.A.P.C.) – 1992 CHANNEL SEVEN/ARTE, EUROPEAN CHANNEL: NEW HEAD OFFICE – 1993/1994 CONSEIL GENERAL DES BOUCHES DU RHONE, PRESIDENCE & DELIBERATIF – 1993/1994 TOTAL, HEAD OFFICE – 1993/1994 RODIN MUSEUM, PARIS – 1995 MARIE-CLAIRE PRESS GROUPE, PARIS – 1995 TACHE, OFFICES, ANTWERP – 1995 WALLONNIE MUSEUM, NAMUR – 1995 POLYCLINIC, ROUEN – 1995 CHANEL, STUDIO, PARIS – 1996 GILDO PASTOR CENTER IN MONACO, MANAGEMENT OFFICES – 1996 BRANDEIS BROKERS HEADQUARTERS, LONDON. 1999 – MAYOR’S OFFICE, VERSAILLES – 2000 FEDERATION DE LA HAUTE COUTURE, PARIS HOTELS – RESTAURANTS – CLUBS – SALONS 1984 MORGANS HOTEL, NEW YORK – 1987 HOTEL SAINT JAMES CLUB, PARIS – 1988 CARITA BEAUTY SALON, PARIS – BON MARCHE (DEPARTMENT STORE) RESTAURANT – 1988/1990 MUSEUM OF MODERN ART OF BORDEAUX (C.A.P.C.), RESTAURANT – 1990 IM WASSERTURM HOTEL, KOLN – 1990 LE LAC HOTEL, NEAR TOKYO – 1992 ORCHID CLUB HOUSE, KOBE, JAPAN – 1992 FRENCH PAVILLION AT SEVILLE UNIVERSAL EXHIBITION, RESTAURANT AND VIP ROOM – 1992 “LE CAFE FRANÇAIS”, MUSEUM OF MODERN ART, NEW YORK – 1993 COGNACS LOUIS ROYER, JARNAC, RECEPTION LOUNGE – 1994/1995 GILDO PASTOR CENTER, MONACO, CLUB – 1994 SHERATON HOTEL, PARIS-ROISSY – 1994 TOTAL, EXECUTIVE DINNING ROOM, PARIS – 1995 CHURCH, LYONS – 1995 MARIE-CLAIRE RESTAURANT, PARIS – 1995 MORGANS HOTEL REFURBISHMENT, NEW YORK- 1997/1998 “SCENES D’INTERIEUR” SALONS, PARIS – 1998 RESTAURANT LO SUSHI, PARIS. SHOPS – BOUTIQUES & CORNERS 1980 HEMISPHERE BOUTIQUES, PARIS – 1980/1983 THIERRY MUGLER FIRST BOUTIQUES – 1980/1984 YVES SAINT LAURENT BOUTIQUES, U.S.A. – 1985 KARL LAGERFELD BOUTIQUES IN THE WORLD, SHOW-ROOM IN NEW YORK – 1985 AZZEDINE ALAIA, FIRST BOUTIQUE, PARIS – 1985 BARNEYS FOR WOMEN, CONCEPT OF THE GROUND FLOOR OF THE UPTOWN DEPARTMENT STORE, NEW YORK CITY – 1985/1990 EBEL, BOUTIQUES AND CORNERS – 1989 BALENCIAGA BOUTIQUES IN THE WORLD – 1991/1992 CACHAREL, CHILDREN BOUTIQUES – 1993/1994 GEORGES RECH BOUTIQUES & CORNERS – 1993 TATI SHOPS, CONCEPT “LA RUE EST A NOUS” – 1993/1994 BALLY BOUTIQUES, CONCEPT – 1994 ET VOUS, PARIS – 1995 CONNOLLY, LONDON – 1995 CARTIER, PARIS – 1995 LA MONNAIE DE PARIS – 1998 WOLFORD, PARIS – 1998 LAGERFELD GALLERY, PARIS – 1999 PEQUIGNET WATCH SHOP, STRASBOURG, PARIS – 2000 CONNOLLY BOUTIQUE, LONDON. BRAND IMAGE – DESIGN – EXHIBITIONS STUDY AND CREATION OF THE VISUAL IMAGE OF VARIOUS COMPANIES – DESIGN OF OBJECTS, LOGOS, PACKAGING AND OTHER MEANS OF COMMUNICATION – CREATION OF VARIOUS PRODUCTS AND OBJECTS OF THE HOME – 1987 FERRARI EXHIBITION AT THE CARTIER FOUNDATION – 1990 EXHIBITION FOR THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE VIA AT THE “MUSEE DES ARTS DECORATIFS”, PARIS – 1992 ” IN BLACK AND WHITE” EXHIBITION, 60 YEAR RETROSPECTIVE OF HAUTE COUTURE, WEXNER CENTER FOR THE ARTS, OHIO – EBEL, EXHIBITION BOOTH AT THE BASEL FAIR – 1993 A TRIBUTE TO RICHARD HAMILTON, HITACHI/FNAC, PARIS – 1993 AIR FRANCE, INTERIOR DESIGN OF THE CONCORDE AIRPLANE – 1994 PHILIPS – 1994 BACCARAT – BERNARDAUD TABLE WEAR – SWAROVSKI – LA MONNAIE DE PARIS – 3 SUISSES – 1995 FILM SET FOR PETER GREENAWAY – 1995 POEFORM – 1997 “A PROPOS DU LUXE”, EXHIBITION AT THE RENAULT CENTER – 1997 THE FALL WINTER COLLECTION SCENOGRAPHY, “LES TROIS SUISSES”, PARIS – 1998 POMPIDOU/GUGGENHEIM: “RENDEZ-VOUS”, NEW YORK – 1999 SOFA AND ARMCHAIR COLLECTION FOR DOMEAU & PERES PRIVATE APARTMENTS INTERIOR DESIGN, RENOVATION OF PRIVATE APARTMENTS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. Architecture Specializations – Commercial Projects, – Residential Projects, Hotels, Pied-a-terre, Residential – Apartments/ Condos, Residential – Custom, Retail – General Interior Design Specializations – Commercial Projects, – Residential Projects, Hotels, Office Interiors – Corporate, Pied-a-terre, Residential – Apartments/ Condos, Residential – Custom, Restaurants/ Night Clubs, Retail – General Services Architecture Services – Gen. Architectural Services, Adaptive Reuse, CADD/ Drafting, Construction Management, Consulting, Historic Preservation, Illustration/ Rendering, Programming, Project Management, Space Planning Interior Design Services – Gen. Interior Design Services, Adaptive Reuse, CADD/ Drafting, Consulting, Programming, Space Planning

