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Starry NightS
FiFty years ago, EdiE SEdgwic met Andy wArhol, who turned the Former debutante into the city’s most Famous it girl. here, BEtSEy JohnSon recalls working with the Factory muse and ’60s style icon. as told to matt stewart When I was 21 years old, I lived in this tiny apartment off Park Avenue and 16th Street, around the corner from Max’s Kansas City. Max’s became my hangout, the place to go every night. That’s where I ended up with Andy, Viva, John Chamberlain, and everybody. No one was making any money, nobody was older than 25. We had no idea who we were, what we were doing, or what we were going to do. It was a place where you could go and just know that these people were trying to do something. That kind of energy created the world I knew in New York City. Edie and I first met because of The Velvet Underground [the influential ’60s rock band closely associated with Warhol’s studio, The Factory]. The Velvets asked if I would do their clothes, and Edie came along with the package. When I needed a fitting model, I said to her, “You have the perfect Mick Jagger boy body. Can you come over to my house a few times a week and hop in my clothes?” Edie was very quiet, and we never got down and dirty. Then, suddenly, it was Edie here and Edie there, Edie the superstar. I don’t remember ever thinking, Was she in it or was she out of it, was she spaced out, was she regular, did her behavior change? She just enjoyed putting on my clothes.
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Edie’s own look—big black and white eyes, three pairs of eyelashes glued together, white lips, Sassoon boyish haircut, huge earrings, leotards, and big tops—defined the style and the excesses of the ’60s. But nobody is an invention out of the blue. When I won the Mademoiselle guest editor contest and got to go to London, I came back a fashion designer wannabe. It was so inspiring in London at that time: Twiggy, Mary Quant, the Beatles, the Stones. Edie in New York was a theatrically bizarre form of all that. Edie kept me centered in my designs, which were focused on body-conscious clothes done in silver and black, turtlenecks, and big zippers. When her apartment at the Chelsea Hotel caught fire, she was in one of my favorite colorblock body dresses. There are pictures of Edie going to the emergency room with her hands bandaged like Q-Tips in that dress! When I saw the movie Factory Girl [2006] I almost fell off my chair when Sienna Miller [who played Edie] said, “Let me call Betsey. I’ve got to get something to wear and I want something she’s doing.” Edie and Andy were enormous influencers for fashion and art in the ’60s, but for them it wasn’t about making money; it was about lights, camera, and action. G
photography courtesy of Jackson fine art, atlanta and the artist. image copyright steve schapiro
Edie Sedgwick on the town with Andy Warhol. From a prominent New England family, Sedgwick became one of New York’s most photographed women in 1965.
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contents
spring 2015 12 // front runner 28 // letter from the editor-in-Chief
30 // letter from the publisher
32 // ... Without Whom
this issue Would not have been possible
34 // the list 69 // invited
style 37 // Cool hunting Lord & Taylor President Liz Rodbell launches Design Lab, wooing millennials and highlighting emerging New York designers.
40 // City bloCked Spring accessories paint a graphic canvas, with bold minimalist strokes worthy of a Chelsea gallery.
42 // style spotlight Ferragamo celebrates the next generation of power players, Bloomingdale’s brings new in-store exclusives to Manhattan shoppers, and Fendi reinvents a classic.
44 // reaChing for the stars
culture 47 // bullish
over broadWay
106
Styles from the ’70s make a comeback this spring.
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Eighteen shows debut this spring, as the Great White Way sets new records for attendance and revenue.
50 // Curating CyberspaCe The New Museum’s triennial looks at the art world’s future stars.
photography by rene & radka at art department
New York collectors look to a top Swiss watch show for 2015 trends in luxury timepieces.
spring 2015
58
Mixing art and fashion: Instagram star Pari Ehsan.
62 // tradinG placeS
New York’s top collectors and gallerists head to fast-growing Art Basel in Hong Kong.
Will Manhattan real estate stay hot for 2015? Top brokers talk sizzle and sales.
54 // culture SpotliGht
66 // StandinG up
people 56 // muSic man With his new Flash Factory, nightclub maven Michael Satsky, known for the toughest doors in town, moves to a different beat.
58 // picture-perfect
Artwork by Yhonnie Scarce from New York’s Dianne Tanzer Gallery will show at Art Basel in Hong Kong.
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Surimi shrimp pasta from Kappo Masa.
52 // Global Glamour
Björk gets the museum treatment at MoMA, Art Spiegelman gives a cartoon history lesson, and John Mulaney graduates from SNL to Carnegie Hall.
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75
Instagram superstar and CFDA nominee Pari Ehsan fnds new ways to connect fashion and art.
60 // faShioned for SucceSS In his new book, Mark Weber writes about why New York is the crucial market for luxury worldwide.
to cancer
To increase awareness for Colon Cancer Month in March, Katie Couric writes about why fnding a cure for the disease has become her life’s work.
TasTe 75 // dealer’S choice Kappo Masa, the new restaurant from übergallerist Larry Gagosian and culinary supernova Masayoshi Takayama, is the latest billionaire hangout.
78 // taStemakerS’ taSte Seven young designers share their favorite restaurants for kicking back after Fashion Week.
80 // Scene Stealer Ralph Lauren’s frst restaurant in New York is already a classic.
photography by tyLor hoU (ehsan); evan sUng (kappo Masa); JaneLLe Low (yhonnie scarce)
contents
contents
spring 2015
96
82 // taste spotlight Posh pours at BurdiGala, Danny Meyer’s new cocktail spot in Chelsea, and hot new restaurants to try this spring.
Special airing February 15, Gotham sat down with the current cast to talk legacy, comedy, New York, and favorite SNL moments. Photography by Robert Ascroft
84 // old-school cool
96 // flower power
Brooks Brothers CEO Claudio Del Vecchio and Fox News retail analyst Hitha Prabhakar talk trends and tradition at Cipriani Dolci.
It girls move on from magazines, PR, and the DJ booth to get down and dirty with Mother Nature. By Caroline Tell Photography by Eric Ryan Anderson
features 88 // live from
New York! fortY fab, fuNNY Years
To celebrate Saturday Night Live’s mega-milestone and the Anniversary
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102 // great expectatioNs Can Deep Downtown do designer fashion? Top labels are betting on Brookfeld Place and Westfeld WTC to redefne the shopping experience for the city’s luxury retail customers. By Suzanne McGee
photography by eric ryan anderson. Flower arrangement by stone Fox bride (top right)
Kathleen Hyppolite (left), Rawan Rihani, and a new crop of fashionable florists are setting trends and defining the latest It-girl profession.
SÉBASTIEN OGIER, 2014 WORLD RALLY CHAMPION Sébastien Ogier has one goal: to win. After a year of intense preparation working on his new WRC car, he came back to compete at the top of his game in 2013. He became World Rally Champion with 9 victories, and just won the title again. Like TAG Heuer, he aims to achieve his best and never cracks under pressure. TAG HEUER EYEWEAR LRS
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contents
spring 2015
115
Penthouse views from 30 Park Place, the new Four Seasons Residences and Hotel, designed by Robert A. M. Stern.
106 // bEyONd THE fRiNgE Fashion designers are rethinking the ’70s with a modern fare for spring. Photography by Rene & Radka Styling by Martina Nilsson
haute property Robert A.M. Stern teams up with Larry Silverstein and Four Seasons for a new hotel-condo complex near the World Trade Center.
118 // THE WEsTERN fRONT For celebs, it’s not only about Downtown. The Upper, Lower, and Far West Sides are seeing plenty of A-list action.
and finally... 128 // OuT Of sTEp Is our collective obsession with dizzyingly high heels tripping us up?
ON THE COVER:
The cast of Saturday Night Live Photography by Robert Ascroft Styling by Cannon/Judy Casey
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photography by archpartners. on the cover: hair by Luca bLandi for oscar bLandi saLon; Makeup by Mari shten for arMani beauty; set styLing by sergio esteves; video: eMiLie Jackson; production: Monique perreauLt/very rare productions; shot on Location at Joe’s pub and the Library at the pubLic, 425 Lafayette St., 212-967-7555; joeSpub.com, theLibraryatthepubLic.com
115 // 24-HOuR luxE
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CATHERINE SABINO Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor JENNIFER DEMERITT Editor-at-Large SAMANTHA YANKS Art Director ANASTASIA TSIOUTAS CASALIGGI Photo Director LISA ROSENTHAL BADER Assistant Editor ERIN RILEY Fashion Editor FAYE POWER Copy Editor WENDIE PECHARSKY Research Editor JAMES BUSS
DAWN DUBOIS Publisher Advertising Directors VICTORIA HENRY, JIM SMITH Account Executive MORGAN CLIFFORD Business Development Manager KRISTIN BARNES Senior Director of Brand Development ROBIN KEARSE Director of Brand Development JOANNA TUCKER Brand Development Managers CHRISTIAMILDA CORREA, JIMMY KONTOMANOLIS
NICHE MEDIA HOLDINGS, LLC Senior Vice President and Editorial Director MANDI NORWOOD Vice President of Creative and Fashion ANN SONG Creative Director NICOLE A. WOLFSON NADBOY Executive Fashion Director SAMANTHA YANKS ART AND PHOTO
Senior Art Director FRYDA LIDOR Associate Art Directors ALLISON FLEMING, JUAN PARRA, JESSICA SARRO Senior Designer NATALI SUASNAVAS Designers AARON BELANDRES, SARAH LITZ Photo Editors KATHERINE HAUSENBAUER-KOSTER, JODIE LOVE, SETH OLENICK, JENNIFER PAGAN, REBECCA SAHN Senior Staff Photographer JEFFREY CRAWFORD Senior Digital Imaging Specialist JEFFREY SPITERY Digital Imaging Specialist JEREMY DEVERATURDA Digital Imaging Assistant HTET SAN FASHION
Fashion Assistants CONNOR CHILDERS, LISA FERRANDINO Entertainment and Bookings Editor JULIET IZON COPY AND RESEARCH
Copy and Research Manager WENDIE PECHARSKY Copy Editors DAVID FAIRHURST, JOHANNA MATTSSON, JULIA STEINER Research Editors LESLIE ALEXANDER, JUDY DEYOUNG, AVA WILLIAMS EDITORIAL OPERATIONS
Director of Editorial Operations DEBORAH L. MARTIN Director of Editorial Relations MATTHEW STEWART Editorial Assistant CHRISTINA CLEMENTE Online Executive Editor CAITLIN ROHAN Online Editors ANNA BEN YEHUDA, TRICIA CARR Online Editorial Assistant CATHERINE PARK Senior Managing Editors DANINE ALATI, KAREN ROSE, JILL SIERACKI Managing Editors MURAT OZTASKIN, OUSSAMA ZAHR Shelter and Design Editor SUE HOSTETLER Timepiece Editor ROBERTA NAAS ADVERTISING SALES
Account Directors SUSAN ABRAMS, MICHELE ADDISON, GUY BROWN, CLAIRE CARLIN, MICHELLE CHALA KATHLEEN FLEMING, KAREN LEVINE, MEREDITH MERRILL, NORMA MONTALVO, ELIZABETH MOORE, JEFFREY NICHOLSON, DEBORAH O’BRIEN, SHANNON PASTUSZAK, MIA PIERRE-JACQUES, VALERIE ROBLES, JESSICA ZIVKOVITCH Account Executives SUSANA ARAGON, LAUREN BROGNA, JANELLE DRISCOLL, VINCE DUROCHER, IRENA HALL, SARAH HECKLER, CATHERINE KUCHAR, JULIA MAZUR, FENDY MESY, MARY RUEGG, ERIN SALINS, CAROLINE SNECKENBERG, JACKIE VAN METER Advertising Business Manager RICHARD YONG Sales Support and Development EMMA BEHRINGER, ANA BLAGOJEVIC, BRITTANY CORBETT, DARA HIRSH, KARA KEARNS, KELSEY MARRUJO, MICHELLE MASS, NICHOLE MAURER, RUE MCBRIDE, STEPHEN OSTROWSKI, MICHELLE PETRILLO, ELENA SENDOLO, ALEXANDRA WINTER MARKETING, PROMOTIONS, AND PUBLIC RELATIONS
Vice President of Marketing and Public Relations LANA BERNSTEIN Director of Creative Services SCOTT ROBSON Promotions Art Designers KAITLYN RICHERT, CARLY RUSSELL Event Marketing Directors AMY FISCHER, HALEE HARCZYNSKI, LAURA MULLEN, KIMMY WILSON Event Marketing Managers ANTHONY ANGELICO, JUDSON BARDWELL, CRISTINA PARRA, ASHLEY VEHSLAGE Event Marketing Coordinator BROOKE BIDDLE Event Marketing Assistant SHANA KAUFMAN ADVERTISING PRODUCTION
Director of Positioning and Planning SALLY LYON Positioning and Planning Manager TARA MCCRILLIS Assistant Production Director PAUL HUNTSBERRY Production Manager BLUE UYEDA Production Artists ALISHA DAVIS, MARISSA MAHERAS, DARA RICCI Distribution Manager MATT HEMMERLING Assistant Distribution Relations Manager JENNIFER PALMER Fulfillment Manager DORIS HOLLIFIELD Traffic Supervisor ESTEE WRIGHT Traffic Coordinators JEANNE GLEESON, MALLORIE SOMMERS Manufacturing Coordinator KIMBERLY CHANG Circulation Research Specialist CHAD HARWOOD FINANCE
Controller DANIELLE BIXLER Finance Directors AUDREY CADY, LISA VASSEUR-MODICA Director of Credit and Collections CHRISTOPHER BEST Senior Credit and Collections Analyst MYRNA ROSADO Senior Billing Coordinator CHARLES CAGLE Senior Accountant LILY WU Junior Accountants KATHY SABAROVA, NEIL SHAH, NATASHA WARREN Accounts Payable Coordinator NADINE DEODATT ADMINISTRATION, DIGITAL, AND OPERATIONS
Director of Operations MICHAEL CAPACE Director of Human Resources STEPHANIE MITCHELL Executive Assistant ARLENE GONZALEZ Digital Producer ANTHONY PEARSON Facilities Coordinator JOUBERT GUILLAUME Chief Technology Officer JESSE TAYLOR Desktop Administrators ZACHARY CUMMO, EDGAR ROCHE EDITORS-IN-CHIEF
J.P. ANDERSON (Michigan Avenue), SPENCER BECK (Los Angeles Confidential), ANDREA BENNETT (Vegas), KATHY BLACKWELL (Austin Way), KRISTIN DETTERLINE (Philadelphia Style), LISA PIERPONT (Boston Common), JARED SHAPIRO (Ocean Drive), ELIZABETH E. THORP (Capitol File), DAMIEN WILLIAMSON (Executive Editor, Aspen Peak), SAMANTHA YANKS (Hamptons) PUBLISHERS
JOHN M. COLABELLI (Philadelphia Style), LOUIS F. DELONE (Austin Way), ALEXANDRA HALPERIN (Aspen Peak), DEBRA HALPERT (Hamptons), SUZY JACOBS (Capitol File), GLEN KELLEY (Boston Common), COURTLAND LANTAFF (Ocean Drive), ALISON MILLER (Los Angeles Confidential), DAN USLAN (Michigan Avenue), JOSEF VANN (Vegas)
Managing Partner JANE GALE Chairman and Director of Photography JEFF GALE Chief Operating Officer MARIA BLONDEAUX Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer JOHN P. KUSHNIR Chief Executive Officer KATHERINE NICHOLLS Copyright 2015 by Niche Media Holdings, LLC. All rights reserved. Gotham magazine is published eight times per year. Reproduction without permission of the publisher is prohibited. The publisher and editors are not responsible for unsolicited material, and it will be treated as unconditionally assigned for publication subject to Gotham magazine’s right to edit. Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, photographs, and drawings. To order a subscription, please call 866-891-3144. For customer service, please inquire at gotham@pubservice.com. To distribute Gotham at your business, please e-mail magazinerequest@nichemedia.net. Gotham magazine is published by Niche Media Holdings, LLC, a division of Greengale Publishing, LLC. T: 646-835-5200 F: 212-780-0003
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S U N C L I P S E the alchemy of light, color, and design
new york
delray beach
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abc carpet & home
LETTER from the Editor-in-Chief 1
2
The cast of Saturday Night Live and the Gotham team after our cover shoot at Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater. RIGHT: Richard Steinberg, executive managing director at Warburg Realty, gathered a great group of real estate executives for our second Brokers’ Roundtable, held at The Regency Bar & Grill.
ABOVE:
CATHERINE SABINO Follow me on Twitter @csabino and on gotham-magazine.com.
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// this issue //
ON MY RADAR 1. Brunch at Ladurée Soho. The restaurant feels like a touch of spring, even before the weather warms up. 2. The Armory Show, March 5–8, at Piers 92 and 94 (thearmoryshow.com). With art from the world’s leading galleries, it’s always an exciting visual treat. 3. Catching Gotham cover star Elisabeth Moss in The Heidi Chronicles (theheidichronicles onbroadway.com), Wendy Wasserstein’s Pulitzer Prize–winning play.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JULIE SKARRATT (SABINO); DOUG YOUNG (LADURÉE); GREGG DEGUIRE/WIREIMAGE (MOSS); COURTESY OF BARNABY FURNAS AND MARIANNE BOESKY GALLERY (ARMORY SHOW)
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, whose current cast you see on this issue’s cover, was a rule-bending, groundbreaking, starmaking show from the moment it debuted in 1975 with a young unknown producer named Lorne Michaels at the helm and wisecracking National Lampoon alum Chevy Chase manning the “Weekend Update” desk. Forty years later, SNL is still going strong, and Michaels continues to mastermind the high jinks. Lasting four decades is an extraordinary achievement for any show, particularly one dealing in the quicksilver, sometimestreacherous realm of comedy. But SNL cannily updates itself for each generation, ever attuned to the shifts in tastes and sensibilities of what people find funny. SNL was a pioneer in many ways—setting political, social, and cultural agendas and launching the careers of dozens of unknown comedians who would go on to become household names—but less heralded is the fact that it helped put New York back on the map as an important television city. More than 70 years ago, Gotham was the capital for the fledgling medium, not LA. In 1947, there were roughly 44,000 TV sets in the US, with 30,000 of them in the New York area. David Sarnoff, chairman of RCA, who funded the development of television technology and later color television, did so from New York, where he also founded NBC. In the ’50s, during the so-called Golden Age of Television, most shows were broadcast live from city studios, a tradition SNL drew from and built upon from its first program. SNL served as such a high-profile catalyst (and helped glamorize the city in 1975, when it was on the ropes financially), that TV crews have been setting up their cameras here ever since. Consider that some of the most popular shows of the last several years—Girls, 30 Rock, The Good Wife—are all homegrown productions. So with this cover and feature story, we raise a glass to celebrate SNL’s milestone, how the show has drawn on the strength of New York for its own enduring success, and how that success has paid back the city in countless ways. Be sure to tune into SNL’s 40th Anniversary Special, airing on February 15, for three hours of comedic mayhem, coming to you live… from (where else?) New York.
letter from the Publisher
1
With Rochelle Weitzner, CEO of Erno Laszlo, at the Holiday Style event at the Erno Laszlo Institute in Soho to benefit Shining Service Worldwide, an organization dedicated to providing full makeovers for female veterans reentering civilian life.
dawn dubois Follow me on Twitter @dawnmdubois and on gotham-magazine.com.
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// this issue //
on my radar 1. Despite its architectural grandeur, the Four Seasons Hotel’s Ty Bar offers intimacy and is my favorite place to hold offsite client meetings or catch up with friends by the freplace. It features outstanding wines by the glass and spot-on service. 2. I look forward to Purim in March, when New Yorkers enjoy the fnest hamantaschen from William Greenberg Desserts on Madison Avenue or The Plaza Food Hall.
photography by peter Malinowski (four seasons); blue eyes (haMantaschen)
Recent events in the city of Lights have caused me to reflect back to when I lived there on a student visa as a guest of la République française. I studied in Paris in the 1980s, which meant zero ability to communicate as we do now via cell phone, e-mail, or social media. This was a good thing, because without constant access to my familiar, I was forced to engage. My mission was to learn the language as fast as possible so that I could chat with the Parisian ladies at the boulangerie or debate fellow classmates at the grande école Sciences Po. Though it was the height of the Cold War, threats seemed far away, and my academic year in Paris was a peaceful time. At the risk of generalizations, there are some truths about Paris that I recall and feel safe asserting. Parisians are slow to make new acquaintances, but they will rank among your most steadfast friends. They typically keep a supply of Champagne or favored wine at home and require no special occasion for sharing it. They are among the most literate citizens in the world and read more books per capita than in any other country. One has the sense that the city has seen it all, yet will endure long after we visit. When I have returned to Paris for business decades later, the passage of time has done nothing to diminish my adoration. So without waxing too nostalgic, I owe a huge debt of gratitude to the people of France for contributing to this publisher’s formative years, character, and continuing outlook. I look forward to joining friends of Gotham and Hamptons for our first 2015 cover party, at the landmark Four Seasons Hotel, featuring the new cast of Saturday Night Live as they celebrate the show’s 40th anniversary. Later in March, we will host our first Gotham Italian by Design event at Voce Di with Ferrari sparkling wine from Palm Bay Imports and our other brand partners. Oui, je suis Charlie aussi!
L E T
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L I F E
B E G R A N D ©2014 Compagnie Champenoise. Piper‑Heidsieck ‑ Ancienne Maison Heidsieck Fondée en 1785, Piper‑Heidsieck® Champagne, Imported by Rémy Cointreau USA, Inc., New York, NY. PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY.