Email: archi@andreeputman.com
Web Site: http://www.andreeputman.com

* Before I started my studies in Interior Design at FIDM( Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandizing). I worked as a  Docent for the French Trade Commissioner at The PDC( Pacific Design Center), hosting Andree Putman’s exhibit.It was one of my inspirations.

HALSTON

Superstar Designer’s Legacy  Enduring Fashion Themes, Classic Fragrances

MIAMI LAKES, FL – Only the Age of Aquarius could have produced a designer of such mythic proportions as Halston. Or could it be that Roy Halston Frowick, from Des Moines, Iowa, engineered the entire decade of the ’70s for his own amusement – and his own legacy?

As a force within the fashion industry, Halston’s aura almost eclipsed the reputation of his label. He was the first, true American superstar designer, bringing casual, but luxurious fashion to an enthusiastic audience. At the same time, he was uncanny about cultivating the first designer-as-celebrity reputation, counting among his friends Liza Minnelli, Cher, Lauren Bacall, Andy Warhol and other Studio 54 revelers.

Today, the tremors from the man and his legend are still impacting the fashion world. Jersey, cashmere, and even Ultrasuede are recurring themes on contemporary runways.

From the Top: The ’50s & ’60s

The Halston legend began, appropriately enough, at the top – with hats. After attending the Art Institute of Chicago, Halston designed and sold millinery from inside a Chicago beauty parlor. His best clients were elite dignitaries and celebrities, among them Gloria Swanson and Kim Novak. Foreshadowing, perhaps? It was here that Halston was “discovered” by Lilly Daché who brought him to New York in 1957.

A year later, Halston began a 10-year relationship with Bergdorf Goodman. At first, he designed custom millinery for Bergdorf’s, including such innovations as the scarf hat and Jackie O’s inseparable pillbox. His creations were also quite fanciful, incorporating organdy hair-dryer bonnets, fringed lampshades and mirrored hoods into his designs. During his tenure at Bergdorf’s, Halston won the first of five Coty Awards, this one for innovation in millinery. Then, in 1966, Bergdorf’s put him in charge of his own in-store boutique, an opportunity that represented his first venture into apparel design.

Halston’s clothes were a hit.

So much so, that in 1968, Halston bid farewell to Bergdorf’s and opened Halston Limited, selling apparel and accessories to stores throughout the country, including his own boutique inside Bloomingdale’s. But unlike his fanciful headgear, the apparel designs under Halston’s own label represented a radical, 180-degree turn in mood.

Less is More: The ’70s

Halston’s apparel championed the classic simplicity of soft, unconstructed, pared-down design that would become the hallmark of his career. His clothes were sophisticated, casual and easy to wear. He revolutionized cashmere sweaters by taking them to the floor, brought back turtlenecks, evolved halter-tops into eveningwear and paired short shorts or slim pants with tunics, wrap jackets, coats and capes. In 1974, Halston was inducted into the Coty Hall of Fame, the most prestigious honor in the American fashion industry.

Having risen to the upper echelon of apparel, Halston turned his creative energies toward the fashion of fragrance. In 1975, Halston made headlines with the launch of his signature fragrance, Halston for women. A year later, Halston was back in the news for the simultaneous launch of twin men’s fragrances, Z-14 and 1-12. In each instance, Halston turned to Elsa Peretti, a respected jewelry designer and former Halston model, to develop the packaging designs. Halston was doubly rewarded for his efforts when the Fragrances Foundation honored both Halston and Z-14 with its “Most Successful Launch of the Year” distinction.

To Dress America: The ’80s

The turn of the decade also mirrored a turn in Halston’s attention. From his custom-made background, Halston began expressing a desire to “dress America.” This desire took shape when Halston signed a licensing agreement with JCPenney to create a stylish, yet moderately priced, line of apparel under the Halston III label.

In 1991, a year after his death, the Council of Fashion Designers of America honored Halston with a special tribute and retrospective. But it wasn’t until last year that perhaps the most fitting acknowledgment occurred when a new line of apparel bearing the designer’s name debuted.

Can a rebirth of the Age of Aquarius be far behind?

As “the first designer to realize the potential of licensing himself,” his influence went beyond style to reshape the business of fashion.Through his licensing agreement with JC Penney, his designs were accessible to women at a variety of income levels. Although this practice is not uncommon today, it was a controversial move at the time Halston, his perfume, was sold in a bottle designed by Elsa Peretti and was the second biggest selling perfume of all time.

 Airline uniform designs

Halston was very influential in airline uniform designs. His designs were featured on the now-defunct carrier Braniff. His designs were more muted than the airline’s past uniform designs by Emilio Pucci. He made interchangeable separates in shades of bone, tan, taupe, and brown. He also designed the seat covers that were added on the aircraft and known as the “Ultra look”.

www.halstonfragrances.com

MODERN SINK AND WASH BASIN DESIGNS

What could be more basic and functionally unchanging as a sink? To demonstrate the danger in this assumption, here is a look at how sink designers are abandoning the generic, water-intensive styles of old in favor of new designs heavily influenced by the natural world, technological innovation and the desire to conserve water. Here are 16 designs that certainly create a splash (sorry, had to be done).

(Images via: Kanera)

Gone are the days when sinks were ruled by right angles and flat surfaces. Today it’s a more natural, water-weathered look that designers seek to evoke. The surface of the Kanera E 1 itself looks liquid, a scoop of modern material (ceramic) that holds water just like a seaside rock pool – and thankfully deep enough under the faucet to prevent any tidal surprises.

Really, would these sinks make you stimulated … or strangely uncomfortable? Unfortunately, the designer’s thoughts are unknown is this was an anonymously submitted image that will surely make its rounds on the interwebs.

Each piece was clearly individualy sculpted and the surrounding decor suggests an elegant setting – so really, it may have been a bold move to include such sexy (or at least scandalous) bathroom sinks in whatever location this may be.

(Image via: WMD London and Design Milk)

The Follo also goes for shallow-curve basins (perhaps in this case a little too shallow) and an aesthetic that looks like a cross between painted planking and upholstery. This design has only recently been unveiled by designer Will MacCormac so details are sketchy – will be interesting to see how it actually functions.

(Images via: Gore Design Co.)

What happens when water erodes a softer, more porous material? Gore Design Co. have evidently been studying this intently, as their eye-catching concrete Erosion sinks demonstrate. As with the previous two sinks, there is an ecological message at work: “you do not need to use so much water”. The terraced sides of this bowl will fill up in no time.