// spring 2015
Betsey johnson designer
roBert asCroft Caroline tell writer and consultant photographer
lauren sherman yehrin tong illustrator reporter
Betsey Johnson’s frst gig as a designer for Manhattan boutique Paraphernalia in 1965 put her on the fashion map, and she quickly became known for her whimsical and colorful designs. For Front Runner (page 12) Johnson recalls when she met ’60s It girl and style infuencer Edie Sedgwick, Andy Warhol’s onetime muse. Did Edie often wear your clothes? She really liked my designs and would take clothes in exchange for her time [modeling them]. When did you meet Andy Warhol? My frst year in New York I would run into him in the back room at Max’s Kansas City with all the pink neon, and he would say to me, “How are you, Betsey? You look so different.” He was always surprised at how much I changed my look. Tell us about your frst fashion job at Paraphernalia. It kept me grounded because I could do whatever I wanted so long as it sold. That taught me everything I might have learned at fashion school. I loved making clothes. My gig at Paraphernalia lasted as long as anything in the ’60s did, going until 1969.
A writer and editorial consultant based in New York, Tell has held staff positions at Time and Women’s Wear Daily and served as digital editor at Michael Kors. Her work has appeared in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. She writes about the new crop of It-girl forists in the feature “Flower Power” on page 96. Beyond a love of fowers, what did the forists have in common? They all share an appreciation for design. When I got married six years ago, I told my wedding forist to “make them pretty.” While I’m sure they were, I regret not having indulged in the process a bit more. What do you predict will be the next It-girl profession? I think this “return to the earth” trend we’re seeing will continue, and the next It-girl job could be anything from farmer to holistic chef or yoga instructor. What do you like to do in New York in the spring? Shopping the Union Square Farmers Market every Saturday morning with my husband and young son. Perhaps this spring, I’ll fnd some fresh fowers that I can recognize besides peonies and tulips!
Lauren Sherman is a lifestyle reporter who has written for The New York Times, Women’s Health, InStyle, and Forbes. Sherman interviewed Liz Rodbell, the president of Lord & Taylor and its parent company, Hudson’s Bay, for Tastemaker (page 37), and Pari Ehsan for Talent Patrol (page 58). What do you think is the secret of Liz Rodbell’s success? Liz is a determined woman—she moved to New York at 18 to pursue a career in fashion, and she stuck with it. She also worked her way up the ranks at a company that has seen a lot of changes, and she has impressed the top brass every step along the way. Now she is the top brass! What surprised you about Pari Ehsan? She talked about how, in some ways, it’s much harder to break into the fashion world than the art world. As someone who has been writing about fashion for a decade, I’m much more intimidated by the art world, so I found that fascinating. Where do you write when you’re not at your computer at home? Pushcart Coffee on 25th and Ninth is my second home during Fashion Week.
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An international photographer and commercial director, Ascroft works in a variety of photographic platforms for such diverse clients as Rolex, Universal Music, Vanity Fair, Fox, and Proenza Schouler. He photographed the cast of Saturday Night Live for this issue’s cover story on page 88. What interested you in shooting the cover story? I love doing large-scale productions. I also have been a fan of SNL for as long as I can remember, so the history of the show was a motivating factor. I am excited to see who will become the breakout performer. How did you prepare for the shoot? Luckily, I got to spend the day at the SNL studios at 30 Rock with cast members a day before the shoot. I got to know them individually. It helped for us to have a rapport before actually arriving on the big set. How did you choose the setting for the photos? We wanted old New York. That’s why Joe’s Pub became the backdrop for the shoot. Once we scouted it, the look and feel came into place. What are your favorite places to shoot? Central Park, Tribeca, and Park Slope.
A graduate of London’s Central Saint Martins, Tong creates illusory patterns and typographic designs that have appeared in ad campaigns, installations, and editorial illustrations for such clients as Adidas, Apple, and The New York Times. For this issue, Tong created the illustration featured in “Great Expectations” on page 102. What interested you in designing the art for this piece? I appreciated being given the opportunity to experiment. It was a refreshing change to be tasked with a simple yet bold and graphic image that plays with the patternlike qualities of moiré. What did you hope to convey? Brookfeld Place as the new golden child of the luxury retail world and to highlight the importance of the new World Trade Center as these commercial hubs are now defning Downtown. Any upcoming projects? I am working toward a solo exhibition in London, which should be opening at the end of this year.
photography by pasha antonov (tell); JUstIn ChUng (sherman)
...without whom this issue would not have been possible
the list spring 2015 Guillaume Henry
Chris Benz
Brian Trunzo
Diane von Furstenberg
Peter Copping
Jason Wu
Maria Cornejo
Nadia Sarwar
Joseph Altuzarra
Nina Zilka
Norman Jean Roy
Max Osterweis
Melitta Baumeister
Joseph Singh
Jack McCollough
Suzanne Rae
Marissa Webb
Sara Ziff
Tom Ford
Karin Gustafsson
Leandra Medine
Claire Geist
Natalie Suarez
Anna Murphy
Dao-Yi Chow
Pola Thomson
Christopher Peters
Barry Yu
Paul Andrew
Lazaro Hernandez
Hernan Lander
Thomas Schenk
Bethann Hardison
Blair Eadie
Jan-Hendrik Schlottmann
Lizzy Okpo
Tim Coppens
Julia Roberts
Ernest Alexander
Sophie Buhai
Steven Meisel
Carmela Acampora
Riccardo Tisci
Katie Ermilio
Carter Smith
Samantha Pleet
Feral Childe
Kelly Framel
Shane Gabier
Adam Lippes
Maxwell Osborne
John C Jay
David Vasiljevic
Jamie Isaia
Christina Caradona
Ruth Finley
Jennifer Cattaui
Danielle Bernstein
Paul Cavaco
Chantal van der Meijden
David J. Krause
Sarah Rutson
Lila Rice
Lisa Mayock
Yelena Yemchuk
Derek Lam
Sebastian Faena
Lee Savage
Irene Neuwirth
Scott Sternberg
Charles Elliot Harbison
Marco Bizzarri
Jonathan Leder
Darlene Okpo
Karen Blanchard
Richard Cohen
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style tastemaker
Cool hunting
Liz RodbeLL, president of Lord & tayLor, woos miLLenniaLs with new in-store concepts, many highLighting emerging new york designers. the Latest initiative, design Lab, Launches in february. by lauren sherman
Lord & Taylor has long been known for its dresses: party dresses, holiday dresses, first-day-of-work dresses. Liz Rodbell, president of the 189-year-old department store as well as Canada’s Hudson’s Bay Company (which owns Lord & Taylor and Saks Fifth Avenue), is well aware of the category’s significance. After all, she began her career as a buyer in the store’s dress department in the mid-1980s. “It was an honor to have that role at that time,” she says.
photography by gregg delman
continued on page 38
Liz Rodbell, president of Lord & Taylor and Hudson’s Bay Company, says the store initiatives are designed to inject a “newness into our assortment” and bring emerging “talent to the forefront.”
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style tastemaker “We Wanted to create a unique space Within the store, to inject a neWness into our assortment.” — liz rodbell
mix of 20 often new and “advanced” contemporary designers, among them New York–based labels Sachin + Babi, known for its vibrant embroideries, and Michelle Kim, who makes irresistibly playful prints. “This is another way to bring new talent to the forefront,” Rodbell says. Design Lab, the latest concept, rolls out at all Lord & Taylor and Hudson’s Bay locations in February and will feature items priced at $100 and under, many exclusive to the store. “It’s our answer to fast fashion,” she explains without giving away too much. “We’re really excited about it.” Rodbell, originally from Springfield, Massachusetts, arrived in New York when she was 18 to enroll in
The Birdcage shop-in-shop features up-and-coming and New York-based designers. right: Liz Rodbell, pictured with (from left) Kelly Framel of The Glamourai, Lord & Taylor Fashion Director Stephanie Solomon, and Tina Craig of Bag Snob, at the launch of Birdcage at Lord & Taylor Fifth Avenue.
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Tobé-Coburn, a school specializing in fashion merchandising, and to work in a job-training program with Abraham & Straus, then a major retailer (the brand was eliminated in 1994 when parent company Federated bought R.H. Macy and Co.). “I came [here] with a mission to be in fashion and retail.” When Rodbell heads down Fifth Avenue now, she says it reminds her of how much the city has changed since her first days here. “You see the way New York has evolved and broadened, with so much moving downtown,” ironically the city’s first retail hub. (Lord & Taylor, the US’s oldest upscale retail chain, had its earliest stores in Lower Manhattan, on Catherine Street, Grand Street, and Lower Broadway, before moving to its present location on Fifth Avenue and 38th Street.) The forward-looking Rodbell says that technology must and will play a bigger role in the store’s future. This year will see the implementation of a program that allows shoppers to a buy items online and pick them up in the store. “We are focused on creating a seamless shopping experience,” she says. “It’s a big opportunity.” Indeed, the mission of all the new offerings is clear: modernity and relevancy. “The shopping environment has certainly evolved,” Rodbell explains. “Our goal is to make the store as exciting as it can possibly be.” 424 Fifth Ave., 212391-3344; lordandtaylor.com G
photography by richard cadan photography (birdcage interior); Will ragozzino/bFanyc.com (rodbell)
But Rodbell also knows that with competition ramped up in all retail sectors from luxury to fast fashion and with major brands like Macy’s and Saks investing in major overhauls, Lord & Taylor has to be so much more than just the supplier of a pretty frock. Rodbell is on a mission to woo a whole new crop of customers with several inventive in-store concepts, most notably Birdcage, which opened at Lord & Taylor’s New York flagship last fall. The shop-inshop—named after the department store’s famed midcentury restaurant—is populated with fashion, accessories, and decorative objects for the home designed by roughly 30 up-and-coming labels, most of which are New York based and which manufacture their products in the US. Here, you can find pendant necklaces designed by ethical fashion label A Peace Treaty, leather clutches from quirky Brooklyn line Hayden-Harnett, and scented candles by the hip Joya Studio, also Brooklyn based. “We wanted to create a unique space within the store,” Rodbell says, “to inject a newness into our assortment.” While Rodbell is “very pleased with the success” of Birdcage, mentioning labels like jeweler Alex Woo and handbag designer Marie Turnor, she’s eager to point out that it’s just the latest development in Lord & Taylor’s transformation. September 2014 marked the debut of Brand Assembly, another shop-in-shop featuring a rotating
Š2015 Palm Bay International, Boca Raton, FL
palmbay.com/ferrari
STYLE Accessories
city blocked
Spring acceSSorieS paint a graphic canvaS with bold MiniMaliSt StrokeS worthy of a chelSea gallery. PhotograPhy by Jeff Crawford styling by faye Power
COOL CONTRASTS
M Cabas tote, Balenciaga ($2,075). 148 Mercer St., 212-206-0872; balenciaga. com. White and black bracelet ($285), oblong bracelet ($280), and white outer bracelet ($275), Hermès. 691 Madison Ave., 212-751-3181; hermes.com. Agatha bootie, Vince ($450). 833 Washington St., 212-924-0370; vince.com
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ProP styling by betim balaman
Graphic black and white bring a bold edge to spring accessories.
2
1 FINAL TOUCHES
BAR CODE
Micro details and contrasting hardware bring texture to sleek bags and shoes.
Bold stripes punch up clean silhouettes.
3
4
GEOMETRY LESSON
GRAPHIC, NOVEL
Stark contrasts add up to super-chic designs.
Optical effects create visual intrigue.
1. Revere belt, Sportmax ($425). 450 West Broadway, 212-674-1817; sportmax.com. Spectator sandal, Paul Andrew ($895). Saks Fifth Avenue, 611 Fifth Ave., 212-753-4000; saks.com. Clutch, Boss (price on request). 401 W. 14th St., 646-336-8170; hugoboss.com. 2. Ester wedge, Santoni ($805). Saks Fifth Avenue, see above. Ava resin minaudière, Serpui ($450). Vivaldi, 1388 Third Ave., 212-734-2805; vivaldi-ny.com. Lux mini white clutch, Kara Ross ($1,750). 29 E. 60th St., 212-755-8100; kararossny.com. 3. Patent pump with gold metal detail, Lanvin ($850). 815 Madison Ave., 646-439-0380; lanvin.com. Striped leather handbag, Dolce & Gabbana ($2,495). 717 Fifth Ave., 212-897-9653; dolcegabbana.com. Sabrina pump, Oscar de la Renta ($950). 772 Madison Ave., 212-288-5810; oscardelarenta.com. 4. Cutout medium clutch, Vince ($495). 833 Washington St., 212-924-0370; vince.com. Chevron pointed pump, Nicholas Kirkwood ($750). Intermix, 807 Washington St., 646-559-5239; nicholaskirkwood.com
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STYLE Spotlight ONE-OF-A-KIND
// CHIC SHOPPING // 1
Bloomingdale’s has joined forces with fashion’s hottest designers for an ambitious retail initiative this season, bringing shoppers the best of the best with one-of-akind capsule collections. Called 100% Bloomingdale’s and featuring more than 1,000 pieces, the program offers exclusive-to-the store women’s and men’s apparel, accessories, beauty, and home décor. 1000 Third Ave., 212-705-2000; bloomingdales.com
Pebbled-leather Swagger shoulder bag, Coach ($450).
Men of the World
MODERN POWER PLAYERS HONOR FERRAGAMO AND ITS 100-YEAR HISTORY. BY LISA FERRANDINO
To commemorate its 100th anniversary, Ferragamo is launching the digital short-film series A Man’s Story, directed by fashion photographer Francesco Carrozzini. Each film spotlights a man who has left his mark on the world by following his passion—a storyline that echoes the achievements of Salvatore Ferragamo himself. After arriving in America from Southern Italy in 1914, Ferragamo made a name for himself among Hollywood’s elite in just five years, and the brand he founded remains a fashion powerhouse. Power players of today, such as the New York Rangers’ Henrik Lundqvist and distinguished photographer Ryan McGinley, are profiled in the film series, which can be viewed at ferragamo.com. 655 Fifth Ave., 212-759-3822; ferragamo.com
// baubles //
HIGH RISE
AurŽlie Bidermann ($735). 265 Lafayette St., 212-3350604; aureliebidermann.com
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Jewelry designer David Yurman, famous for his signature cable bracelet, recently unveiled his latest shopping destination, in the heart of Soho’s Cast Iron Historic District, just in time for spring shopping. The 2,000-square-foot store stocks the designer’s classic jewelry for men and women as well as recently launched collections and exclusive pieces such as the Copper Cable Renaissance bracelet. 114 Prince St., 212-3437918; davidyurman.com
2
BAG LADIES To celebrate its new Madison Avenue flagship, Fendi collaborated with Rihanna, Sarah Jessica Parker, Jourdan Dunn, Rachel Feinstein, and Leandra Medine, who each designed a modern interpretation of Fendi’s classic Baguette bag. Named 3Baguette, the collection will be available in-store through March 13 and online, with a portion of sales going to charitable causes. 598 Madison Ave.,212-897-2244; fendi.com
OOH LA LA
La Perla is celebrating its 60th anniversary with a new store concept by Roberto Baciocchi (best know for his work on store designs for Prada) for its Madison Avenue boutique. Rendered in ultrafeminine shades of pale blue, amethyst, and daffodil, the updated design creates a seductive setting where clients can “experience all dimensions of the La Perla brand,” says CEO Suzy Biszantz. 803 Madison Ave., 212-570-0050; laperla.com
Golden architectural cuffs make bold jewelry statements for spring.
Jennifer Fisher ($1,085). Barneys New York, 660 Madison Ave., 212-965-9964; jenniferfisher.com
GOTHAM-MAGAZINE.COM
WELCOME TO SOHO
Maiyet ($950). Barneys New York, 660 Madison Ave., 212-965-9964; barneys.com
Roger Vivier ($1,200). 750 Madison Ave., 212-861-5371; rogervivier.com
Lanvin ($984). 815 Madison Ave., 646-439-0380; lanvin.com
Oscar de la Renta ($495). 772 Madison Ave., 212-288-5810; oscardelarenta.com
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JEFFREY TOTARO (DAVID YURMAN); FRANCESCO CARROZZINI (FERRAGAMO)
what’s in store
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the art of organization
STYLE Time Honored
Reaching foR the StaRS
New York collectors look to A top swiss wAtch show for 2015 treNds iN luxurY timepieces. by roberta naas
The global sale of timepieces in 2014 is estimated at nearly $40 billion, with watches from Switzerland accounting for more than half that figure. That may well be why more than 12,000 watch retailers, collectors, and members of the specialty press descended on Geneva for the first major watch exhibition of 2015—the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie, where 16 top luxury brands introduced their newest pieces. These watches, many of which have been in the making for half a decade, are expected to set timepiece trends for years to come. They will be available in New York this summer. What to look for? The unexpected and the intricate. While chronographs and calendar watches made strong appearances, so, too, did skeletonized watches, world timers, designs inspired by the heavens, and high complications, such as minute repeaters that chime the time. Additionally, tourbillons—watches that have an added escapement to compensate for the errors in timing due to the effects of gravity when the wrist is in certain positions—continue to be strong as brands vie to create the
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most elaborate tourbillon escapements on the market. Gaining particular notice this year is the category of skeletonized watches. In these timepieces, much of the movement’s metal is carved away to allow the wearer to view the elaborate gears and wheels through the sapphire crystal and caseback. Creating a skeleton watch is no easy feat. Watchmakers spend countless hours whittling away as much as 70 percent of the movement’s metal, but must do so in a way that preserves its strength. Additionally, these tiny components are usually engraved, polished, and finished so that the result is a breathtaking work of art and precision. Cartier has managed to create a particularly difficult skeleton timepiece this year with its new Crash Skeleton. Reminiscent of Salvador Dalí’s painting The Persistence of Memory, the asymmetrical Crash design has been a favorite of watch collectors since its introduction in 1967, and is now skeletonized for the first time. The new piece, crafted in platinum, houses the classic caliber MC 9618 skeletonized movement, which had to be modified significantly to fit within the Crash silhouette.
photography and illustration courtesy of montblanc. opposite page: courtesy of cartier (crash skeleton), jaeger-lecoultre (duomètre spherotourbillion), and roger dubuis (excalibur spider)
Montblanc’s Heritage Exotourbillon Chronograph Vasco da Gama ($54,000) features an aventurine dial and shows the stars of the Southern Cross. By appointment only. Montblanc, 600 Madison Ave., 212-223-8888; montblanc.com
Parmigiani Fleurier and Roger Dubuis also focused on skeleton watches, unveiling several architecturally inspired pieces. Parmigiani brings together two difficult mechanical achievements in its new edition of the Tonda 1950 watch: a skeleton design and an ultrathin movement. Roger Dubuis releases the innovative Excalibur Spider Skeleton Flying Tourbillon, which has the star shape found in its contemporary skeleton movements at the forefront, clearly displaying the elongated star with functional purpose as a key design element. This watch highlights another of the year’s important design trends: the ever-more-complex tourbillon. The race continues among top Swiss watch brands to create ever thinner, larger, more architecturally inspired, and complex tourbillon escapements for 2015. Montblanc, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Greubel Forsey, and Cartier are all leaders here. Cartier’s watchmakers moved forward with daring new technical innovations, unveiling the Rotonde de Cartier Reversed Tourbillon, which minimizes the movement and escapement to new levels for the brand. Montblanc unveils the Heritage Exotourbillon in a special edition that honors Vasco da Gama. Named for the famed explorer who navigated by the Southern Cross constellation on his pioneering voyages from Europe to India in the 1500s, the stunning watch features an aventurine dial complete with the stars of the Southern Cross in the design. This watch represents another key trend of the year: watches inspired by astronomy. Jaeger-LeCoultre references the heavens in its new Duomètre Spherotourbillon Moon watch, which features a moon-phase indication and seemingly free-floating tourbillon escapement. Similarly, Greubel Forsey focuses on astronomy with its seventh invention watch: QP a’ Equation, which masterfully combines a tourbillon, perpetual calendar, equation of time mechanism (that displays the difference between real time and solar time), and season display. G
clockwise from near left: To build the Cartier Crash Skeleton (approximately $62,000), the entire movement had to be reconfigured and then meticulously carved away to be visible. By appointment only. Cartier, 767 Fifth Ave., 212-457-3202; cartier.com
Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Duomètre Spherotourbillon Moon watch (price on request) is all about astronomy. It combines moon-phases indication with double-carriage tourbillon escapement. Jaeger-LeCoultre, 701 Madison Ave, 646-828-4328; jaeger-lecoultre.com From Roger Dubuis, this Excalibur Spider Skeleton Flying Tourbillon ($159,500) features an exquisitely carved movement with star motif. Wempe, 700 Fifth Ave., 212-387-9000; rogerdubuis.com
in 2014 the global sale of timepieces is estimated at nearly $40 billion, with swiss watches accounting for more than half that figure. gotham-magazine.com
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www.lenoxhotel.com | 61 Exeter Street at Boylston | Boston, MA 02116-2699 Phone: 617.536.5300 | Reservations: 800.225.7676
Culture Hottest ticket
Bullish Over BrOadway eighteen shows debut this spring, as the great white way sets new records for attendance and revenue. by patrick pacheco
Finding Neverland, a play based on the genesis of the play Peter Pan (when writer J.M. Barrie’s career was at an all-time low and he desperately needed a hit) is among the most highly anticipated of the 18 shows slated to open this spring on Broadway. The number is a testament to the bullishness among investors and producers, no doubt buoyed by weekly takes that have seen such popular shows as The Lion King, Wicked, and The Book of Mormon gross over $2 million each and another 15 break the $1 million mark. Not to mention, the 2014 Broadway season was the most successful in history (grossing $1.362 billion). “This is a passion-driven business,” says Jordan Roth, president of Jujamcyn Theatres, about the producers and artists who are lining up to take their chances. “If I can point to any trend, it’s that Broadway has now been charged with an excitement that makes talented, innovative artists—people who’ve been successful elsewhere—want to come and work here.” Case in point: Multiple Oscar winner Harvey Weinstein is making his first foray as a lead producer with Neverland, which is based on the Johnny Depp-Kate Winslet film, Finding Neverland, that he produced in 2004. After a lackluster world premiere of the play in Leicester, England, Weinstein dumped the entire creative team. He knows what he’s after: The ka-ching, ka-ching of a big, fat Broadway hit. To revamp the show for its Broadway debut, Weinstein tapped Diane Paulus (Hair, Pippin). “She’s “one of the truly great directors,” says Matthew Morrison of Glee, who is returning to Broadway in the role of Barrie.
photography by angela Sterling
coNTiNued oN PaGe 48
Ballet stars Robert Fairchild and Leanne Cope in George Gershwin’s An American in Paris, directed by Christopher Wheeldon.
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Culture Hottest ticket from left:
Helen Mirren plays Queen Elizabeth in The Audience; Bill Nighy and Carey Mulligan in Skylight.
Another great director with a hot new project is Casey Nicholaw, the director and choreographer of The Book of Mormon and Aladdin, who now tackles Something Rotten!. The producers are hoping he’ll bring his golden touch to this musical set in the 1590s about a playwriting team who invent the Broadway-style musical while trying to compete with the Bard. Rotten! marks the Broadway debut of songwriting team Karey Kirkpatrick and his Grammy-winning brother, Wayne. Their participation feeds a growing trend of pop music crossovers, epitomized by the recent success of Carole King’s Beautiful and the long-running Jersey Boys. Des McAnuff, who directed Jersey Boys, is back with Doctor Zhivago, with songs by Lucy Simon (The Secret
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Garden). Zhivago, based on the 1965 romantic film set in revolutionary Russia, has had a long gestation, premiering at the La Jolla Playhouse in 2006 and more recently enjoying an acclaimed run in Australia. Another long-gestating musical, The Visit, has also finally come to roost, distinguished by the return to Broadway of the legendary Chita Rivera as a glamorous and wealthy woman who seeks revenge on the man who wronged her. The show, directed by John Doyle (Sweeney Todd), aims to be a fitting valedictory as the last project of the team of John Kander and the late Fred Ebb (Cabaret, Chicago). Two high-profile musical revivals are in the works as well. Since revivals often earn less than freshly minted shows, it
has been left to the nonprofit theaters, Lincoln Center and The Roundabout, respectively, to produce them: Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The King and I, starring Kelli O’Hara and Ken Watanabe, and On the Twentieth Century, with Kristin Chenoweth and Peter Gallagher. O’Hara says that director Bartlett Sher, who directed her in South Pacific, brings a fresh perspective to the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic. “He approaches it as a brand-new play,” she explains about the story of a British teacher’s arrival in the 19th-century Siamese royal court. “The bar is set pretty high, so we’ll have to dig deeper, respecting the culture the musical represents while showing the [progressive] change that this brave, spirited, and independent woman was
able to effect.” Chenoweth will bring her own comic exuberance to Lily Garland, the feisty movie diva of On the Twentieth Century in a battle royal with Gallagher’s down-on-his-luck impresario. Director Scott Ellis says this is a role that Chenoweth was born to play. “Not only can she sing the hell out of this score, she’s funny and she understands stardom.”
Newbies, eNter stage left The ballet world’s Christopher Wheeldon has choreographed on Broadway (Sweet Smell of Success), but this season will see his directorial debut with the stage adaptation of George and Ira Gershwin’s An American in Paris, based on the 1951 film. Given Wheeldon’s résumé as a choreographer for
the New York City and Royal Ballets, it’s not surprising that the lead roles, of the aspiring artist and the Parisian shopgirl he’s infatuated with, will be taken on by ballet stars Robert Fairchild and Leanne Cope. Paris continues to cast its spell this season as yet another Minnelli film is getting the musical treatment—the 1958 Oscar-winning Gigi. Vanessa Hudgens (High School Musical) will star in this Belle Epoque tale of a young courtesan-intraining who eschews the family business. And while David Hyde Pierce is well known as an actor, he too will be making his directorial debut with It Shoulda Been You, a musical starring Tyne Daly and Harriet Harris. Hyde Pierce says he offered his services because he loved the material—a wedding
photography by Johan persson (mirren). opposite page: John haynes (skylight); Dooleyvision/FotobuDDy©2014 (miscast)
“BROADwAY HAS nOw Been CHARGeD wITH An exCITeMenT THAT MAKeS TAlenTeD, InnOVATIVe ARTISTS—PeOPle wHO’Ve Been SuCCeSSful elSewHeRe—wAnT TO COMe AnD wORK HeRe.” —jordan roth
novel by Alison Bechdel. The critics raved when the show premiered at the Public Theater last year. The tragicomedy—about a young lesbian coming of age in a funeral home owned by her closeted gay father—is sure to test what can hold sway on Broadway.
The London facTor
of a Jewish bride and Catholic groom that’s suspended when their previous mates surface at the ceremony. “It’s daunting,” says Hyde Pierce of the new shows on Broadway. “But there’s no one quite like us.” That’s certainly true of Fun Home, the unorthodox musical by Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori, based on the graphic
Peter Morgan’s The Audience and David Hare’s revival of Skylight are both star-laden London transfers directed by Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliot). In Skylight, Bill Nighy, as a successful restaurateur, and Carey Mulligan, as an inner-city schoolteacher, attempt to rekindle a lost love despite their ideological differences. The drama earned raves and did sellout business when it played the West End last summer. In The Audience, Helen Mirren once again assays Queen Elizabeth II, a role she played to Oscar-winning acclaim in the The Queen. This time, instead of jousting with Tony Blair in the aftermath of Diana’s death, Her Majesty goes up against the 12 prime ministers, from Churchill to David Cameron, who have served under her reign.
The British throne will also be the focus of Wolf Hall, Parts 1 and 2, the London hit based on Hilary Mantel’s best-selling novels about Oliver Cromwell’s ascent from low birth to high power during the reign of Henry VIII. “It’s always trepidatious when you bring something over to the Great White Way,” says the show’s British producer, Matthew Byam Shaw. “But it attests to the genius of Hilary Mantel that she’s able to make a dusty, old story compelling for a modern audience.” But Team America won’t be lacking in star power. Opera diva Renée Fleming makes her Broadway debut in Joe DiPietro’s Living on Love, playing—what else?—an opera diva worried about the loss of her vocal prowess while her marriage hits some sour notes. “It’s been stressful and insane,” says Fleming of her transition from grand opera to stage farce. “But I’ve always been a closet comedienne, and it’s been a tragedy, pun intended, that I’ve spent my life in operas playing dying victimized women. It has been a joy to play Raquel because there are so many
elements of her—being completely narcissistic, obsessed with the voice, speaking in the third person—that come naturally to anybody who comes from opera. We have fun sending up ourselves.” Elisabeth Moss of Mad Men fame takes on the role of art historian Heidi Holland in a revival of Wendy Wasserstein’s The Heidi Chronicles, and Larry David of Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm makes his Broadway acting and writing debut with Fish in the Dark, which he describes broadly as “a comedy about a death in the family.” Rosie Perez, who is among the ensemble, says that David has taken to Broadway like, well, a fish to water. “He’s a natural,” she says. “He has his insecurities, but that’s what makes his writing so honest and so universal. He celebrates our little human quirks, things that make us feel, ‘I must be weird.’ But Larry’s writing says, ‘No, no, we’re all weird.’ And that’s what theater does best. It makes us feel, ‘Hey, we’re not alone.’” G
Miscast for a Good Cause The MCC annual fundraiser for city public schools showcases stars in unlikely roles.
Girls star Zosia Mamet with members of the original cast of Broadway’s Newsies. Blonde Megan Hilty belting out “Mean to Me” from the allblack revue Ain’t Misbehavin’ ? Raúl Esparza and Lin-Manuel Miranda in the fery duet “A Boy Like That” from West Side Story? In the gala-saturated precincts of New York, “Miscast,” the MCC Theater’s annual fundraiser, is a standout. “It’s the best worst idea for a beneft because it’s all about casting great people the wrong
Broadway’s spring deButs: An American in Paris, from March 13 at the Palace Theatre (1564 Broadway, 212-730-8200). The Audience, from February 14 at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre (236 W. 45th St., 212-239-6200). Doctor Zhivago, from March 27 at the Broadway Theatre (1681 Broadway, 212-239-6200). Finding Neverland, from March 15 at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre (205 W. 46th St., 212-575-9200). Fish in the Dark, opened February 2 at the Cort Theatre (138 W. 48th St., 212-239-6200). Fun Home, from March 27 at the Circle in
the Square Theatre (1633 Broadway, 212-307-0388). Gigi, from March 19 at the Neil Simon Theatre (250 W. 52nd St., 212-757-8646). The Heidi Chronicles, from February 23 at the Music Box Theatre (239 W. 45th St., 212-239-6200). It Shoulda Been You, from March 17 at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre (256 W. 47th St., 212-719-4099).
, from March 12 at the Vivian Beaumont Theater (150 W. 65th St., 212-362-7600). Living on Love, from April 1 at the Longacre Theatre (220 W. 48th St., 212-239-6200).
way,” says Will Cantler, the On the Twentieth Century, from February 12 at the American Airlines Theatre (227 W. 42nd St., 212-719-1300).
Off-Broadway theater’s artistic director. This year’s beneft on March 30, honoring actress
Skylight, from March 13 at the John Golden Theatre (252 W. 45th St., 212-239-6200).
Sarah Paulson and producer Fran
Something Rotten!, from March 23 at the St. James Theatre (246 W. 44th St., 212-239-6295)
their silly sides to beneft the
The Visit, from March 26 at the Lyceum Theatre (149 W. 45th St., 212-239-2949). Wolf Hall, Parts 1 and 2, from March 20 at the Winter Garden Theatre (1634 Broadway, 212-760-8364).
All tickets available at broadway.com.
Weissler, will continue a tradition of actors gleefully indulging
Off-Broadway theater and its partnership with New York City public high schools. This year’s lineup includes Ana Gasteyer, Annaleigh Ashford, Jessie Mueller, Cheyenne Jackson, and Linda Lavin. mcctheater.org
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culture Art Full Shelly Nadashi’s A Good Bowl of Soup, 2013. A Brussels-based artist, Nadashi juxtaposes video, sculpture, writing, and performance in her work.
Curating CyberspaCe
One of the hottest—and earliest—tickets of New York’s upcoming art-fair season is the New Museum’s 2015 triennial, opening February 25. Predictive in scope, “Surround Audience” highlights emerging artists, those “whose inventiveness is really shattering our understanding of what art is,” says celebrity video and installation artist Ryan Trecartin. For gallerists and collectors eager to glimpse the future of art—and to identify new talent before their work sells at high-end auctions—this is a requisite stop. A cooperative effort by Trecartin and New Museum curator Lauren Cornell, the show includes works by 51 emerging artists from more than 25 countries. “Over the past few decades, we’ve experienced a major cultural shift, from where our engagement with the Web was something deemed outside of us—i.e., virtual or cyberspace—to something that is all around us, extending our bodies, changing our relationships and sense of life,” explains Cornell. “The show explores what it means to be increasingly surrounded in this way. Participating artists approach this topic from psychological, political, or totally poetic ways.” Most of the artists in the exhibit were born after the Internet was launched, so it has been a constant throughout their lives; now, they’re exploring the ramifications through video, installation, digital animation, sculpture, sound, publishing, even branding.
50 gotham-magazine.com
by suzanne charlé
“We started off thinking about all the artists whose work really interests us that are hard to ‘show,’” notes Trecartin, whose videos were in the first triennial. (Trecartin was hailed by The New Yorker as “the most consequential artist to have emerged since the 1980s.” While art galleries sell limited editions of his videos, he “slices through… bondage to commercial and institutional powers” by putting some of them on Vimeo for free.) Some exhibitors are well known, at least in circles that debate the term “Post-Internet Art”: Josh Kline will explore “our willful dissolution of privacy” via the sharing economy and social media, in his installation Freedom (2015). Also on board are the collectives DIS (tapped to curate the 2016 Berlin Biennale) and K-Hole, whose contribution is also the triennial’s advertising campaign. Traditionalists might find advertising in a museum exhibition radical—which is precisely what Cornell and Trecartin are aiming for. “Both [collectives] are catalyzing a sea change not only in the art world but in the cultural sphere at large,” says Trecartin. “I don’t think their work and contributions are going to be fully understood until we are much further into this century. That exciting uncertainty is essential to a show about emerging ideas.” New Museum 2015 Triennial, February 25–May 24. 235 Bowery, 212-219-1222; newmuseum.org G
photography Courtesy of the artist
The New MuseuM’s Triennial looks aT The arT world’s fuTure sTars.
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Culture Art Basel Hong Kong
Global Glamour From its inception two years ago, Art Basel in Hong Kong quickly became a must-stop on the international art circuit, attracting over 125,000 visitors and 294 top galleries from around the world, and racking up estimated sales of more than $1 billion. As the fair celebrates its third year (March 15–17), Art Basel’s director, Marc Spiegler, gives us an overview of what New York collectors can expect to see and experience at this year’s show.
from top:
A. Senna O/G 1, by JPW3, 2014; Pose Boedjang Ajam (Pose Playboy Rooster), by Yunizar, 2014; Furniture Art (Shikoku and Hakone), by Mika Tajima, 2014.
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Attendance at ABHK was up 10 percent last year compared to 2013. What do you think are the reasons for this growth? Marc Spiegler: Art Basel in Hong Kong has established itself as the premier international art show in Asia, giving visitors an opportunity to view the best art from Asia and the AsiaPacific area, where half of our galleries have exhibition spaces. The show has also had a tremendous impact on the burgeoning art scene in Hong Kong, further cementing its place as a global hub for the region. What will you be doing in 2015 to make ABHK a standout? Alexie Glass-Kantor, executive director of the Sydney-based Artspace, has very ambitious plans for the Encounters sector, which presents institutional-scale artworks and installations. I am also excited about some of the younger US galleries in the Discoveries sector: Eleven Rivington from New York will present the artist Mika Tajima, while Night Gallery from Los Angeles will show work by John Patrick Walsh III. The first film sector at ABHK had an enthusiastic reception in 2014. What can we expect to see this year? The film sector was very well received—we presented 49 films by 41 artists. Hong Kong is a cinema city. This year promises to be just
as strong, with artist/curator Li Zhenhua returning to curate the sector. Themes for his upcoming program include urbanity, animated reality, and healing, among others. How has the success of Art Basel in Hong Kong helped to expand the city’s art scene? The show focuses an international spotlight on art in Hong Kong. It provides an opportunity for galleries from across the world to make new contacts and exchange ideas, and for the city’s galleries, artists, nonprofit art organizations, and museums to reach a global audience. We work closely with key cultural organizations across Hong Kong—including Asia Art Archive, the Asia Society, Para/Site Art Space, Spring Workshop, and M+, Hong Kong’s future museum for visual culture—to offer an associated program of events throughout the city during the show. In fall 2014, we started working with HKU Space and Central Saint Martins to create a first-of-its-kind continuing education program on collecting contemporary art for novice art collectors. For additional information, visit artbasel.com/en/Hong-Kong. G
INSIGHT
Five top New York galleries to check out at ABHK this year. AndreA roSen GAllery: 525
W. 24th St., 212-627-6000; andrearosengallery.com edWArd Tyler nAHeM Fine ArT:
37 W. 57th St., 2nd f. 212-517-2453; edwardtylernahemfneart.com eleven rivinGTon: 11 Rivington St.,
212-982-1930; elevenrivington.com SKArSTedT GAllery: 20 E. 79th St.,
212-737-2060; skarstedt.com Tyler rollinS Fine ArT: 529 W. 20th St., No. 10W, 212-229-9100; trfneart.com
PhotograPhy by Charles benton, Courtesy of eleven rivington, ny (tajima); max sChwartz, Courtesy of night gallery (jPw3); Courtesy of gajah gallery (yunizar)
The world’s Top collecTors, gallerisTs, and filmmakers head To fasT-growing Art BAsel in Hong ong, now in iTs Third year. by matt stewart
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CULTURE Spotlight // SEE, HEAR! // 1
flashback
RETRO RUNWAY
BY JENNIFER DEMERITT
Iceland’s pop pixie Björk has always traveled easily between the worlds of pop and avant-garde. Since exploding onto international top 40 charts almost three decades ago, her music has featured techno beats, chamber orchestras, and newly invented instruments—not to mention her extraordinary voice. Her daring videos have attracted an elite force of collaborators, including Michel Gondry (who won an Oscar for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), and her art-world cred was cemented when she composed the music and starred in the Lars von Trier movie Dancer in the Dark. In conjunction with Björk’s concert dates at Carnegie Hall and City Center, MoMA launches a retrospective of her work, both musical and visual, as well as a new 3-D film with director Andrew Thomas Huang. March 8–June 7. MoMA, 11 W. 53rd St., 212-708-9400; moma.org
// on the boards //
ABOVE, FROM LEFT: Saint Laurent Rive Gauche, circa 1970; Halson, circa 1976.
GOTHAM-MAGAZINE.COM
When John Mulaney was a writer and “Weekend Update” performer on Saturday Night Live, he was best known as creator of the character Stefon, the drug-addled club kid played by Bill Hader. These days, he’s getting raves as a stand-up performer in his own right, thanks to his boy-next-door charm and sly observations that are always trenchant but never mean. His career hits a new peak when he performs at Carnegie Hall on March 14. 881 Seventh Ave, 212-247-7800; carnegiehall.org
2
PICTURE THIS
In “Wordless!” Pulitzer Prize–winning graphic novelist Art Spiegelman (Maus) gives a madcap multimedia tour of vintage cartoons that inspired him, accompanied by animation, illustrations, and a killer live jazz band. March 13. Miller Theatre, Columbia University, 2960 Broadway, 212-854-7799; millertheatre.com
POSTMODERN SHAKESPEARE
The trai lblazing Wooster Group ventures across the East River to St. Ann’s Warehouse in DUMBO to present Cry, Trojans!, a bold reinterpretation of Shakespeare’s play Troilus and Cressida. The troupe, headed for years by Elizabeth LeCompte, is famous for
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FROM SNL TO CARNEGIE HALL
reimagining classic texts with modern settings and postmodern intellectual trappings, and Cry, Trojans! is no exception. The Trojans are portrayed as a fictitious tribe of Native Americans and the Greeks as British, a twist that raises questions about ethnic identity in
this tale of corrupted love amid political strife. LeCompte directs the visually striking production, with artist Folkert de Jong collaborating on the set and costumes. March 24–April 19. St. Ann’s Warehouse, 29 Jay St., Brooklyn, 718-254-8779; stannswarehouse.org
PHOTOGRAPHY BY EILEEN COSTA © 2014 THE MUSEUM AT FIT (FIT); MINDY TUCKER (MULANEY); ROBERT KOZLOFF © THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO (SPIEGELMAN); TIM HAILAND (WOOSTER GROUP)
BJÖRK, NOW SHOWING AT MOMA.
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PeoPle View from the Top
MUSIC MAN
With his neW Flash Factory, nightclub maven Michael SatS y, knoWn For the toughest doors in toWn, moves to a diFFerent beat. For more than a decade, the three most powerful words to utter at the door of New York’s hottest clubs were simple: “I’m with Mike.” To the uninitiated, Mike is Michael Satsky, the foremost arbiter of Manhattan’s late-night landscape this century. It was Satsky, inspired by Europe’s bôites, who introduced the concept of a superstar DJ-driven club stateside with Stereo and then watched his concept be cloned across the country. As the mastermind of Provocateur, he channeled the spirit of Studio 54 with a ferocious door policy that was more iron bar than velvet rope. Yet in person, Satsky hardly comes across as a hardminded sentinel of cool—he’s soft-spoken and low-key and firmly believes that every one of his nightlife ventures is driven by the same basic impulse: to create a sense of community. Satsky’s next venture, to open in February, was inspired by that ethos—though in this case, it won’t be herds of celebrities and models that will make up the “community.” Satsky and nightlife partner Brian Gefter, who in addition to their clubbing businesses had been staging pop-up dance spaces at music festivals for years, say they want to build a festival experience on a daily basis. “When we saw the energy with every person on the same
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Michael Satsky at Flash Factory, his most ambitious venue yet.
photography by gregg delman (satsky)
by mark ellwood
page—all captivated—I found that intoxicating.” That intoxication is leading him to create his most ambitious venue yet, one that may transform the rules of New York nightlife again. Satsky, who comes from a rock background—he’s a former Dead Head—wants to create an authentic music venue in Manhattan where the sole screening filter for admittance will be a club-goer’s music taste and ability to buy a ticket. Satsky calls his new 10,000-square-foot space “a large CBGB for our generation,” referencing the iconic punk venue on the Bowery, now home to a John Varvatos store. Flash Factory has a singular mission: to be a flexible space for live performance, whether alternative, rock, or hip-hop, targeted squarely at music lovers rather than dance floor poseurs. Satsky says he’s channeling the musicdriven venues that emerged in New York’s gritty downtown in the late 1960s, notably the spirit of the beloved Fillmore East on Second Avenue, which earned the nickname The Church of Rock ’n’ Roll thanks to a roster of regulars like Jimi Hendrix, the Allman Brothers, and the Grateful Dead. Despite his famously picky door policies, Satsky stresses how Flash Factory is a return to his roots. “When I was in college [at SUNY-Syracuse], in the summer everyone came to the city and we needed a place to hang out.” It was Satsky, aiming to provide a communal venue for his clique, who “would rent out restaurants after hours and throw parties,” he explains. These bashes remained under the radar until one night in 2002 when he booked his friend, the late DJ AM, to play a space in Chelsea. “I was able to fill the space with a thousand people. I said, ‘Wow, I need to bring this to everyone as often as I can.’” Satsky then opened his first permanent space, Stereo, designed as a clubhouse for his friends. The 29th Street pioneer—nicknamed the Yankee
Stadium of nightclubs—was known for its exceptional music programming. It helped cement Mark Ronson’s deck-spinning reputation and hosted a roster of celebrity regulars: Axl Rose once held an impromptu listening party to preview his new album, and it was Lindsay Lohan’s favorite bôite before her unfortunate implosion. For his next venue, Provocateur (in the Gansevoort Hotel), Satsky took that same sense of shared experience and upgraded it, aiming at an even more rarified community: “We started with one memo and have kept it until now: It’s private, and it’s for our people. A beautiful group of the most creative people in whatever they do: artists, fashion designers, or real estate.” Of course, this is Satsky’s typically mellow way of explaining the club’s fearsome door policy, which it established soon after opening and still retains five years later. The décor of Flash Factory may seem more roughly hewn than his previous, slick spaces, but it’s a winking tribute to his focus on shared experience. The raw space is kitted out with salvaged architectural remnants from old buildings in and around New York City. “They’re pieces taken from temples, churches, schools—any space where large groups of people have congregated,” he says. “It gives you the feeling that you’re in a spiritual environment.” A 20-by-15-foot wood and stained-glass screen that once hung in an old church was installed as the backdrop to the main DJ booth. A set of old wooden crosses were upended, cut, and repurposed to form arches in the ceiling. The only challenge, as Satsky readies for the opening, is finding a few more. So right now, rather than spending his free time booking performers or obsessively reworking the cocktail menu, he’s trawling through flea markets to find more crosses to complete the installation. Doubtless, he’s blasting some Grateful Dead on every trip. G
SatSky’S Spin A nightlife czar talks music, business, and after-hours New York. Advice for stArting in city nightlife:
“It’s all about the deal—make sure the deal is right: the location, the rent, the buildout. If it doesn’t ft, don’t wear it.” if he could operAte Any venue (pAst or present):
“Roseland Ballroom [formerly on West 52nd Street]. There was so much history there, with that landmark-type feel. There were so many things you could do with it.” After-hours hAngouts:
“At 3 or 4 am, it would be Blue Ribbon. I have oysters and the chicken breast (119 Sullivan St., 212-343-0404; blueribbon restaurants.com).