(Image via: HighTech)

Taking inspiration more directly from Nature (and thumbing its nose at the myth of the manifest Coriolis effect) is the Ammonite Sink, named after the extinct marine animals that have left such bewitching fossils for us along the shorelines of the world.  It is again fashioned from concrete to a variety of widths, and will give you hours of fun chasing dropped bars of soap out of its depths.

(Images via: Nothing Design Group)

Where the previous sinks took inspiration from the effect of falling water on stone, the Origin Sink is more interested in the river itself. Lift a stone and the source gushes out and winds its way down to the end of its journey, a plughole capped by another stone. Sidestepping queries about just how snug-fitting those stones will have to be, it’s a relaxing change from the roaring torrent of most sink designs.

(Images via: Axolute)

It’s a magic trick within a sink. Where does the water go? Wave your hand underneath to demonstrate the lack of plughole – but don’t let baffled onlookers too close, or they might see the water draining away horizontally into the wall. The “Horizontal Integrated Siphon” system is a neat and stylish way to hide the plumbing and put a sink into the narrowest of spaces.  (And it’s a great party trick).

(Images via: Maja Ganszyniec)

Thinking along the same lines is designer Maja Ganszyniec with the Plugless Sink. Once you’ve finished with your bowl of collected water, tip it backwards into the spillway and you’re ready to go again. It is designed to force to to dispose of the water yourself, and thus gain an appreciate of how much you’re sending down the drain, along with a distinctive modern-yet-retro vibe.

(Images via: Gessi and Graff)

There’s no mistaking these sinks as anything but modern. With the impressively severe-looking Rettanglo sinks, gravity does all the work as water is delivered vertically from the ceiling (at, we would hope, a sensible pressure). Bending this concept a little is the Graff Luna basin, a three foot long faucet like a sword or the rib of a ship, delivering water into a bowl. The only forseeable problem is explaining to guests what it really is before they experimentally try to tug it off the wall.

(Image via: Homeclick)

The cutting-edge modern sink isn’t content to just deliver hot and cold running water. Take the Moody Aquarium Sink from Italbrass. It’s all the rewarding work of a fully-functional fishtank, coupled with the decidely odd sensation of washing your hands in it. The soap dishes on either side of the watertight main basin conceal entrances into the tank, allowing feeding and maintenance, and the whole structure is mounted on an integrated chrome finish brass stand. What do the fish make of it all?

(Images via: Coco Reynolds and Gaiam.

If space is at a premium in your house and you are keen to double up on your appliance functionality, the Ladybird and the Toilet Sink should catch your eye. The former has a detachable top that converts it into a cosy bathtub – certainly not one to stretch out in, but a gem of space-saving economy. The latter uses the clean water that rushes into your commode with every flush, diverting some of it through a faucet in the top and saving the need for a separately-plumbed tap. A thumbs-up for water economy, and perfectly hygienic.

(Images via: Antoine LeBrun)

Finally, some sinks that aim to prove that electronic technology has a place next to running water. The dazzling and ambitious Brandt Aion is a garden that washes your dishes. Open it up and use the cooking and draining surfaces, and when you are ready, shut it down and an automatic dish washing cycle will start (digitally indicated on the front of the unit), using vegetable soap that is created by the plants in the lid. Meanwhile, those same plants help scrub the air in your kitchen. Truly ahead of its time.

(Images via: WET and Gizmodo)

Washing your hands at the Meltdown sink is a treat for the senses. As the water runs, internal speakers play soothing music (perhaps something by Wet Wet Wet?) and the body lights up, projecting images onto the underneath of its recyclable Polyethylene surface. If you are so impressed by this light and sound display that you lose track of time, you may want to fit an iSave Faucet Counter – it monitors and displays the amount of water running away. As with all the sinks featured, it’s there to make you rethink something as simple as washing your hands.

KOMBI CASA ECOLOGICA

O designer canadense Alexandre Verdier transformou a Kombi em uma moderna casa-ecológica para acampamentos. O veículo é equipado com um motor híbrido (gasolina e elétrico) de 200 hp que emite apenas 160 g de CO2 por km. Outros itens incluem painéis solares no teto (40 watt – 12 volts), GPS para navegação, internet wireless e uma mini-cozinha.

Preço: 69 mil dólares.

Via Verdier

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