Past 4 am, it would be one of two places: Joe’s Pizza, where I have a regular slice (7 Carmine St., 212-3661182; joespizza nyc.com), or Wo Hop, this late-night Chinese place that has great chicken and broccoli (17 Mott St., 212-962-8617; wohopnyc.com).” fAvorite off-duty indulgence:
“Il Mulino, the original one, during the week. (86 W. Third St., 212-673-3783; ilmulino.com). It feels nice to be wearing black sweats and a black T-shirt, and go to such a rich, beautiful, romantic, awesome restaurant. At 11 pm on a Monday, you can take your woman there.” [Satsky’s fancée is Brazilian model Natalia Borges.]
left:
A rendering of Flash Factory, Satsky’s new 10,000-square-foot space, which he calls “a CBGB for our generation.” above: Salvaged architectural artifacts, including stained-glass windows, are part of the interior design.
gotham-magazine.com
57
PEOPLE Talent Patrol Ehsan pairs a Marc Jacobs dress with a 2014 Philippe Decrauzat painting, On Cover 8, at the Elizabeth Dee Gallery.
Instagram superstar Pari Ehsan, wIth a recent cFDa nomInatIon unDer her belt, FInDs new ways to connect FashIon anD art. by lauren sherman Fashion today cues so much of what it considers modern and culturally relevant from contemporary art, but the two worlds, while frequently mingling, don’t always mesh. Enter Pari Ehsan and her influential blog, Pari Dust (paridust.com), which is brilliantly—and chicly—connecting the dots. So brilliantly, in fact, that Ehsan, 31, who gained Internet fame by posting full-length portraits of herself wearing the latest designer pieces at the city’s biggest art galleries, earned a nomination as Instagrammer of the Year from the Council of Fashion Designers of America for her site. She says she sees her blog “as a platform for art, architecture, and fashion to interact and coexist,” and for readers (she now has more than 200,000
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followers on Instagram) to learn about art through the “lens” of fashion. Ehsan’s route to blogging fame and success was circuitous. Born and raised in Southern Indiana, she earned her undergraduate degree in architecture at USC. After a stint working under furniture designer Ana Meier (the daughter of architect Richard Meier) and Charlie Ferrer in Los Angeles, Ehsan moved back to Manhattan to establish her own interior design company in 2012. That was the year she launched Pari Dust in her downtime out of “a creative desire I felt it was time to fulfill,” she says over cappuccinos at a favorite neighborhood spot, Dimes (Ehsan lives on the Lower East Side). “I love the idea of bringing exposure to emerging artists and designers as
CLOTHES ENCOUNTERS Ehsan explains the whys behind recent fashion and art pairings.
“These George Condo paintings represent the many facets and somewhat erratic nature of an individual’s personality. The Christian Dior look, with its loose fuid print yet defned silhouette, conveys these dichotomies.”
“A graphic black and white patternon-pattern embodies this Sol LeWitt and Saint Laurent pairing. The structure of the sleeves and materiality of the leather skirt pops against LeWitt’s geometries.”
“Frank Stella’s explosive abstract sculptures are a commanding presence, as is this futuristic mirrored tunic by Gareth Pugh.”
photography by tyLor hoU (decraUzat, condo, steLLa); Jason gringLer (Le Witt)
Picture-Perfect
well as pushing the envelope for interaction between the two.” With her focus on high fashion and high art, she quickly attracted the attention of industry insiders in both camps, although she found that the process of making a name for oneself is different in each. “In art, if one person gives you the nod of approval, everyone else does,” she says. “Fashion is much more compartmentalized.” Early supporters included e-commerce site Moda Operandi as well as designers Tanya Taylor and Misha Nonoo, who often directly reference artists in their work. Ehsan says she takes cues from the art before deciding on the clothes to be photographed. “I see as much art as I can and then pull out elements from the art that I want to focus on in the clothing, such as color, line, texture, and form,” she says. “Most importantly, I try to emulate the overall feeling of the art in the [fashion] styling.” When she began her blog, Ehsan didn’t ask for permission to shoot at galleries. “I knew they would say no,” she says. Now, galleries—and designers—are clamoring for her attention. In fact, she’s had the opportunity to showcase couture and ready-to-wear from several Paris fashion houses, including Chanel and Dior, on the site. As she winds down her interior design business—“I just don’t have time anymore,” she laments—Ehsan is focusing on transforming paridust.com into a full-fledged website. “I like the idea of collaborating with artists to create content,” she says, like the recent video she dreamed up with artists Geoffrey Pugen and Jason Gringler at Thomas Houseago Moun Room’s exhibit at the Hauser & Wirth gallery. This spring, she’s collaborating with an international auction house as well as a designer “who is deeply influenced and engaged with the worlds of art and architecture.” She says she feels so much can happen in the conversation between fashion and art. “I want to create entirely new compositions. That’s the direction I want to go in.” G
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B E SP O K E R E A L E STAT E . C O M
PEOPLE First Edition New York native and fashion executive Mark Weber. “Everyone needs to reboot and rethink the way things have been done, because consumers are changing.”
dressed For success
Mar Weber author of AlwAys in FAshion, talks about running major companies, outsmarting the competition, and why new york is the crucial market for luxury worldwide. by catherine sabino
Beginnings: I was the
first in my family to go to college. I went to Brooklyn College because it was affordable. My parents suggested I become a doctor or a lawyer, but I wasn’t interested in either of those professions. Creating want: The difference between need and want is just fascinating
60 gotham-magazine.com
to me. Don’t kid yourself; [fashion] is all about creating things people don’t really need. If you understand that, you will find you can be very successful in this business. the Changing luxurY Customer: Millennials
will still want the quality and prestige associated with luxury products, but it might not carry a logo or be shown in the same way it has been. Everyone needs to reboot and rethink the way things have been done, because consumers are changing. on Competition: If you’re up against strong competition, find an unconventional way to compete. Zig when the rest of the industry is zagging. Do something counterintuitive. Best Career mistake:
The president of the Phillips-Van Heusen company [where Weber once worked] criticized my hands-on involvement in marketing. But that gave me an in-depth understanding of the cost structure, media buying,
“the opportunities for businesses are global, so you must develop a product that works around the world.”—mark weber and creative choices [needed for] world-class marketing and advertising campaigns. This “mistake” to disregard the criticism, allowed me to participate seamlessly in that role and requirement at LVMH and Donna Karan. thinking BeYond Borders: The United
States may have great impact on the world, but we’re still only a small part of it. The CEO of a Swedish company once said to me, “You Americans think the World Series is a baseball game played in Yankee
Stadium. The rest of the world realizes the World Series is the World Cup playing football [soccer] in every country of the world.” The opportunities for businesses are global, so you must develop a product line that works around the world. As for the criticism about sameness? A major company may have a thousand different items to choose from, but the stores in Paris, for example, will likely have a different take on how to curate the assortment. next luxurY market:
Because of the global
nature of the world, with the Internet and the ability to travel, people are finding luxury goods when they need to. As for the next top market? That’s hard to call. Some people will tell you that India is not there yet. There are products, but there are fewer locations. Catering to the new York Customer: Very
often brands [go about marketing] differently in New York than anywhere else because of the city’s stature. I believe that targeting New York is targeting the world. G
photography by patrick McMullan
Mark Weber likes to say he’s had a fantastic career, and no one will ever dispute that—he was CEO of Phillips-Van Heusen, president of Donna Karan International, and North American CEO of LVMH, where he currently serves on the executive committee. Weber’s new book, Always in Fashion, chronicles his rise to the top, despite having started out, he says, “with nothing—no experience, no connections, no advisors.” Gotham spoke to Weber about the book, the changing luxury customer, and why he sees New York as the pace setter for all things luxury.
A LIT TLE TIME IN MIAMI. TO F E E L YO U N G AG A I N .
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PEOPLE Brokers’ Roundtable
Trading Places
Will Manhattan real estate stay hot for 2015? top brokers talk sizzle and sales. photography by Julie Skarratt
What does this year hold for Manhattan luxury real estate? Gotham magazine asked Richard Steinberg, executive managing director of Warburg Realty, to gather a group of prominent Manhattan real estate executives to talk about what’s hot, what’s not, where the deals are, the ever-escalating starchitect premium, and how new flight capital and young tech wealth are keeping prices buoyant. Joining Gotham and Steinberg were Oren and Tal Alexander, cofounders of The Alexander Team at Douglas Elliman; Bonnie Chajet, senior vice president of Warburg Realty; Guthrie Garvin, senior vice president of Massey Knakal Realty Services; and Elizabeth Lee Sample and Brenda Powers of The Sample-Powers Team at Sotheby’s International Realty. How’s the market and what are you predicting for the rest of 2015? Bonnie Chajet: In Manhattan today you have different market segments. You can be talking condo, co-op, Downtown, Brooklyn, Chelsea, Upper West Side, and Upper East Side. The stock market is good, but I hear that bonuses won’t be so good. I think some foreign buyers are a little nervous about a possible new annual tax [due to changes to the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act]. There are currently a few deals on hold because buyers are waiting to see how it will be moving forward. Oren Alexander: I think there are certain submarkets where you see a lot of saturation—the Downtown penthouse market, for example. Many developers, hearing about this überluxury market,
counterclockwise from top: Guthrie Garvin and Richard Steinberg; during cocktails with Tal (left) and Oren Alexander. Oren during the lunch
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felt their buildings merited a $25 million-plus penthouse. A lot of those penthouses have been sitting on the market, and I don’t see them trading unless they significantly reduce the pricing. Brenda Powers: People feel safe investing in New York, but if developers could be more realistic with their prices, we could be selling more. Richard Steinberg: Unless you have an avant-garde or a forefront architect, especially downtown near the High Line, in Chelsea, or the West Village, you have no shot of selling your unit for big numbers. Amenity-driven buildings are insignificant now, layouts are insignificant. None of this means anything anymore. I know that’s a bold statement. OA: It really depends on where a property is located. For instance, they’re doing a project at 152 Elizabeth by [ Japanese architect] Tadao Ando. He’s the only reason why someone would spend $3,500 to $4,000 per square foot there. Guthrie Garvin: The ultraluxury market is affecting the townhouse market because that seems like a value proposition when you’re looking at $6,000-, $8,000-, or $10,000-per-squarefoot condos. You see townhouses that are priced at $2,500 per square foot but need work. OA: If you look at the most significant sales as of late—Woody Johnson’s apartment, what Izzy [Israel Englander] bought at 740 Park Avenue, and the penthouse at 960—people are willing to spend $60, $70, or $80 million if it’s something unique, one of a kind. Those who spend that kind of money don’t want to know that the people continued on paGe 64
EstateSelmaHughesAustin.com
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PEOPLE Brokers’ Roundtable “The Gold CoasT used To be FiFTh To Park, buT now iT’s GrowinG easT.”
—guthrie gavin,
massey knakal realty
“In Manhattan today you have different market segments,” says Bonnie Chajet, pictured here with Richard Steinberg (middle) and Tal Alexander. below: Elizabeth Lee Sample.
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upstairs and downstairs have the same kind of unit. RS: Also, the bidding process for the highest-level co-ops has become a hybrid. You are now sent bidding packages that include a contract of sale, renovation agreements, and instructions to send back with a check for a 10 percent deposit. This occurs even if you bid over the asking price. The seller then decides whether to accept the offer or not sell—negotiating the price is no longer an option. It’s a very one-sided process now. I have a buyer who doesn’t want to see a $70 to $80 million house because of this new bidding process. How are hotel condos faring? Four Seasons Residences and Baccarat Residences are new entries to the market. Elizabeth Lee Sample: Pied-à-terre people really like the convenience of having hotel services, to be able to call in and say, “I want my room stocked,” “I want it cleaned,” “I need to be picked up by a private jet that is flying to XYZ.” OA: We sold just under $50 million at 30 Park Place, and I think the reason we had such a success there is because it’s a really compelling story. When you tell people it’s Silverstein, Four Seasons, and Robert A.M. Stern, it’s a pretty good pitch. RS: I thought the location was a little tenuous, but you didn’t have any issues? OA: It’s sometimes easier to sell a neighborhood that doesn’t have an identity, because you have the appreciation factor that you’re really selling them on. Are there any parts of town with a concentration of luxury properties that are undervalued?
BC: Yes. East End Avenue. els: Sutton [Place] is a fantastic value. BC: Sutton is interesting because it’s a little enclave with great views of the river. The price points there are quite low, well under $1,000 a square foot. GG: [Also parts of] the far East Side or the Upper East Side. The Gold Coast used to be Fifth to Park, but now it’s growing east. Madonna bought between Third and Lex, I believe, because she wanted a triple-wide [brownstone]; she wanted a driveway. When you have these particular criteria, you have to move east a bit. are you noticing any new trends as to where celebrities want to be? Rs: I think there are no trends. [Celebrities are] very fickle. They’ll buy something and then sell it a year later. I don’t think they really know what they want. On any given day, depending on how they feel, or what their mood is, they could buy anywhere in New York. ta: For me, it’s Downtown, Tribeca. BC: They won’t get into some of the Upper East Side buildings because the [buildings] don’t want celebrities. are you seeing any differences in flight capital investment from last year? Rs: There are so many billionaires now all over the world; they’re not from one country. Oren brought up 960 on Fifth, the penthouse, which was bought by an Egyptian. els: Chinese. There are also a lot of Israelis coming here. are millennials a factor in your high-end sales? is young tech wealth investing in new York? Oa: I think when you’re young, an entrepreneur, and still in that growing stage, you’d rather pay the higher rent and be liquid [as] you’re investing and moving money around. I’m speaking personally, too. Rs: What I do see is that great wealth is being accumulated at a much earlier stage in life. I’m sometimes shocked by the age or the appearance of some of those who buy one of my $20 million properties. New York, from generation to generation, is always a trophy property. These guys have so much money that they’re investing in multiple homes. BC: I recently had an experience with a Soho penthouse priced at around $15 million. A young guy walks in who is no more than 30; I had to prepare his package for the board. The year before, his only real estate asset was a $248,000 condominium in Arizona and his earning capacity wasn’t a lot. Then all of a sudden he had hundreds of millions of dollars because he sold his tech company to Twitter. He wanted a loft in Soho. He walked in, and that was it. G
clockwise from above left: The bar and a menu at The Regency Bar & Grill; Brenda Powers says, “People feel safe investing in New York.”
the panelists: Oren Alexander: associate broker, cofounder of The Alexander Team, Douglas Elliman, 485 Madison Ave., 212-350-8561; thealexander team.elliman.com
Guthrie Garvin: senior vice president, Massey Knakal Realty Services, 275 Madison Ave., 212-696-2500, ext. 7786; masseyknakal.com Brenda Powers: associate broker, Sotheby’s, 38 E. 61st St., 212-606-7653; sothebyshomes.com
Tal Alexander: associate broker, cofounder of The Alexander Team, Douglas Elliman, 485 Madison Ave., 212-350-8541; thealexander team.elliman.com
Elizabeth Lee Sample: senior global real estate advisor, associate broker, Sotheby’s, 38 E. 61st St., 212-606-7685; sothebyshomes.com
Bonnie Chajet: senior vice president, Warburg Realty, 654 Madison Ave., 212-439-4540; warburgrealty.com
Richard Steinberg: executive managing director, Warburg Realty, 654 Madison Ave., 212-4395183; warburgrealty.com
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PEOPLE Spirit of Generosity Katie Couric, Yahoo global news anchor, says: “I never expected to be the poster child for the fight against colon cancer.”
To increase awareness for colon cancer monTh in march, atie CouriC wriTes abouT why finding a cure for The disease, as well as oTher cancers, has become her life’s work. After decades on TV, I’m used to people approaching me in public places. Sometimes they compliment me on an interview, congratulate me on my recent nuptials, or ask if Matt Lauer is really nice (I always say yes, because he is). But the most welcome comment I get from strangers isn’t, “You look much better in person,” but “I got a colonoscopy because of you and it saved my life!” I never expected to be the poster child for the fight against colon cancer. But sometimes you find your calling, and sometimes your calling finds you. Mine began almost 18 years ago. I can recall every minute of that April day: I was trying on a few outfits in my Today show dressing room when our daughters’ nanny called and said my husband, Jay, was doubled over in pain. Suddenly, a lighthearted moment became full of confusion and deep concern. By that evening, Jay was having a bowel resection. He was completely obstructed by a tumor described as the size of an orange. (Why fruit is the go-to analogy to convey tumor size is beyond me.) A day later, our doctor took me into one of those small rooms for family members at the end of the hospital corridor and told me that the cancer had spread and was all over Jay’s liver. The prognosis, he said, was bleak. I felt like a zombie, trying desperately to digest the notion that my wonderful husband— and the loving father of our two girls—was in a terrible situation and the life I
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had anticipated for our family seemed to be evaporating before my eyes. Jay was unbelievably brave. He was and remains my hero for the way he fought, with grace and grit, and for the way he lived until the cold January morning, nine months after his diagnosis, when I heard a glass crash on the bathroom floor and ran to find him. I wonder if Jay left his body and saw me cradling his head. Cancer is unsparing. Over the course of the next three years, we lost Jay’s mom, Carol, to ovarian cancer, and my sister, Emily, to pancreatic cancer. The Monahan/ Couric clan suddenly personified the terrifying statistic that one in two men and one in three women in this country will be diagnosed with cancer. After Jay’s death, I threw myself into advocacy work. The good news about colon cancer is it can be detected early and literally nipped in the bud (or butt!) before it spreads or a polyp even turns cancerous. Urging people to get screened became my personal mission, and scores of celebrities and the Entertainment Industry Foundation also embraced the cause. My colonoscopy was televised, and Al Roker gamely let our Today show crew film his procedure. Robin Williams’s memorable colonoscopy-themed comedy routine got people talking. Morgan Freeman, Meryl Streep, and many others did PSAs, hammering home the message that screening for colorectal cancer saves lives. There has been progress, but it’s uneven. A 30 percent decline in colon cancer cases is encouraging, but so many people who should be getting screened
PhotograPhy by andrew eccles. oPPosite Page: PhotograPhy by abc/kevin mazur (hamm, wilson)
Standing Up to Cancer
aren’t. The well-to-do-and/or well educated largely get tested, while the medically underserved and the uninsured often do not. Through an initiative dubbed “80 x 18,” a coalition is trying to close that gap. The goal is to substantially increase the number of all age-appropriate adults being screened—increasing it to 80 percent—by 2018. That would be huge and save countless lives. After years of focusing on colons, I expanded my work to include all cancers. Eight other Type-A women and I cofounded Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C), with the typically intensely competitive TV networks as full-on collaborators. Our goal? To fund research and move science forward. The broadcast and cable networks have been steadfast allies, donating airtime for a biennial fundraising special across 44 networks and cable platforms. But it’s also caught on at the grassroots level. There’s a Scrabble tournament in North Carolina, a Dancing with the Stars event featuring teachers in New York State, and 24-year-old Garth Watson has run not cross country, but across the country to raise money for SU2C. With support from companies, foundations, and organizations like Major League Baseball, this movement has brought in hundreds of millions of dollars for cancer research. Today, there are 14 “Dream Teams” with 750 members at over 100 institutions. They are collaborating and working on myriad cancers. More than 140 clinical trials are taking place, leading to a new FDA-approved therapy for pancreatic cancer, and an especially
promising breast cancer treatment is being fast-tracked by the FDA. These are two of the exciting developments coming from our Dream Teams. I can’t wait to see more coming from their labs. This work has given my life real purpose, and I’m often reminded how important it is. A few months ago, a young woman approached me at a hair salon. Her name was Andrea, and as she spoke, I saw my life flash before my eyes as I looked into hers. Her husband, Jim, had just been diagnosed with a large tumor in his colon. A CAT scan showed suspicious nodules in his lymph nodes and lungs. They had two young children. She was terrified, saying, “There must be a reason I’ve run into you today.” I was able to refer her to the director of The Jay Monahan Center for Gastrointestinal Health at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, a facility—named for my late husband—that provides compassionate, comprehensive care. Jim had surgery, and is almost through his chemo. I was thrilled to get an e-mail from Andrea recently, telling me the doctors are confident he will be cancer-free at the end of his treatment. Helping usher in new therapies by supporting science is critically important. But being there for one person when his or her world is falling apart and knowing, as Robert Frost wrote, “that has made all the difference,” is extraordinarily gratifying. That, to me, is the ultimate way to honor Jay and share the benefits of my hard-earned education in all things cancer. standup2cancer.org G
“SometimeS you find your calling, and SometimeS your calling findS you.” —katie couric
Charity register Opportunities to give. St. Jude Children’S reSearCh hoSpital St. Jude will raise funds for its work helping children with catastrophic illnesses at its fourth annual Gold Gala. This event hosts the city’s young professionals and aspiring philanthropists for an evening of cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, dancing, and giving. When: Saturday, February 28 Where: The Bowery Hotel, 335 Bowery Contact: stjude.org
the SoCiety of MeMorial Sloan-Kettering CanCer Center For over 23 years, The Society’s Associates Committee has hosted Bunny Hop, an evening that benefits the Center’s pediatrics department. An event for people of all ages—although especially popular with children—this year’s “Hop” will be filled with magicians, costumed characters, special performances, and delicious treats. When: Tuesday, March 3 Where: 583 Park Ave. Contact: mskcc.convio.net
Burdigala Join winemakers, chateaux owners, sommeliers, collectors, and Bordeaux lovers at St. Bartholomew’s Church for BurdiGala’s annual Grand Tasting and Gala Dinner. All proceeds from the event will benefit Wine on Wheels, a nonprofit that helps disabled people obtain the services they need. When: Friday, March 13 Where: St. Bartholomew’s Church, 325 Park Ave. Contact: burdigala-nyc.com
Wine & WiSheS annual Wine taSting and auCtion Presented by The Charmer Sunbelt Group, the event benefits Make-A-Wish Metro New York and Western New York. VIP tickets entitle guests to an exclusive food tasting prepared by some of NYC’s finest chefs and wine tasting with top sommeliers from around the world. There’s both a live and silent auction that will feature luxury items as prizes. When: Wednesday, March 25 Couric with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Jon Hamm.
Katie Couric and singer Charlie Wilson at a fundraiser for the cause.
Where: Pier Sixty, Chelsea Piers Contact: wineandwishesnyc.kintera.org
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S U N D A Y
F O R
R E S E R V A T I O N S O R
V I S I T
B R U N C H
P L E A S E
A T
C A L L
2 1 2 . 6 3 2 . 5 0 0 0
R A I N B O W R O O M . C O M
Rainbow Room Sunday Brunch 12:00pm–5:00pm 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10112 | 212.632.5000 | RainbowRoom.com | @RainbowRoomNYC
INVITED Katie Holmes dazzles in a dress and accessories from Valentino’s Resort 2015 collection at the brand’s Fifth Avenue flagship opening.
StyliSh SoiréeS
PhotograPhy by bFanyc.com
A flurry of events celebrAting fAshion, film, And chAritAble cAuses.
For New Yorkers, fashionable soirées start long before Fashion Week. Valentino creative directors Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli hosted a celeb-filled crowd at the debut of the brand’s largest global flagship store, while Saks Fifth Avenue and Alexander McQueen celebrated the fashion house’s Spring 2015 collection. Unicef’s Snowflake Ball attracted industry leaders Katie Couric, Phillip Lim, and Marcus Samuelsson, while Darren Aronofsky, Gus Kenworthy, and Brad Goldberg were honored at The Humane Society of the United States’ annual To the Rescue Gala. continued on page 70
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INVITED // style spotlight //
BEST DRESSED KAROLINA KURKOVA, HALEY BENNETT, AND JAIME KING WERE RED CARPET-READY IN BRIGHT LOOKS FROM VALENTINO’S RESORT 2015 COLLECTION. Jaime King
Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli
VALENTINO LAUNCHES FIFTH AVENUE FLAGSHIP CREATIVE DIRECTORS Maria Grazia
Ben Stiller Jamie Tisch
Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump
Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli fêted the opening of Valentino’s largest global flagship store with Sala Bianca 945, a grand celebration at the Marcel Breuer Building, where they unveiled an exclusive-to-New York haute couture time capsule collection. Sofia Coppola, Ahn Duong, Prabal Gurung, Martha Stewart, Emma Roberts, and Ben Stiller were among the guests who attended the runway show and afterparty, which also featured an art installation by the Italian design artist Fornasetti.
Karolina Kurkova
Jeanann Williams, Zanna Roberts Rassi, and Athena Calderone
Emma Roberts
Haley Bennett James Marsden
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Misha Nonoo
Virginia Smith and Calvin Klein
PHOTOGRAPHY BY BFANYC.COM (VALENTINO); OPPOSITE PAGE: BFANYC.COM (BOTANICAL GARDEN); JOHN MINCHILLO/HSUS AND CARLO ALLEGRI/HSUS (HUMANE SOCIETY)
Carlos Souza and Olivia Munn
NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN
Guests danced the night away.
THE 16TH ANNUAL Winter
Wonderland Ball, held in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, a stunning Victorian-style glass palace, drew an elegant crowd to support the NYBG’s education programs for children. The evening began with cocktails in the Palms of the World Gallery, followed by dinner and dancing. This year’s chairs included Byrdie Bell, Alina Cho, Dalia Oberlander, Emma J.P. Goergen, Brooke Gerschel, and Gillian Hearst Simonds. Alina Cho
Byrdie Bell
Julia Catherine Erdman and Dalia Oberlander
Kristy Morrone, Elizabeth Kurpis, Julia Loomis, and Hannah Selleck
Nell Diamond and Ted Wasserman
Pen Farthing
John Quiñones
Danielle and Arielle Tal with Chrissy Beckles and Carmen and David Tal
THE HUMANE SOCIETY OF THE UNITED STATES ANIMAL LOVERS and celebrities
Kimberly Ovitz, Georgina Bloomberg, and Amanda Hearst
came together to support The Humane Society of the United States at its annual To the Rescue Gala. The 60th anniversary celebration recognized director Darren Aronofsky for his work on the movie Noah, Gus Kenworthy for his activism with the stray dogs of Sochi,
Dylan Lauren
and Brad Goldberg, president of the Animal Welfare Trust, for his committed leadership. Pen Farthing, founder of Nowzad Dog Rescue in Afghanistan and recipient of the 2014 CNN Hero of the Year Award, received the American Dog Rescue Foundation’s 2014 Humanitarian Award. Wayne Pacelle
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INVITED
Jaime Jimenez, Michelle Klein, and Caryl Stern
UNICEF SNOWFLAKE BALL THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING shined
Gillian Miniter, Hilary Gumbel, and Moll Anderson
Kelly Ripa, Jeff Zucker, and Gayle King
Benjamin McKenzie and Angie Harmon
Dikembe Mutombo and Katie Couric
PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRYAN BEDDER/GETTY IMAGES (UNICEF); OPPOSITE PAGE: BEN GABBE (DRESS FOR SUCCESS)
bright in cyan and white while a star-studded crowd gathered at Cipriani Wall Street for the 10th annual Snowflake Ball. Guests including Angie Harmon, Téa Leoni, Heather Graham, Katie Couric, Gayle King, Matt Lauer, and Phillip Lim donned their fashionable best for the event, which featured a special menu created by Unicef ambassador Marcus Samuelsson and chefs Alex Guarnaschelli and Scott Conant. This year’s program, emceed by Bryant Gumbel, honored US Fund for Unicef national board member Hilary Gumbel and raised over $3.3 million.
Stephanie Sobel, Clarice Kennedy, and Eileen Brumback
Alex Garfield, Rosalyn Taylor O’ Neale, Connie Garrido, and Judy Schrecker Jennifer Hyman
Star Jones
Joi Gordon
DRESS FOR SUCCESS
Soledad O’Brien
FEBRUARY 28 – APRIL 19
Photo by Dana Meilijson
A STYLISH AND high-powered crowd attended Dress for Success’s annual Women Helping Women breakfast to benefit the Professional Women’s Group, an international network supporting women who have recently entered the workforce. The event’s panel featured three women achievers at various stages in their careers—Soledad O’Brien, Pavia Rosati, and Jennifer Hyman, as pioneer, principal, and protégé, respectively—who discussed intergenerational topics with the audience.
TICKETS AND INFO: NYBG.ORG
Founding Sponsor:
Sponsors:
Karen Katen Foundation Major Sponsors:
Mr. and Mrs. Charles M. Royce
and
DE·LI·CIOUS PRONUNCIATION: \DI- ’LI-SHE S\ FUNCTION: ADJECTIVE 1. HIGHLY PLEASING OR AGREEABLE TO THE SENSES, ESPECIALLY OF TASTE OR SMELL. 2. VERY PLEASANT; DELIGHTFUL.
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TasTe This Issue: Fashion’s Best New Restaurants
Dealer’s ChoiCe
appo Masa, the new restaurant from über gallerist larry gagosian and culinary supernova masayoshi takayama, is the latest billionaire hangout. by gary walther photography by evan sung
The L-shaped dining room at Kappo Masa, which occupies the below-ground level of the Gagosian Gallery at 76th Street and Madison Avenue, is as spare and simple as a haiku: teak paneling, two walls of pearl-gray stone, and a man-high stone vase just beyond the hostess podium. To read this room, slip into a Sherlock Holmesian frame of mind. First, there’s the layout: two separate sections, the classic Shangra-La/Siberia polarity. The dining room beyond the hostess podium is an island, a teak floor raised a half step. In traditional Japanese architecture, it’s called a yuka. It signals importance. The wall behind it does, too, as it’s made of Oya stone, an igneous rock composed of lava and ash found only one place in the world, Tochigi Prefecture, 35 miles from Tokyo. This section also faces the open kitchen—orchestra seats, in effect—and it has the shape of an embracing oval of tables and continued on page 76
Masa toro with caviar, one of the boundary-pushing dishes prepared by chef Masayoshi Takayama at Kappo Masa.
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TaSTe The Sake SeT exclusive blends to sample from top Japanese breweries.
clockwise from above: Chef
Takayama at work in the open kitchen; kanpachi jalapeño potato julienne; surimi shrimp pasta, which features hand-ground fish fashioned into gluten-free pasta.
banquettes. (The far corner one is the table to get.) Oh, and there’s one other clue: Larry Gagosian himself is sitting halfway down the island section, entertaining two guests, the day I dine. Kappo Masa is a collaboration between the world’s most powerful art dealer, Gagosian, and one of the world’s culinary supernovas, Masayoshi Takayama, chef-owner of the three-Michelin-starred Masa in the Time Warner Center. The 82-seat restaurant represents the culmination of Gagosian’s longtime infatuation with Takayama, which started in 1989 when Gagosian dined at Ginza Sushiko, the chef’s 12-seat Los Angeles sushi restaurant, famous for its two-hour omakase dinners and astronomical tabs. When Masa opened in Time Warner Center, Gagosian became a regular, yet when he decided to turn the gallery space into a
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restaurant, he hesitated asking Takayama, thinking the project too small-time for the maestro. After rejecting plans from a restaurant group, “I just popped the question,” he said in an interview last year. The word “kappo” is a key clue to the new place. In Japan, kappo is a term loosely used to denote a restaurant in which the chef cooks in an open kitchen and does everything (grill, braise, stew, steam, and fry) but make sushi. “Kappo” is a transliteration of two Japanese characters, “ka” (to cut) and “ppo,” which refers to the various cooking techniques that are kappo mainstays. But Takayama is coloring outside the lines, as Kappo Masa does serve sushi—after all, that’s his calling card—with a predilection for boundary pushing on the non-sushi side of the menu. (Very few dishes overlap the menu at Masa, where Takayama still spends most of his time. The chef de cuisine at
Kappo Masa is Tony Inn.) Takayama went out of his way to come up with a distinctive menu for Kappo Masa. One hallmark dish is the surimi pasta, a handmade mixture of gluten-free ground fish extruded into pasta and garnished with seasonal toppings: serrano chile and bottarga the day I dined. Takayama spent a year perfecting a fish blend that lent itself to being formed into pasta. The dish is soft-core vegetarian nirvana, as is its sister spin-off, chili garlic shrimp surimi. Another knockout is the uni custard, made from whole live sea urchin flown in from Santa Barbara, California. The shell is cut open, the uni cleaned, and most of it blended to a custard, but with some pieces reserved and roasted separately to up the complexity of flavor and texture. The entire mixture is then baked and served in the shell.
For the unagi bento, the restaurant imports fresh whole eel from Kagoshima, Japan, which is then cleaned and deboned. The bones are used to make the kabayaki, a traditional sweet and savory sauce, and the eel itself is glazed with it and grilled multiple times to infuse the flavor into the meat. The rest of the bento box is made up of sunomono, an assortment of pickled and braised items, and soup, nameko mushroom miso the day I dined. Kappo Masa has the celebrity gravitational pull of Jupiter. Woody Allen, Chlöe Sevigny, Peter Marino, and Patrick Demarchelier turned up for the preview, as did a plethora of plutocrats: Steve Cohen, John Paulson, Daniel Loeb, John Hess, and Steve Schwarzman. No wonder Kappo Masa is becoming the latest billionaire clubhouse. 976 Madison Ave., 646-6472945; kappomasanyc.com G
The way to go at Kappo Masa is to order sake and let sommelier Marcus Tschuschnig be your guide. The list is extensive and includes Honda Shoten Tatsuriki Yokawa Yoneda JDG and Hyogo, which the list describes as “the ultimate premium sake from one of the top fve sake breweries in Japan.” (Price: If you have to ask...) Cliff Notes: The quality of the sake is determined by the polishing ratio, the percentage of rice milled away before brewing. Also important is whether brewer’s alcohol is added or not—you can guess which leads to better sake. The top category is Junmai Daiginjo (60 percent polish ratio), but lower level sakes work better for some dishes. The sleeper sake on the list? It’s the versatile and very dry Dewazakura Izumi Yamagata ($46).
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taste Cuiscene
Tastemakers’ Taste
clockwise from left:
Roasted beet “linzer” at Bâtard, where Wes Gordon (inset, below) likes to dine; chefs in the kitchen at Narcissa; Peter Som; Carly Cushnie and Michelle Ochs’ favorite, Tijuana Picnic.
Peter Som
What: Via Carota. Why go: I’m a longtime West Villager, and this new Italian beauty is a welcome addition to the neighborhood. It encompasses the best of owners’ Rita Sodi and Jody Williams’ other restaurants, I Sodi and Buvette. Must order: My favorite is the svizzerina—a simply prepared and perfectly seared handchopped strip steak with a touch of rosemary. I also love the chestnut gnocchi. When to go: I like to come for lunch
and sit at the bar, or for an early weeknight dinner, when the atmosphere in the intimate space is more low-key. 51 Grove St., 212-255-1962; viacarota.com WeS Gordon
What: Bâtard. Why go: For the delicious food and cozy atmosphere. It’s only a block from my apartment, making it dangerously convenient. Must order: The branzino with gnocchi, ratatouille, and tomato-gin consommé. When to go: Tuesday or Wednesday. 239 W. Broadway, 212-2192777; batardtribeca.com miSha nonoo
What: The Good Fork. Why go: The charming restaurant was built and designed by owner Ben Schneider, who
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went for a rustic, romantic décor with wood paneling and votive tea lights. Schneider’s wife, Souhi Kim, is the chef, and she crafts comfort food with light Korean infuences. Must order: The menu is constantly changing, but I was lucky to catch the vegan soup and soy-braised short ribs, both of which were outstanding. I fnished the meal with a perfect slice of Good Fork chocolate cake. 91 Van Brunt St., Brooklyn, 718-643-6636; goodfork.com roSie aSSoulin
What: Bar Bolonat. Why go: I come from a Middle Eastern background [and found] the dishes here authentic to those I grew up with. They also turn up the volume on all the favors. What to eat: Start with
the hot sesame bread before digging into za’atar ravioli with smoked eggplant and spinach feta, the labne with fried olives, and the cumin-crusted edamame. When to go: I went for an early Sunday-night supper with the kids and my brother and sister-in-law. It’s always fun to eat with people who are as enthusiastic about the food as you are! 611 Hudson St., 212-390-1545; barbolonatny.com Jona
What: Narcissa. Why: I love the energy of the room; they’ve created a warm balance between rustic and modern. Everything about the décor feels inviting. Must order: The chicken with the unexpected favor of pomegranate, which is to die for!
When to go: I like Wednesday night. It is the perfect way to break up my workweek. The Standard East Village, 25 Cooper Sq., 212-2283344; narcissarestaurant.com Carly CuShnie and miChelle oChS of CuShnie et oChS
What: Tijuana Picnic. Why go: The picnic tables, cozy booths, and sultry lighting create a retro vibe that is chic, fun, and low-key. What to eat: It’s Mexican cuisine with an Asian fair. We loved the duck empanadas with cognac, the whole crispy fsh in passion fruit juice, and the soft steak tacos. Afterdinner treat: Espressos served in mini shot glasses. 151 Essex St., 212-219-2000; tijuana-picnic.com G
photography by evan Sung (bÂtard); chriS moSier (narciSSa); ronald JameS (Som); gigi Stoll photography (tiJuana picnic)
Seven young deSignerS Share their favorite reStaurantS for kicking back after faShion Week. by erin riley
New Construction
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BRIDGEHAMPTON, NY | $12,750,000 8 bedrooms, 11+ baths I Web: 0056601 New South of the Highway construction. Features grand foyer with cathedral ceilings, living room, kitchen/family room, formal dining and paneled library. 8 bedrooms, including master suite with sitting room and freplace. Finished basement with media room, wine cellar & gym. Three-car garage, pool, spa & tennis.
Patricia J. Petrillo Senior Global Real Estate Advisor I Associate Broker d: 631.227.4916 c: 516.356.5136 pat.petrillo@sothebyshomes.com SOUTHAMPTON BROKERAGE 50 Nugent Street I Southampton, NY 11968 I 631.283.0600
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taste Chic eats
left:
The restaurant’s equestrian-themed décor with hunter-green walls and paneling. below: An immediate hit: the Polo burger, often made with beef from the designer’s Colorado ranch.
Scene Stealer
The basics: Joining the ranks of the lauded Ralph’s in Paris and RL in Chicago, The Polo Bar is the company’s third restaurant project and is located next door to the new Polo Ralph Lauren flagship in Midtown. Who dined on opening night: Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, former Mayor Bloomberg, Allison Williams, Brooke Shields, Hoda Kotb, and Kelly Rutherford. Setting the scene: A horse-centric décor with illustrations of polo matches and other equestrian-themed subjects, deep hunter-green walls, aged leather, and burnished wood accents. Even the charger plates and pillows feature a signature red and green plaid. The food concept: The cuisine, like the company’s clothing and furnishings, is perfectly executed haute or classic American. “I’m drawn to the kind of food that people truly enjoy,” Lauren says, “vibrant food that people want to return to time and again.” Top tipples: Classic spirits are on tap here, including dozens of Scotches and whiskies as well as traditional cocktails like Moscow Mules and Old Fashioneds. Snacks at the impressive brass-topped bar include
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daily oysters and nibbles like garlic potato chips and shrimp cocktail. The happy hour crowd will especially appreciate the cozy fireplace and wingback leather chairs located in an alcove off the bar area. Sample fare: The main dining room, helmed by Executive Chef Sepp Stoner, features many of Lauren’s personal favorite dishes. Pay special attention to the signature Polo Bar burger, which, on special occasions, will be made from beef sourced from the designer’s own Double RL Ranch in Colorado. Other bespoke dishes include the coffee ice cream, which is created with Lauren’s custom bean blend. Menu standouts include the BLT salad with iceberg lettuce, cherry tomatoes, and grilled Berkshire bacon with herb yogurt dressing, and the Polo Bar brownie, which is fudgy, stuffed with walnuts, and finished with a warm chocolate sauce. Staff style: Waitstaff here might be the best outfitted in all of New York: They sport custom Ralph Lauren gray flannel trousers paired with leather wingtips and silk repp ties. The Polo Bar, 1 E. 55th St., 212-207-8562; ralphlauren.com G
photography courtesy of ralph lauren
Ralph lauRen’s first restaurant in new York is alreadY a classic. here’s what You need to know. by juliet izon
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TASTE Spotlight
Table Hopping HOT NEW RESTAURANTS TO TRY THIS SPRING. ABC Home Grown One of the season’s most anticipated openings is ABC Home Grown, Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s latest restaurant, which promises to give vegetarian and vegan cooking a new global spin. While the menu will have a jet-setting diversity, you can count on finding the local farm-to-table ingredients that made ABC Kitchen and ABC Cocina so popular. Yet another collaboration with Paulette Cole, CEO and creative director of ABC Carpet & Home, the restaurant will occupy a 4,000-squarefoot space and include a market offering local produce and international specialty goods. 38 E. 19th St.; jean-georges.com
Santina They may have stepped across the border last year with their high-profile Dirty French, but Mario Carbone, Rich Torrisi, and Jeff Zalaznick, the Major Food Group
// posh pour //
trio behind critics’ favorites like Carbone and Parm, are keeping things Italian for their newest restaurant, Santina. The new spot, named after Carbone’s Sicilian grandmother, has a menu featuring healthy coastal Italian dishes and a trendy High Line location. 820 Washington St., 212-254-3000; santinanyc.com
Organic veggies, grass-fed meats, and heirloom grains are among the offerings at Andrew Carmellini’s newest concept spot, Little Park, which opened at Tribeca’s Smyth Hotel late last year. Chef de cuisine Min Kong focuses on health-minded, global-inspired fare, while mixologist Anne Robinson (of PDT and Booker & Dax fame) crafts custom libations at the restaurant’s Evening Bar. Smyth Hotel, 85 W. Broadway, 212-220-4110; littlepark.com
A TASTE OF BORDEAUX
GOTHAM-MAGAZINE.COM
Whatever über-restaurateur Danny Meyer touches turns to gold. Then there’s his sixth sense about which neighborhood will be the next big thing. He helped pioneer the revival of Union Square with his restaurant of the same name; ditto with Madison Square Park and his first outpost of Shake Shack. So when Meyer announces a new project, the city takes note, not only for the menu, but for its address. For his latest venue, Porchlight, Meyer teams with Blue Smoke cofounder Mark Maynard-Parisi and heads to far west Chelsea and the 1891 Waterfront New York Building on 11th Avenue. This will be Meyer’s first standalone bar, with offerings of Southern-style bar food, custom cocktails, and regional microbrews. 271 11th Ave., 212-981-6188; porchlightbar.com
Little Park
NEW YORK CELEBRATES ALL THINGS BORDEAUX at this year’s BurdiGala on March 13, an event that brings the region’s top producers to the city for a black-tie gala dinner benefiting Wine on Wheels of Wheeling Forward, a nonprofit dedicated to improving the lives of people living with disabilities. Sixty of New York’s most noted sommeliers, like Michel Couvreux from Per Se and Francesco Grosso from Marea, will do the pour from the region’s famous chateaus. Chef Hélène Darroze, the Connaught’s two-Michelin-starred chef, is creating the menu and gastronomic pairings. St. Bartholomew’s Church, 325 Park Ave., 212-378-0222; burdigala-nyc.com
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SOUTHERN COMFORT
Custom cocktails will be on the menu at Danny MeyerÕs new venue, Porchlight.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY NOAH FECKS (PEAR TART); FRANCESCO TONELLI (VONGERICHTEN); M. ALEXANDER WEBER (SANTINA); FILIP WOLAK (BURDIGALA); COURTESY OF THE PALMS (DRINK)
The pear tart at Little Park. RIGHT, FROM TOP: Jean-Georges Vongerichten goes green and global at his new spot, ABC Home Grown; radish and cured salmon from Santina.
On 5 AcreS With tenniS, POOl, GOlf And MOre
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north haven. Private compound featuring 8500+ SF of living space. 7 bedrooms, 7.5 baths between main house, spacious guest house and resort-like pool house. Set on 1.68 acres with heated gunite pool. A quick bike ride or stroll to village or bay beach. Exclusive. $6.495M Web# 28733
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Sag harbor. West-facing modern waterfront cottage totally renovated with the latest and greatest of everything. Gorgeous views throughout the 3 bedroom, 3 bath home and the open floor plan ensures great flow through the living, dining and media rooms. A substantial, deep water dock, heated waterside pool, outdoor shower and a large yard. Stroll to the village. Co-Exclusive. $4.1M Web# 48364
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Real estate agents affliated with The Corcoran Group are independent contractor sales associates and are not employees of The Corcoran Group. The Corcoran Group is a licensed real estate broker located at Madison & Main Street, Sag Harbor, NY 11963 | 631.725.1500
TasTe On the Town
Brooks Brothers Ceo Claudio del VeCChio and Fox news retail analyst hitha Prabh ar talk trends and tradition at Cipriani dolCi. by jennifer demeritt photography by doug young
Hitha Prabhakar and Claudio Del Vecchio at Cipriani Dolci overlooking the Main Concourse at Grand Central Terminal.
[Bellinis are served] HitHa PrabHakar: Every time I come to Grand Central Station, I’m overwhelmed by the massiveness of everything. You have lunch at Cipriani a lot, right? Claudio del VeCCHio: It’s my cafeteria. I grew up in the north of Italy, close to Venice, and this is the type of cuisine they have, what my mother used to cook, so I feel comfortable here. HP: What’s the difference between Northern and Southern Italian food? CV: The south is more fish and tomato sauce, the north, more meat and cream sauce. HP: I’ve tried to make a mean tomato sauce, but it doesn’t work for me. I can’t. I’m the Indian girl who can’t cook rice either. CV: I make a great risotto. You have to be patient, first and foremost. For people who want something fast, it’s not going to work, because the rice has to absorb the broth slowly. And you need plenty of wine. [Appetizers are served: fish salad for Claudio, tuna tartare for Hitha] CV: It’s the first time I’ve had this, but it looks good. On some days I have the octopus salad; it’s done the same way [with olive oil and lemon], but with octopus. HP: This is delicious. I love how there isn’t too much of a citrus aftertaste. What really comes through is the smoothness of the olive oil, and the sprinkle of capers really accents the freshness of the fish. CV: Buon appetito! HP: Buon appetito. Everything is done so much by computer now—texting, mobile, e-mail. Do you think that the business lunch has lost its luster? CV: When I want to talk about something that requires a little thinking, I always pick a table
making time for lunch wHat: A Venetian-style lunch in a New York landmark on a crisp, sunny weekday wHere: Cipriani Dolci, Grand Central Terminal, 89 E. 42nd St., 212-973-0999; cipriani.com
84 gotham-magazine.com
prabhakar’s hair and makeup by glamsquad
Old-School Cool
Claudio Del Vecchio, CEO of Brooks Brothers, says that Cipriani Dolci, located on a balcony above Grand Central Terminal, is his go-to lunch spot, which makes sense, as the Brooks Brothers flagship is only a block away. He recently dined with Fox News retail analyst Hitha Prabhakar to compare notes about food, fashion, Zac Posen, Michelle Obama, and even Abraham Lincoln.
A server plates a pasta dish tableside.
Tuna tartare with olive oil and capers. above: a classic Bellini.
“WHEN I WANT TO TALK ABOUT SOMETHING THAT REQUIRES A LITTLE THINKING, I ALWAYS PICK A TABLE HERE.”
—claudio del vecchio
here. It’s hard in the office—there are too many distractions. We should be happy that Jackie Kennedy and her group saved Grand Central. It was supposed to come down. HP: Right, she saved it. CV: I’m sure she didn’t do a lot of the work, but she was a good ambassador. HP: She was the best ambassador for everything. Michelle Obama is brilliant, and I love everything about her, but I feel like her style is so manufactured. Maybe that’s just me talking from the
fashion-journalist perspective—but it seems... CV: It seems to me that she understands she has a job and she’s fulfilling the job, but in the end, it’s a job. HP: Yes, that’s the most eloquent way to put it. CV: Jacqueline was herself…. I know she had some Brooks Brothers stuff. That’s a big part of our history—we’ve dressed 39 out of the 44 presidents. We have the mirror we made for Lincoln still in the store.. HP: In your flagship? CV: Yes, on the fifth floor. We made that for him. He was six-feet-four when everyone else was five feet. [Entrées are served: pasta with branzino for Claudio and carrot soup for Hitha] HP: This carrot soup is delicious. It looks like a purée, mixed with olive oil and some garnish on top, and it’s not too heavy. What are you having? CV: I ordered spaghetti with branzino sauce. I like branzino and I like spaghetti. It’s a great combination. HP: I heard that Zac Posen is going to be the creative director of womenswear at Brooks
Brothers, to implement this idea of American glamour in a way that Brooks Brothers hasn’t in the past. How is he going to help highlight that? CV: It’s really going to be about great American sportswear—our customer has always been that customer. Today our product is already very close to what I feel it should be. Bringing Zac in is going to take it to the next level. HP: I started out in investment banking, and all we wore was Brooks Brothers. It’s so rooted in this corporate culture. Bringing on someone like Zac Posen—will the brand stay true to that core customer? Will it go in the direction of Marc Jacobs? CV: No, because we’re talking about great American sportswear. We were talking about Jacqueline Kennedy. That’s what I have in mind. HP: I cannot wait. I was in the store going through the Black Fleece stuff. We have this contest at Fox Business where viewers rate our shoes, so I suddenly have to up my ante on the shoe game. I saw these Thom Browne shoes, and I’m like, done. I’ll so win once I have my Black Fleece shoes on. CV: Well, you don’t know yet. HP: Mr. Del Vecchio, I win every single time. G
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live from new york!
Celebrating 40 Fab, Funny Years
over the past four decades, Saturday Night Live has launched the careers of countless a-list comedians and defined the best of modern american humor. to celebrate the landmark show’s mega milestone and the 40th anniversary special airing on february 15, gotham sat down with the current class of SNL-ers to talk legacy, comedy, new york, and favorite SNL moments. photography by robert ascroft styling by cannon
ccording to NBC lore, Saturday Night Live came about for a very simple reason— Johnny Carson wanted more time off. His Tonight Show reruns played on weekends, but Carson, eager for occasional breaks from the grind of nightly broadcasts, demanded they be available for airing during the week. In 1975 the network, under president Herb Schlosser, decided to develop a new program, NBC’s Saturday Night, to fill one of Carson’s weekend slots. Lorne Michaels, who had made his name as a writer on Laugh-In, and NBC executive Dick Ebersol were tasked with creating the show. With its topical blend of outlandish, irreverent humor and wicked satire, NBC’s Saturday Night (it became Saturday Night Live in 1977), broadcast live from Studio 8H, rocked the television industry’s rafters from its inception, becoming a runaway hit as well as a pop-culture touchstone. Few programs have launched as many A-list stars—Eddie Murphy, Billy Crystal, Mike Myers, Al Franken (now a senator from Wisconsin), Will Ferrell, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Tina Fey, and Seth Meyers are among the 130 performers who have called SNL home. As for the famous opening line—Chevy Chase said it on the first show, and cast or guest hosts have repeated it ever since, indelibly rooting the show in a city that has helped define it. To celebrate SNL’s extraordinary history (it has received 40 Emmys, more than any other TV show in history) and the 40th Anniversary Special airing live from Studio 8H on February 15 (8–11 PM ET), we went to the source—the current cast of Saturday Night Live. We asked them to interview one another about the show and its legacy, the meaning of funny, favorite SNL moments, how they got to 30 Rock, and how they nail those wicked impersonations. KYLE MOONEY INTERVIEWS CECILY STRONG KM: How do you feel about following in Tina
Fey’s and Amy Poehler’s footsteps?
CECILY STRONG—KENAN THOMPSON CS: Tell us about your Al Sharpton impersonation.
Give us the history. KT: It’s almost like you’re a fool if you don’t have a Sharpton impression because he has a big voice, and it’s always really fun. Plus, he’s such a character. CS: You’ve turned him into a better character. KT: Now that he has a TV show, we can really get to know Al. It’s different from just seeing his picture in the paper and in front of a march wearing a suede jumpsuit. CS: You’ve met him a bunch. KT: Yeah, he works in the building [30 Rock]. When I run into him, he’ll be like, “Everything all right?” And I’ll say to him [impersonating his voice], “Yeah, everything is fine.” He likes it, you know? It’s all flattery, I guess. We don’t do it with malice, though we poke some hard fun. CS: You’ve made Al Sharpton an even bigger name. KT: I hope so; he’s got a sense of humor and very strong opinions. I respect people like that. KENAN THOMPSON—KATE MCKINNON KT: What has been your favorite moment with a host? KM: I did a sketch with Charlize Theron [in May
2014] where we played cat ladies. I wanted her to do an Aileen Wuornos-type thing [Wuornos was the convicted serial killer Theron played in the 2003 film Monster, for which she won an Oscar] and gosh darn it, she did. She out-weirded me, and I was impressed. KT: That was an epic moment. I watched it from the sidelines and it was like seeing history happen. What inspired the Russian meteorite expert thing? KM: It wasn’t my idea at all. There really was a meteor that hit Siberia. The writers Chris Kelly and Sarah Schneider pitched a woman who had wished that it had hit Russia because Russia is so terrible. KT: You have firsthand knowledge? KM: I do not. But I can imagine. KT: What about [impersonating] Penélope Cruz? KM: That’s a voice you don’t forget.
OPPOSITE PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: ON JAY PHAROAH:
TARAN KILLAM—JAY PHARAOH TK: You have been tasked with the very difficult job of
because I’m just staring at your face.
impersonating the most powerful man in the country. So what is it like impersonating… Kanye West? JP: Kanye is such a presence, so the weirder the stuff that is said, the more fun it is. You know, in real life, he’s really chill, but on camera, he just turns up at the wrong moments, and those moments usually turn up on World Style Hip Hop. That’s a black website, if you don’t know. It’s the CNN of the ’hood. TK: How is your Kanye impression similar and how is it different from doing Obama almost on a weekly basis? JP: Obama is more straightforward. I feel like this is going to get me in trouble, but I want to say, “Obama, you don’t follow me on Twitter, but I want you to, and Kanye, I’ll text you later, baby.”
TK: Oh, so you’re captivated? KM: Talk about SNL and New York. TK: Without New York, SNL would not know
JAY PHARAOH—SASHEER ZAMATA JP: I’m going to ask you a question because we
CS: I feel like a jerk that you would even put my
name with theirs. A lot of my heroes have been on this show, and I’d say that it’s very humbling. KM: What does SNL mean to New York and vice versa? CS: I have to speak for New York? KM: What do you like most about the city? CS: I have two favorite things: jaywalking and eavesdropping. That’s real freedom.
TK: That just doesn’t have the same ring. You know, SNL is New York and New York is SNL— it’s chaotic, it’s the city. SNL has helped New York heal, and New York has helped SNL stay relevant and contemporary. It’s the greatest city in the world, and in my opinion, SNL is the greatest show in the world. KM: Define funny. TK: An observation on a universal truth that surprises you with a take or insight that you may not have acknowledged or internalized, but it registers with you so it elicits laughter, a spontaneous reaction. KM: Taran, you do so many unbelievable impressions that inspire me every week. One of my favorites is your Brad Pitt. Where did it come from? TK: From a desperate need to be like him. I also like to do impressions that not a lot of other people do. I hadn’t seen anyone doing a Brad Pitt impression, so I used that in my audition for this job. KM: Was there a Brad Pitt moment you latched on to? TK: Little pieces from Fight Club, Seven, and Twelve Monkeys. KM: So you took little snippets and you planted them, and they grew into beautiful plants. TK: Yes, I approach comedy like a botanist. KM: I approach comedy like an unemployed person. TK: [Laughs] Gotta get that check, gotta get that paper!
KATE MCKINN0N—TARAN KILLAM KM: I’m having trouble asking the question
how to introduce the show. KM: Yes, “Live from… it’s Saturday Night!”
are such good black friends. SZ: Such good black friends.
Tuxedo, DKNY Men ($695). 168 Fifth Ave., 212-223-3569; dkny.com. Shirt ($195) and cuff links ($195), Thomas Pink. 520 Madison Ave., 212-838-1928; thomaspink.com. Bow tie, Brooks Brothers ($60). 1180 Madison Ave., 212-289-5027; brooksbrothers.com. Avion Voyageur Reverso timepiece with three time zones and 1.24 carats of GVS diamonds, Korloff Paris ($7,200). Golden Door, 1726 Sheepshead Bay Road, Brooklyn, 718-615-4050. Oxfords, Christian Louboutin ($945). 967 Madison Ave., 212-396-1884; christianlouboutin.com. ON KYLE MOONEY: Brocade tuxedo jacket, David Hart ($1,395). Bloomingdale’s, 1000 Third Ave., 212-705-2000; bloomingdales.com. Shirt, Brooks Brothers ($225). SEE ABOVE. Tuxedo pants ($1,440) and bow tie ($250), Tom Ford. 845 Madison Ave., 212-359-0300. Cuff links, Thomas Pink ($195). SEE ABOVE. Watch, Burberry (price on request). 9 E. 57th St., 212-407-7100; burberry.com. ON TARAN KILLAM: Suit ($795), Hugo Boss. Lord & Taylor, 424 Fifth Ave., 212-391-3344; lordandtaylor.com. Shirt ($195) and cuff links ($195), Thomas Pink. SEE ABOVE. Bow tie, Brooks Brothers ($60). SEE ABOVE. Watch, Movado (price on request). Zales, 417 Fifth Ave., 212-679-3626; zales.com. ON SASHEER ZAMATA: Dress, Bibhu Mohapatra ($3,900). Bergdorf Goodman, 754 Fifth Ave., 212-753-7300; bergdorfgoodman.com. 17.76-carat diamond chandelier earrings set in platinum (price on request) and 82-carat diamond mesh bracelet set in 18k white gold (price on request), Jacob & Co. 48 E. 57th St., 212-719-5887; jacobandco.com. ON AIDY BRYANT: Feathered capelet, Adrienne Landau ($595). Bergdorf Goodman, SEE ABOVE. 18k white rose-cut diamond chandelier earrings with black rhodium, Sethi Couture ($19,800). Broken English, 56 Crosby St., 212-219-1254; brokenenglishjewelry.com. Black diamond Hampton cable bracelet in sterling and darkened sterling silver ($24,000) and black diamond Hampton cable ring in sterling and darkened sterling silver ($6,200), David Yurman. 114 Prince St., 212-343-7918; davidyurman.com. Sierpes maxi ring in white gold, onyx, and diamonds, Carrera y Carrera ($14,000). Cellini Jewelers, Hotel Waldorf Astoria, 301 Park Ave., 212-751-9824; cellinijewelers.com. Dress, Aidy’s own. ON CECILY STRONG: Dress, Giorgio Armani ($8,025). 760 Madison Ave., 212-988-9191; armani.com. 22.53-carat diamond circle earrings with round diamond tops (price on request) and 11.04-carat round diamond Promise ring with 10.76-carat tapered baguette diamond shoulders (price on request), Graff. 710 Madison Ave., 212-355-9292; graffdiamonds.com. ON VANESSA BAYER: Gown, La Petite Robe di Chiara Boni ($885). Saks Fifth Avenue, 611 5th Ave., 212-753-4000; saks.com. V-shape 26.93-carat Marquises diamond necklace set in platinum, Harry Winston (price on request). 718 Fifth Ave., 212-399-1000; harrywinston.com. 10-carat-plus diamond ring set in platinum, Jacob & Co (price on request). SEE ABOVE
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“SNL HAS HELPED NEW YORK HEAL, AND NEW YORK HAS HELPED SNL STAY RELEVANT AND CONTEMPORARY.” —TARAN KILLAM
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Michael Che, Cecily Strong, Kate McKinnon, Sasheer Zamata, Kenan Thompson, and Colin Jost.
FROM TOP:
Pete Davidson, Leslie Jones, and Vanessa Bayer.
JP: Name your funniest moments with a guest host on SNL. SZ: Probably a recent one with Chris Rock. I wanted to tell him that I admire him, but I didn’t want to be a superfan about it. So I just said how one of his jokes really left a mark on my life. It was from one of his specials, about how women will dance to any song no matter what the lyrics are—they just want a good beat—and I started quoting the song to him. JP: And how did he look at you? SZ: He was humoring me. And I was doing the dance and everything. JP: What do you draw on to come up with an impression like Rihanna? Because I don’t find there’s anything about her that’s very impressionable. SZ: I listen to Rihanna songs. She likes to use a lot of repetitive syllables: “Eh, eh, eh,” and “Oh, na, na.” I just repeat the stuff, and that’s pretty much all you got to do. JP: Where do you see yourself on the show in the next year? SZ: Taking over, basically. SASHEER ZAMATA—BOBBY MOYNIHAN SZ: What got you into comedy? BM: I was kidnapped and forced into it at a
very young age. SZ: I’m so sorry. I’m glad you stuck with it. BM : It was a harrowing experience, but I made it through. SZ: You’ve been here a long time. How is your seventh season different from your first? BM: [Initially] it felt like space camp, ’cause I wanted to do it for so long. Now it’s a job, and it’s crazy. There’s a whole new set of problems and obstacles every week. This is my 138th episode, and it never gets easier. SZ: I’m still in my first year, and it feels a little like a job, but there are still magical moments. What is the craziest moment you’ve had on the show? BM: My first “Live from New York.” That whole episode was a good one, and then meeting Pearl Jam. You’re like, “Did I just do an SNL sketch with Pearl Jam?” High school Bobby would have exploded. And then there are the weird moments, where John
McCain comes up to you and says, “Always a pleasure, Horatio!” My most fearful moment ever was the last episode of my first season, coming in and thinking, “This could be it, this could be my last episode.” I got on the elevator and Lorne [Michaels] was there, on the phone. I said, “Hey, Lorne.” I stood there in silence, and then he said, “Oh, I’m sorry. How are you, Bobby?” As he was getting out of the elevator, I yelled, “How are you?” He turned around, and said, “I’m great,” as if to say, “Of course, why wouldn’t I be?” I thought I was done, I’m fired. It was so silly, though, he’s such a nice man. SZ: I still have moments where I’m like, Does he like me? BOBBY MOYNIHAN—AIDY BRYANT AB: I grew up in Arizona, so I had no concept
of what New York was outside of SNL.
BM: For you what is the highlight moment of
SNL’s 40-year run?
AB: Probably all of mine. [Laughs] I mean there’s
a ton that I love, but those were my life changers. When I got to say, “Live from New York,” it’s like the coolest. I got to do it on my fourth or fifth show. AIDY BRYANT—MICHAEL CHE AB: What got you interested in comedy? MC: Funny you should ask—I think getting paid
for being funny. AB: You’re naturally funny, so that helps. MC: You think so? AB: Yes. MC: What got you into comedy? AB: No, I’m interviewing you, you can’t ask
me questions. MC: You’re absolutely right. See, that’s what got me into comedy. I’m not good at interviews. AB: That’s a good answer, right? MC: That wasn’t clunky at all; it felt natural. AB: What’s it like working on “Weekend Update”? MC: It is so cool; you’re sitting there at a desk breaking real stories with no punch lines, and they pay you for it. AB: There’s a beautiful long line of people who have done “Weekend Update,” and now you are part of it, which is really cool. MC: And they’re all rich, which is great.
OPPOSITE PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: ON KATE MCKINNON: Dress, Monique Lhuillier ($7,995). Bergdorf Goodman, 754 Fifth Ave., 212-753-7300; bergdorfgoodman.com. 7.56-carat ballroom diamond earrings set in platinum (price on request), large 35.11-carat diamond links bracelet set in platinum (price on request), and 5.42carat diamond Draperie ring set in platinum ($49,500), Harry Winston. 718 Fifth Ave., 212-399-1000; harrywinston.com. Sandals, Jimmy Choo ($695). 407 Bleecker St., 212-366-1305; jimmychoo.com. ON MICHAEL CHE: Jacket, Versace ($3,850). 647 Fifth Ave., 212-317-0224; versace.com. Shirt, Thomas Pink ($195). 520 Madison Ave., 212-838-1928; thomaspink.com. Wool trousers, Calvin Klein ($400). 654 Madison Ave., 212-292-9000; calvinklein.com. Bow tie, Hugo Boss ($95). Bloomingdale’s, 1000 Third Ave., 212-705-2000; bloomingdales.com. 6.29-carat diamond cuff links, Graff (price on request). 710 Madison Ave., 212-355-9292; graffdiamonds.com. Master Ultra Thin Moon 39 watch, Jaeger LeCoultre ($10,100). 701 Madison Ave., 646-828-4328; jaeger-lecoultre.com. ON KENAN THOMPSON: Movado Sapphire watch, Movado ($995). Madison Jewelers, 400 Madison Ave., 212-644-4100; madisonjewelersnyc.com. Suit, shirt, tie, and cuff links, Kenan’s own. ON BECK BENNETT: Suit, Givenchy (price on request). Barneys New York, 660 Madison Ave., 212-826-8900; barneys.com. Shirt, Burberry ($295). 9 E. 57th St., 212-407-7100; burberry.com. Tie, John Varvatos ($125). 122 Spring St., 212-965-0700; johnvarvatos.com. Hamilton Maestro watch, Hamilton ($1,395). Hour Passion, 112 W. 34th St., 212-904-1002; hourpassion.com. Oxfords, Christian Louboutin ($945). 967 Madison Ave., 212-396-1884; christianlouboutin.com. ON COLIN JOST: Tuxedo ($3,500), shirt ($590), pocket square ($90), and derbies ($910), Dior Homme. 17 E. 57th St., 212-931-2950; diorhomme.com. Bow tie, Michael Kaye ($125). michaelkayecravate.com. ON BOBBY MOYNIHAN: MasterGraff Minute Repeater Tourbillon 47mm in rose gold with mother-of-pearl dial, Graff (price on request). 710 Madison Ave., 212-355-9292; graffdiamonds.com. Shoes, Jimmy Choo ($750). SEE ABOVE. Suit, shirt, and tie, Bobby’s own. ON LESLIE JONES: Bolero, Adrienne Landau ($496). Bergdorf Goodman, 754 Fifth Ave., 212-753-7300; bergdorfgoodman.com. White diamond Aria earrings set in white gold ($18,800) and white-gold butterfly ring with fancy-cut diamonds (price on request), De Beers. 703 Fifth Ave., 212-906-0001; debeers.com. 64-carat diamond link bracelet set in 18k white gold, Jacob & Co. (price on request). 48 E. 57th St., 212-719-5887; jacobandco.com. Jumpsuit, Leslie’s own. ON PETE DAVIDSON: Wool jacket, DSquared2 ($2,555). Saks Fifth Avenue, 611 Fifth Ave., 212-753-4000; saks.com. Shirt ($135) and bow tie ($60), Brooks Brothers. 1180 Madison Ave., 212-289-5027; brooksbrothers.com. Pants, Ralph Lauren Black Label ($2,295 for full tuxedo). 867 Madison Ave., 212-606-2100; ralphlauren.com. Cuff links, Thomas Pink ($195). SEE ABOVE. Movado Sapphire watch, Movado ($1,195). SEE ABOVE
SNL CLASS OF 2015 CHEAT SHEET By Juliet Izon
VANESSA BAYER: KNOWN FOR: The hilariously oblivious Jacob the Bar Mitzvah Boy. NEXT UP: Catch her in Judd Apatow’s new comedy, Trainwreck, opening later this year. BECK BENNETT: HE’S THAT GUY: From the successful AT&T commercials where he chats with preschool kids. IN HIS SPARE TIME: Bennett performs and writes for NYC’s Upright Citizens Brigade. AIDY BRYANT: CHICAGO ROOTS: Bryant is an alumna of the storied Second City improv troupe. ACCOLADES: Her SNL digital short Do It on My Twin Bed was nominated for an Emmy. MICHAEL CHE: KNOWN FOR: Being the brand-new “Weekend Update” coanchor. BEFORE: He was a writer on SNL and a correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. PETE DAVIDSON: NUMBER OF SEASONS: One. WHY YOU WILL LOVE HIM: Variety named him one of its top 10 comics to watch. HAILS FROM: Staten Island. LESLIE JONES: HOMETOWN: Memphis. BEFORE BECOMING A CAST MEMBER: She was a writer for the show. GAME TIME: Jones attended college on a basketball scholarship. COLIN JOST: BEHIND THE SCENES: In addition to being the coanchor of “Weekend Update,” Jost is also the head writer for the show. ACCOLADES: He has won three Writers Guild Awards and been nominated for multiple Emmys. TARAN KILLAM: KNOWN FOR: Impersonating talk show hosts like Piers Morgan and Rush Limbaugh. SUPER SPOUSE: Killam’s wife is How I Met Your Mother star Cobie Smulders. KATE MCKINNON: ACCOLADES: McKinnon has been nominated for an Emmy for her zany character work. BEFORE SNL: The actress performed one-woman shows at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. KYLE MOONEY: KNOWN FOR: His cheeky digital shorts with big names like Miley Cyrus and Seth Rogen. YOU’VE ALSO SEEN HIM IN: Parks and Recreation and HBO’s Hello Ladies. BOBBY MOYNIHAN:
NUMBER OF SEASONS: Seven. KNOWN
FOR: His impersonations of New Jersey Governor Chris
Christie and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. YOU’VE ALSO SEEN HIM ON: Girls and Happy Endings. JAY PHAROAH: WORLD TRAVELER: Pharoah has toured in the UK, US, and Canada with his comedy show. DON’T MISS: His impersonations of President Obama and Denzel Washington. CECILY STRONG: EARLY YEARS: Was a member of the Second City National Touring Company. LONGEST CHARACTER NAME: The Girl You Wish You Hadn’t Started a Conversation with at a Party, from “Weekend Update,” has won raves. KENAN THOMPSON:
NUMBER OF SEASONS: 12. FIRST BECAME
FAMOUS: As a member of Nickelodeon’s sketch comedy
series All That. DON’T MISS: his impressions of Bill Cosby, Al Sharpton, and Whoopi Goldberg.
SASHEER ZAMATA: KNOWN FOR: Her spot-on imitations of Michelle Obama and Rihanna. ACCOLADES: Her web series, Pursuit of Sexiness, was named one of Variety’s Top 10 Web Series in 2013. HAILS FROM: Indianapolis.
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MICHAEL CHE—COLIN JOST MC: What was your favorite moment in
SNL history? CJ: Jim Carrey in 1996. Those were the peak Dumb
and Dumber and Ace Ventura years. They were very formational movies for me. When he hosted SNL he did classic sketches like the lifeguard, the hot tub, and the one where he was possessed and riding the snake. They were the big ones. MC: What got you into comedy? CJ: Just doing it with friends. Later on, someone gave me money. MC: I did it for the money as well. COLIN JOST—LESLIE JONES CJ: What is the name of the animal you’re
THE CAST’S FAVORITE SNL MOMENTS KENAN THOMPSON: Racist Word Association Interview: A black man (Richard Pryor) being interviewed for a janitor’s position endures a word-association quiz with the human resources ofcer (Chevy Chase), and it quickly turns ugly. “I think Richard Pryor and Chevy Chase were epic. We’ve all tried to get to a level like that.” (December 13, 1975) KATE MCKINNON: Mary Katherine Gallagher Aerosmith audition: Gallagher auditions to be in the latest Aerosmith video and breaks through a wall. (October 28, 1995) Xena Warrior Princess with Brendan Fraser: “His wig came of, and it was a moment when they were having so much fun.” (October 18, 1997) JAY PHARAOH: “My favorite moment on SNL was the Boy Dance Party with Bruce Willis, and seeing Bruce do the Three Stooges. That was very funny.” (October 12, 2013) BOBBY MOYNIHAN: “Meeting Pearl Jam. Those are the childhood moments where you’re like, “Did I just do an SNL sketch with Pearl Jam?” (March 13, 2010) AIDY BRYANT: “My first time saying, ‘Live from New York, it’s…’” (October 21, 2012) COLIN JOST: Overprotective Lifeguard with Jim Carrey: Lifeguard Carrey keeps an extremely close eye on a man (Will Ferrell) in a Jacuzzi. Jimmy Tango’s Fat Busters: Jimmy Tango (Jim Carrey) shows how to burn pounds with heat beads and crystal meth. (May 18, 1996) VANESSA BAYER: Zagat’s: Beverly Gelfand (Chris Farley) consults with her husband, Hank Gelfand (Adam Sandler), on where to go for dinner, and Beverly’s sister Pauline (David Duchovny) comes to visit. (May 13, 1995) KYLE MOONEY: White Like Eddie: Eddie Murphy, wearing makeup, goes undercover to see what it is like to be white. He is shocked to see the many privileges and benefits he receives from other white New Yorkers. (December 15, 1984)
wearing? LJ: Cricket fur, and I killed approximately 250 to make this. Sometimes they still make music. CJ: Favorite and least favorite animal? LJ: You know I hate all animals, Colin. CJ: There’s no animal that’s a little bit in your sweet spot? LJ: Fish, because they don’t talk to me, they don’t mess with me, they don’t even expect me to feed them, really. CJ: Like a great man, you know? They just kind of leave you be. What got you interested in comedy? LJ: I got tired of people calling me insane. CJ: The moment you turned? LJ: I didn’t realize I was a comedian until somebody told me I was funny. All this time, I just thought I was trouble. CJ: When was that? LJ: I was 18, and a college friend entered me in a stand-up contest. She made me. I picked up the mic, and I was done. That was what I was going to do for the rest of my life. CJ: And have you thanked her? LJ: I see her all the time. A shout-out to Danita Abernathy! LESLIE JONES—PETE DAVIDSON LJ: How’s your first season on SNL? PD: It’s the coolest place to be able to learn, and
everyone is brilliant. LJ: What’s your favorite part of the job? PD: Tuesdays with the comedy writers. It’s a
long day, but it’s really fun. LJ: What got you interested in comedy? PD: I like that when you laugh at something,
it doesn’t really matter anymore. PETE DAVIDSON—VANESSA BAYER PD: Hillary Clinton or Miley Cyrus—who did you
like impersonating more? ABOVE, FROM LEFT:
Pearl Jam (3/13/2010); Zagat’s with Chris Farley and Adam Sandler (5/13/1995); Overprotective Lifeguard with Jim Carrey and Will Ferrell (5/18/1996).
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VB: I don’t want to choose, but I will say that I
auditioned with my Miley Cyrus impression, and I feel like she’s responsible for a good
amount of my career. PD: Who is your favorite SNL cast member ever? VB: That’s a hard question, but I love Chris Farley. I do love the sketch where Chris is reading out of Zagat’s and Adam Sandler is playing his husband, and you can tell that Adam Sandler wants to laugh so bad. There’s so much joy in that scene, and those two really make me laugh a lot. PD: Who is your favorite athlete who has hosted? VB: LeBron, because I’m from Cleveland. He’s our hero. VANESSA BAYER—BECK BENNETT VB: Did you watch SNL growing up? BB: Oh my God, yes. I loved it. It was a haven for
me, a place I could go and get my giggles. VB: What does SNL mean to New York and New York mean to SNL? BB: Well, it’s basically like cool, late-night, rock ’n’ roll culture. It’s a show that’s up at night, and there’s music and entertainment; it’s a show that never quits. VB: How does doing SNL compare to doing AT&T commercials? BB: SNL is a lot more fun. The cast is cooler and there are people I can relate to. VB: I just want to tell you that I think you’re a little dull. BB: Thank you so much, Vanessa. I think you’re one of the sweetest and most charming people to be around. VB: Go on… BB: You just always make me smile. VB: Aw, you always make me smile. BB: I love you. VB: I love you… and print it! BB: Print it! BECK BENNETT—KYLE MOONEY BB: What got you interested in comedy? KM: People making funny faces, funny noises,
and funny videos; and the Sunday funnies. I was the youngest of three boys, and we were always interested in funny things. BB: I’m sure there was some fun roughhousing. KM: There was some very nasty roughhousing. BB: If you could go back, would you do something different? KM: I’d read more; I was not good about keeping up with class. We did comedy in college and had an improv sketch group. When we graduated, we decided we wanted to keep on doing it and tour the country. BB: What was your favorite SNL moment? KM: Probably either the Eddie Murphy video where he’s in whiteface or when Ashlee Simpson was caught lip-synching. BB: Cool, man. Good luck with the show and congratulations on your career. G
clockwise from top left:
A drink on the house: Colin Jost, Jay Pharoah, and Michael Che; very much ready for prime time: Kyle Mooney, Beck Bennett, Aidy Bryant, and Jay Pharoah; funny girls: Cecily Strong and Sasheer Zamata; cast flirts: Kyle Mooney and Leslie Jones, and (far left) Taran Killam and Vanessa Bayer.
Styling by Cannon/Judy Casey; Hair by Luca Blandi for Oscar Blandi Salon; Makeup by Mari Shten for Armani Beauty; Set styling by Sergio Esteves; Video: Emilie Jackson; Production: Monique Perreault/Very Rare Productions; Shot on location at Joe’s Pub and The Library at The Public, 425 Lafayette St., 212-967-7555; joespub.com, thelibraryatthepublic.com With its intimate atmosphere and superior acoustics, Joe’s Pub at The Public consistently presents the best in live music and nightly performances. Tucked away on the mezzanine level, The Library is open nightly for dinner and cocktails. Since its debut in 2012, The Library has received rave reviews for chef Andrew Carmellini’s dinner menu and Tiffany Short’s award-winning craft cocktails.
Flower Power It girls move on from magazines, PR, and the DJ booth to get down and dirty with Mother Nature. by caroline tell
photography by eric ryan anderson
Once upon a time, It girls (aka socials) headed to buzzy magazines to get a little work cred. The fock then moved on to fashion PR, with the most daring of the well connected and beautiful even spinning in the DJ booth. But today modern “It-sters” are seeking relevance elsewhere. They’re busy getting down and dirty with Mother Nature as foral designers, the chicest job to have right now. Whether decorating the tables of the hottest Fashion Week parties or masterminding the wedding décor for a New York power couple, the women on the following pages are creating “budding” empires with distinct foral points of view and signature style.
Bro o k ly n in Blo o m :
Kathleen Hyppolite of Kat Flower Event veteran Kathleen Hyppolite has produced galas and fundraisers for Alvin Ailey and Jazz at Lincoln Center for over 10 years, but her favorite part of event planning has always been fower design. When the recession hit in 2008 and companies were forced to cut budgets, Hyppolite took a moment to think about what she most enjoyed in her work. Kat Flower was born the following fall. Why fowers? I’ve always been around events and spent many years hiring forists. I ruled out culinary school in my 20s. I didn’t want to be in chef’s clothes all the time. Was it diffcult transitioning from event planner to foral designer? I was familiar with the market. I started learning about fowers and their names by taking classes. I sought every opportunity to expose myself to the product. Favorite fower? In the spring, all of the fowering branches, like cherry blossoms, magnolias, lilacs. In the summer and fall, I like dahlias and wildfowers. Late spring is peonies, and I love roses all year round. Toughest fower to work with? Hellebores can be challenging if you don’t know what you’re doing; also poppies and magnolias. They bruise easily and fall apart at the last minute. Trends you anticipate for spring? Some you’d like to go away? I wouldn’t cry if the “mason jar” look and the entire rustic trend went away. I think people associate that with the idea of Brooklyn— very small blooms, farm-to-table. As someone from Brooklyn, I happen to love lush, full fowers and big blooms. The chic tables you’ve set recently? I did an intimate dinner during Fashion Week for the brand Honor. I used a long glass table, borrowed vintage Murano glass objéts, and flled them with classic fowers like roses and dahlias in a rose, gold, amber, and pink palette. Differences between Uptown and Downtown clients? There really isn’t a marked difference. Whether it’s for weddings, events, or a one-off occasion, most of my clients want lush, seasonal, textural arrangements, featuring all the favorites, like peonies, garden roses, dahlias, ranunculus, anemones, and some unexpected elements. katfower.com
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Denise Porcaro of Flower Girl NYC Native New Yorker Denise Porcaro always wanted to work in a creative feld. Having studied flm in college, she thought she’d end up in the industry, but a waitress job at The Park restaurant turned into a career when hip hotelier Sean MacPherson asked her to design the fowers for his iconic West Chelsea spot. Fastforward 10 years or so, Porcaro is the forist of record for luxury brands like Chanel and Estée Lauder; properties like The Bowery Hotel and The Plaza; and for style icons like Lauren Santo Domingo, Drew Barrymore, and Kelly Ripa. Her personal style is as avidly documented on fashion blogs as her beautiful blooms. How did you get started in fowers? In my early 20s I dabbled in everything, but once I started doing the fowers for Sean and Eric [Goode, MacPherson’s business partner], I fell in love with it. What’s your frst memory as a forist? Getting home from The Park, where I worked as a waitress, at 4 am and getting up at 7 to go to the fower market. I’d be there shoving a bunch of branches in the back of my red Volkswagen Passat. When was your “big
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break?” In 2007, when [now-defunct jeans label] Earnest Sewn asked me to set up a shopin-shop in its Meatpacking District store. It was my “training-wheels store.” In 2012 I opened on Eldridge Street on my own and last fall in the Gansevoort Market. Where do you source your fowers? I’ve worked with the Chelsea Flower Market for a long time, but recently I’ve begun dealing directly with Holland. Favorite fower? I love lily of the valley. It’s special; it’s not seen around that often. Hardest fowers to work with? The ones I have to source at crazy times of the year—for example, if a bride wants peonies in the fall, or sunfowers in December. Trends for spring? Shades of the same color in an ombré design. Flesh and peach tones make for a beautiful ombré in peonies, garden roses, tea roses, ranunculus, calla lilies, and orchids; so do cooler tones from lavender to the deepest aubergine. Uptown versus Downtown fower style? My uptown clients are asking for a more modern look. You can fnd a superfunky Uptown chick who wants something wilder with garden roses or succulents, like my Brooklyn clients. 245 Eldridge St., 212-777-0050; fowergirlnyc.com
Vonda dress, Rag & Bone ($395). SakS FiFth avenue, 611 FiFth ave., 212-753-4000; SakS.com. hair and Makeup by bryan bantry using Make up For eVer.
flo rist o f rec o rd :
C ountry ChiC :
Taylor Patterson of Fox Fodder Farm While her Brooklyn studio is a far cry from the Delaware family farm, Taylor Patterson injects country style into an inspired assortment of foral work. A Flower Girl NYC alum, Patterson went out on her own in 2011 and has since arranged blooms for designers Pamela Love and Patrik Ervell as well as for top fashion magazines. How did you start with fowers? I’ve worked for a costume designer, a jewelry designer, and then a landscape artist. I loved gardening but it’s so seasonal, so when winter came, I found myself in fowers. What is your day like? I’m up at 6 am and go right to the fower market in Chelsea. From there, I head back to the studio to prep fowers we need for a job. We try to fnish as early as possible. I don’t want anyone staying later than 5 pm. Favorite fower? It varies from season to season and depends on my mood. Right now it’s tulips, even though normally it’s a spring fower. I love garden roses and daffodils. Hardest fower to work with? I’d say hellebores—you have to treat them in such a specifc way or else they’ll wilt. Everyone has his or her own method. Some people put them in hot water, but I fnd completely submerging them in cold water is the best bet. Trends for spring? I would love to step away from this super-romantic, slightly wild look. I’d love to see a paring down, with clean and simple arrangements, maybe one kind of fower done in an artful way. What do your different clients want? The Downtown set loves that superromantic, wildfower look. The Uptown crowd wants something sophisticated. My clients in the fashion industry gravitate toward a cleaner look that’s more mindful of design and a bit simpler. Flower that says New York? Tulips. They are versatile, classic, and elegant yet playful. You can manipulate them by bending their stems or peeling back their petals. So it’s like New York, because it can be so many things depending on what you want. 67 West St., Ste. 601, Brooklyn, 774-678-1112; foxfodderfarm.com
Tia r a Time :
Christy Meisner of Crowns by Christy
What prompted you to make that frst foral crown? The owner of this house had a crazy gardener plant all these fowers, so I decided to make a fower crown to wear to the beach. The only string I had was dental foss, so I used that when I
made the crown with garden roses. I didn’t know what I was doing. As a publicist, you have a wide network of contacts. How has that helped your business? Last April a client was launching a fragrance, and we wanted to give foral crowns to editors as gifts. We started doing research on where to fnd them. The prices were high, $100 each. One of the girls at Allison Brod said, “Don’t you know how to make them?” So they hired me. From then on, I was deluged with requests for bachelorette parties, showers, and even bat mitzvahs! How do you manage with two jobs? I wake up at 5 am every day. I go to the fower district or just work on my crowns until 9 am, when I go to the offce. Then I go home and make crowns until bedtime.
Right now the challenge is keeping up with the projects I have. As niche as the business is, I’m busy! Best fowers for crowns? The hardest? The best fowers are smaller malleable types, like solidagos, baby’s breath, and even herbs. Everyone loves peonies and wants to make them into crowns, but they’re too heavy and don’t stay together. As soon as you touch them, they fall apart. Different client requests? Brides choose neutral hues for romantic blooms like baby’s breath and tiny roses. For a bachelorette party, they might go with hot-pink roses or ranunculus for a crown that stands out. They want to embrace the bright and the fun. It’s chicer than wearing those sashes. crownsbychristy.com
SANDALS, Rebecca Minkoff ($325). 96 Greene St., 212-677-7883; rebeccaminkoff.com
Two years ago, Christy Meisner, a Louisiana transplant, was sitting around her Sagaponack summer rental when she decided to make a fower crown from the garden for fun. Fast-forward to 2015: Her line, Crowns by Christy, has become a springtime must for designers like Shoshanna Gruss, brands like Dream Dry and Annick Goutal, and the beauty editors she works with as a publicist at Allison Brod Communications.
D ow ntow n Darl in g s :
Molly Guy and Rawan Rihani of Stone Fox Bride In 2012 Rawan Rihani (pictured, far left) joined Molly Guy, founder of the alternative bridal retailer Stone Fox Bride, to assist with gown alterations and embellishments. “I asked her to adorn some veils with fresh fower crowns, and I realized she had a major talent,” says Guy. “Clients started to request her fowers, and that’s how the business started. It’s a testament to her talent as a designer.” Now members of the fashion set like Lily Aldridge, Aimee Osbourne, and Meredith Melling can visit this shop in Soho for a bohemian-inspired gown and decorative fowers. The pair also created foral crowns for photo shoots featuring Jemima Kirke, Shiva Rose, and Zosia Mamet. Where did you learn foral design? RR: I worked at a fower shop in Ditmas Park called Sycamore, but my background is in painting and fne art. Your foral style? RR: Relaxed, straightfrom-the-garden, but also very lush and dreamy. I love a good mix of textures, like combining peonies, Juliet roses, and ranunculus with such herbs as tuberose, rosemary, and eucalyptus. MG: Nothing smells better than a bouquet with rosemary and eucalyptus. Where do you source your fowers? RR: It depends on the season. Brooklyn Grange has a rooftop garden in the summer with amazing sunfowers and zinnias. I tend to go to the fower market in Chelsea a lot and the Union Square Farmers Market. I get as much as I can locally. Toughest fowers to work with? RR: Garden roses are so thorny. I like to get in quick when I’m making an arrangement, but with these I have to be patient and take the thorns off, otherwise my hands get really wretched. MG: Flowers that wilt easily, like tulips and peonies, because when you’re presenting your work to clients, you need everything looking as fresh as possible! What’s new for spring? RR: I’m obsessed with foral garlands. Basically they’re foral arrangements that are draped along a table and hang over the edge. Uptown versus Downtown clientele? MG: Bouquets for our Downtown clients are looser, more bohemian and wild, with wildfowers and garden roses. Our Uptown clients want classic fowers like tulips and peonies in more formal structures and forms. Most memorable moments from life in the fower world? RR: The frst wedding I did was on a farm in Rhinebeck, New York, on the hottest day of the year. We were in the middle of a feld with no water. I had to keep running back and forth to a gas station to get gallons of Poland Spring. Now I know the types of questions I should ask before taking something on. 611 Broadway, Ste. 613B, 212-260-8600; stonefoxbride.com G
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By the end of 2015, 200 retail stores, half of them luxury brands, will open in the new retail meccas, Brookfield Place and Westfield WTC.
Great
ExpEctations Can deep downtown do designer fashion? top labels are betting on brookfield plaCe, opening this spring, and westfield wtC, debuting later this year, to redefine the shopping experienCe for the City’s luxury retail Customers. by suzanne mcgee illustration by yehrin tong
fashion musings on the new downtown
Stephanie WinSton Wolkoff
photography by ChanCe yeh/FilmmagiC (WolkoFF)
FouNDEr oF SWW CrEATIvE
Stephanie Winston Wolkoff knows luxury, and she knows brands. After all, she ran New York Fashion Week at Lincoln Center for several years. Winston Wolkoff, who now heads her own firm, SWW Creative, sees every reason for the new WTC-area ventures to thrive. Nearby Wall Street is an area where luxury (Hermès, Tiffany) already has a toehold, and the high-end labels making the trek south are heading to a region that “has a thirst” for luxury, she says. “Condé Nast, Merrill Lynch—these are companies [in the area] that have highly paid employees who are drawn to luxury items.” That doesn’t mean that Downtown will do luxury the way 57th Street, Madison Avenue, or luxury malls in other parts of the country do it. “I believe the stores will be more expansive and will have a wider variety of items,” says Winston Wolkoff. Lower rents will give retailers more space to display their wares, and the creation of entirely new stores will allow brands to experiment, showcasing products and giving customers more individual shopping experiences. “Every neighborhood has its own feeling, space, environment, and particular details that make it unique,” she says.
At this point, it’s tough for Robert Chavez, CEO of the US to the other side of West Street,” Chavez says. “I’ll go to division of Hermès of Paris, to remember precisely which pick up something at Hudson Eats, and I’m excited to see part of his newfound love affair with the lower tip of the kind of people who are there not just to have lunch but dinner as well, willing to pay the prices that the vendors at Manhattan came first: the personal or professional. But Ed Hogan remembers. Hogan, the director of a luxury food court are asking in exchange for quality retail leasing for Brookfield Properties, who is in the final and the right type of experience.” Those individuals, he stages of overseeing the transformation of the former calculates, are precisely the kind of consumers who will World Financial Center on the southernmost part of be eager to stop by Hermès’ new boutique once it is open Manhattan’s West Side into a new luxury shopping for business. Not that Chavez expects Brookfield—or Downtown mecca, says, “We had been talking to Bob for a while about what was happening Downtown, and I don’t think retail—to be simply a replica of Manhattan’s other luxury he would have looked at apartments in the area if he retailing neighborhoods, like Madison Avenue or Soho. hadn’t already begun to see signs of the transformation “It’s going to be something distinctive and different,” he argues. That’s why he has decided that the Brookfield Place that we were talking about.” For his part, Chavez admits that while he’d always Hermès store will be unlike anything else the luxury brand lived below 14th Street in Manhattan, he and his partner offers its customers, not just in Manhattan, but in the world. “We decided this will be where we had no real intention of moving again will place our first free-standing perunless they discovered something fumery,” Chavez says. “We wanted “truly extraordinary.” That hadn’t hapsomething unique, to reflect the locapened, until, on a whim, they toured tion. Fragrance will be a way to attract a three-bedroom penthouse duplex in first-time patrons and introduce them Battery Park City and lightning struck. to the brand, and our [location]—right “It was astonishing: the views, the light, where the escalators from the World the feeling of having instant access to Trade Center site and the transportathe outdoors,” he says; they paid $4.9 —vincent ottomanelli, tion hub deliver people to Brookfield million to acquire the property in the president of ferragamo usa Place—is perfect for that.” summer of 2012. “I joke that we live in While Chavez pledges that Hermès shoppers will find suburbia, and New York City is straight across the street.” Even closer—a five-minute stroll away—is the location of that the boutique looks nothing like a traditional cosmetwhat will be the newest US Hermès boutique, when the ics or fragrance department (he declined to discuss majority of the luxury boutiques housed within the rede- specifics ahead of the opening), he says that what is tradisigned and re-imagined Brookfield Place open in March. tional is the business rationale that lies behind the luxury Chavez only inked that deal less than a year after closing brand’s decision to commit to the new Brookfield developon his new apartment, and says he has enjoyed spending ment. “The area now has even more affluent shoppers in his weekends ambling through the construction site, place than it did a decade ago, as more companies move watching the project take shape. What he sees, he says, headquarters Downtown,” he points out. “Tourists are reconfirms his decision both to move to the neighborhood there. And now, more than ever before, people are movhimself and to place a bet that Downtown Manhattan will ing to live in the area. Any time you have that trio in place, you have all that you need for retail to thrive.” emerge as the city’s newest luxury retail hub. Until now, however, the southernmost tip of Manhattan “I watch the traffic flow through Brookfield, from Goldman Sachs and other big investment banks, across has been better known for hosting such denizens of high
“Lower Manhattan is not just where people work; it’s where they live. And they need retail.”
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Simon Doonan
CreaTIve aMBaSSaDor-aT-large, BarNeYS
Few denizens of New York’s fashion scene are less afraid to speak their mind than Simon Doonan—and so it comes as no surprise that he has some strong opinions about the latest and largest-scale attempt to bring luxury to Manhattan’s southernmost tip. First of all, Doonan insists, we need to recognize that Manhattan as a whole is simply a single, giant opportunity for luxury brands. But what about the far reaches of Downtown—always a financial mecca, but never a retail hub? Barneys opened a satellite store in what was then the World Financial Center in 1988, but it was shuttered by the mid-1990s. Doonan doesn’t believe that history is destiny. “It’s Wall Street. Hello!” Translation? There’s money—lots of money—Downtown, along with a new breed of luxury-conscious consumers and no place near at hand to shop. “Whenever you have a high density of people—and wealth!—you can sell luxury.”
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finance as Goldman Sachs and Brown Brothers Harriman, than for welcoming high fashion and luxury retailers like Hermès and others that have leased space at Brookfield or have opted to wait a bit longer and move into one of the boutiques in the Oculus, the eye-catching, two-story shopping gallery at the heart of Westfield Group’s retail development at the World Trade Center site. For example, Ermenegildo Zegna and Tory Burch will open in Brookfield; Turnbull & Asser and Stuart Weitzman have signed leases with Westfield. By the end of 2015, close to 200 new retailers—more than half of them luxury names—will have opened their doors. Of course, some retailers have always had a toehold in the Downtown hub, and have a ringside seat as this transformation takes place. Claudio Del Vecchio, CEO of Brooks Brothers Group, is one of those; the firm was founded Downtown, on Catherine and Cherry Streets, in 1818, and has maintained a presence there ever since. Of late, he notes, as Downtown has become more residential and more of a destination, Brooks Brothers has noticed a transformation in its own business. “We have seen a shift from being strictly suit and tie to more casual lifestyle apparel and accessories,” he says. The push to bring new retail brands into Downtown is a logical development, argues Robert Burke, whose firm, Robert Burke Associates, advises high-end retailer clients such as Saks Fifth Avenue (opening in Brookfield) and who advised Westfield for a time. “Per capita income in that part of lower Manhattan is the highest household average anywhere in the city, with one of every five households earning $250,000,” he says. “That sets them apart—and they don’t have shopping on their doorstep. They are underserved; the closest luxury shopping is all the way up in Soho.” Until recently, luxury retailing has taken a backseat to discount shopping in the area, with the biggest profile belonging to the iconic Century 21 building. The rebranded Brookfield Place, during its previous life as the World Financial Center, tried to convince some of its high-end tenants—financial executives from Merrill Lynch and American Express, among others—to shop at luxury retailers that ranged from
Rizzoli Bookstore to Barneys. “We never had the right critical mass,” says Brookfield’s Hogan. All eventually closed their doors, leaving retail pundits wondering whether those who worked Downtown simply preferred to do their shopping elsewhere. The massive urban redesign project necessitated by the rebuilding at the World Trade Center site following the 9/11 terrorist attacks offered developers a chance to do more than simply tweak their existing floor plans or try to introduce a new brand here or there. If the Oculus is the most visually arresting example of this transformation, it’s far from the only one. Brookfield has stripped the exterior of the buildings facing West Street of their stone, peeling it away to replace it with glass and giving brands the ability to display their logos. Brooks Brothers’ Del Vecchio is one of those who believes there is no reason why, this time around, luxury shouldn’t thrive Downtown. “Now, you have a significant number of luxury residential buildings, great restaurants, and businesses in addition to banking and finance,” he says. “The neighborhood is evolving and becoming vibrant all day and night, not just during office hours.” Hudson’s Bay Company, the parent company of Saks, also is relocating its US headquarters to Brookfield, in a 15-year lease that was announced last fall at the same time that Saks unveiled its new store plans. It’s just one of a cluster of companies moving into the area that once was dominated almost exclusively by financial businesses. Condé Nast already has abandoned Midtown in favor of the Freedom Tower at the Westfield site, while Time Inc. is moving its headquarters from the Time & Life Building in Midtown to Brookfield late this year. Publishing firm HarperCollins is now based at 195 Broadway, a stone’s throw away. When added to the number of people who have opted to move to Lower Manhattan, “Now there is a strong, stable, critical mass of affluent and knowledgeable consumers who have become a full community,” says Vincent Ottomanelli, president of Ferragamo USA. “It’s not just where people work; it’s where they live. And they need retail.” Ottomanelli had already been contemplating opening a
photography by ben gabbe/getty Images (Doonan). opposIte page: mIreya acIerto/getty Images (LombarDo); ILLustratIon courtesy santIago caLatrava; LLc (WestfIeLD)
fashion musings on the new downtown
from far left:
Brookfield Place; the new Ferragamo store; the Paul Smith boutique; Santiago Calatrava’s World Trade Center “Oculus.”
second company-operated store in New York to add to the Ferragamo flagship on Fifth Avenue at 52nd Street. The question was where to put it, he says. “We looked at Madison Avenue, which of course has an allure, but we wanted to know what’s next—what’s new?” Unlike many other brands, Ferragamo can draw on a century-old tradition of luxury; Ottomanelli doesn’t feel under any pressure to be trendy. “We are luxury; we express it through fashion and craftsmanship,” he says. “So, the Meatpacking District or Soho might be cool with all the new restaurants, but we don’t need that. We’re classic. The Downtown area increasingly felt like the most appropriate place for us. Condé Nast’s decision to move there was a sweetener, and so was the way that Brookfield conceived of the project.” A bonus? For now, at least, Ottomanelli says the costs of opening a store in the still embryonic Downtown retail hub make it a much more appealing option than developing a site in any of the city’s other major luxury retailing neighborhoods. “If you want to exist on Fifth Avenue in Midtown, you can expect to pay $3,000 a square foot; on 57th Street, $2,500; on Madison Avenue, $1,500,” he says. “Those are astronomic numbers.” Ottomanelli won’t disclose details of Ferragamo’s lease with Brookfield, but industry sources have cited figures of between $500 and $800 a square foot for space in Westfield and Brookfield, depending on the precise location and the identity of the brand. “The total economics are very palatable, and the level of revenue we need to generate to break even is very reasonable,” Ottomanelli says. For many of the retailers, like Hermès, the move Downtown will give them the opportunity to try something new. Others, such as Bottega Veneta, will face an architectural challenge. The iconic Italian brand’s location is dramatic, occupying a semi-circular space just beneath the steps leading down from the upper level of the Winter Garden. For anyone entering the atrium from the adjacent development, Bottega’s sweeping glass walls will be their first sight of Brookfield’s retail complex. But even a glimpse at the partially finished store shows just how challenging the design will be: The ceilings will start
off dozens of feet high and rapidly shrink to a space scarcely a yard high at the center of the semicircular space. For Andy Dunn, cofounder and CEO of Bonobos Inc., one of a cluster of newer retailing names that will occupy a wing of Brookfield Place, the new store will give him the opportunity to fully introduce the company’s new modular layout. “We’ll be able to show our customers one of each item that we offer,” he explains. The Bonobos model is a hybrid of custom tailoring: after trying on items in a fitting room in the back to determine the best fit and style, the customer places an e-commerce order and the item is then shipped to them at home or at work. “We noticed that we had acquired a huge customer following Downtown, and our instinct was that it was time to have a presence there,” Dunn says of the decision to move into Brookfield. “For retail, even for luxury retail, Midtown is no longer the be-all, end-all. And in the new Downtown, we’re not participating in something that’s already underway, but already expensive. We’re trying to invest in what will be great for the next 20 years.” Brookfield’s Hogan says an awareness that today’s luxury shoppers are a different breed helped drive his leasing decisions. “We wanted to curate this, to include the contemporary wing [where Bonobos is located] because of the way the customer sees luxury today,” he says. “A typical luxury customer will wear a $2,000 silk blouse with a pair of jeans—it’s about design and comfort. No Downtown luxury retail customer will be dripping Chanel from head to toe, and they want their shopping options to reflect that aesthetic.” By the time you read this, you may well be able to buy everything from diamonds from Aspinal of London and the latest must-have Ferragamo flats to a $23 Brontosaurus Rib at Hudson Eats. By the end of the year, Westfield’s stores will have opened their doors, and will be hosting fashion shows and other events on the vast marble floors of the Oculus. Luxury retailers, having studied the demographics, have made a giant leap of faith. They have built it—and now they will wait for shoppers to come, and spend. G
fashion musings on the new downtown
Jenné Lombardo fouNDer of The TerMINaL PreseNTs aND CofouNDer of MaDe fashIoN Week
“Why would luxury be contained within any single part of Manhattan?” Downtown style icon Jenné Lombardo asks. “New York is all about accessibility, and that includes having exciting fashion brands and ideas made available everywhere throughout the city.” While many classic luxury labels will be calling the southernmost tip of Manhattan home once in Brookfield and Westfield WTC, Lombardo (who spent four years consulting for Westfield) is particularly intrigued by the possibilities in the area for newer luxury names. “I’m sad to see Manhattan occupied by big-box retailers because creative younger artists end up with fewer options as the cost of real estate gets crazy.” While the new luxury retail outlets Downtown certainly won’t be inexpensive real estate, compared to rents charged for prime Midtown locations, the new boutique spaces will look relatively affordable. New Yorkers will also have access to the kind of shopping experience unavailable in the city until now—a kind of de facto luxury mall, Lombardo notes. “The potential is tremendous,” she says.
this page: Suede trench ($4,300) and Sand Storm Fantasy horse-print carré ($230), Gucci. 725 Fifth Ave., 212-826-2600; gucci.com. Ring, model’s own opposite page: Silk coat, Dior
($6,600). 105 Greene St., 646-613-7013; dior.com. Clarice top ($1,095) and Siska skirt ($2,170), Dries Van Noten. Opening Ceremony, 35 Howard St., 212-219-2688; openingceremony.us. Sandals, Emilio Pucci ($1,325). 855 Madison Ave., 212-752-4777; emiliopucci.com
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beyond the fringe
Fashion designers are rethinking the ’70s with a new modern Flare For spring. PhotograPhy by rene & radka Styling by Martina nilSSon
opposite page: Ubino tunic ($795)
and Cinque pants ($450), Max Mara. 813 Madison Ave., 212-879-6100; maxmara.com. Scarf, Tory Burch ($175). 797 Madison Ave., 212-510-8371; toryburch.com. Agate belt, Hanley Mellon ($450). hanleymellon.com. Woven fringe handbag, Salvatore Ferragamo ($5,800). 655 Fifth Ave., 212-759-3822; ferragamo.com this page: Henley ($695), skirt
($1,695), and belt ($425), Bally. 628 Madison Ave., 212-751-9082; bally.com. 18k yellow-gold Cable Classics diamond bracelet ($4,800) and 18k yellow-gold X diamond bracelet ($3,600), David Yurman. 114 Prince St., 212-343-7918; davidyurman.com. Sandals, Gucci ($1,100). 725 Fifth Ave., 212-826-2600; gucci.com gotham-magazine.com
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this page: Viscose linen
jacket ($2,250), pants ($950), and scarf (price on request), Emilio Pucci. 855 Madison Ave., 212-752-4777; emiliopucci.com. Bracelet, Chanel ($1,475). 15 E. 57th St., 212-355-5050; chanel.com opposite page: Kid mohair
jacket ($3,060) and pants ($1,330), Prada. 575 Broadway, 212-334-8888; prada.com. Cashmere turtleneck, Ermenegildo Zegna ($895). 663 Fifth Ave., 212-421-4488; zegna.com
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opposite page: Suede blouse ($4,050)
and brass ring–embellished shorts ($1,895), Chloé. 93 Greene St., 646-350-1770; chloe.com. Turban (worn as top) ($270) and bangles ($250–$300 each), Missoni. 1009 Madison Ave., 212-517-9339; missoni.com this page: Knit top (price on request),
silk crepe bra (price on request), overstitched denim pants (price on request), light denim PM Epi Twist bag ($3,600), and monogram flower-heel ankle boots ($1,390), Louis Vuitton. 1 E. 57th St., 212-758-8877; louisvuitton.com beauté: Number 4 Blow Dry Lotion ($32), Non-Aerosol Hair Spray ($30), and Support Solution ($30). Thompson Alchemists Health & Beauty, 449 W. Broadway, 212-598-4040; number4hair.com. Dior Diorskin Star Foundation ($50), Diorskin Star Concealer ($36), Diorskin Nude Shimmer in Amber ($56), Diorshow Mono Eyeshadows in Nude and Panama ($30 each), Diorshow Liner Waterproof in Chestnut ($29), Dior Addict IT Lash Mascara in IT-Black ($28), Sourcils Poudre Eyebrow Pencil in Blonde ($29), Rouge Dior Lipstick in Trompe L’oeil ($35). Saks Fifth Avenue, 7 E. 49th St., 212-753-4000; saks.com
Photography by René & Radka at Art Department Styling by Martina Nilsson at Opus Beauty Hair by Dimitris Giannetos at Opus Beauty using Number 4 Hair Care Makeup by Allan Avendano at Opus Beauty using Dior Models: Ellinore Erichsen at NEXT Los Angeles and Niclas Gillis at LA Models Produced by Art Department Producer on set: Tony Milano Photo assistant: Adam Rondou
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1145 PARK AVENUE - TOWNHOUSE UPPER EAST SIDE
RARE PARK AVENUE TOWNHOUSE A light filled five-story, pre-war, limestone townhouse on Park Avenue in the Carnegie Hill Historic District. Built in 1885 and redesigned by the preeminent architect Emery Roth in the Modern Classic style in 1920. The townhouse features a grand entry, 4 bedrooms, 4.5 bathrooms, formal dining room, chef’s kitchen, a dramatic, sweeping staircase, and an elegant modern aesthetic with stunning views of the majestic Brick Church. Offered at $14,900,000. GINGER C BROKAW - Representative, Licensed Associate Real Estate Broker
T: 646.998.7408
E: gbrokaw@townrealestate.com
T: 646.532.4954
E: lkronenfeld@townrealestate.com
TOWN FIFTH AVENUE, 730 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10019
LAUREN KRONENFELD - Representative, Licensed Associate Real Estate Broker TOWN UPPER EAST SIDE, 239 East 79th Street, New York, NY 10075
TOWN Residential LLC is partnership of Buttonwood Residential Brokerage, LLC and Thor Equities, LLC. No representation is made as to the accuracy of any description. This is not intended to solicit property already listed. The number of bedrooms listed above is not a legal conclusion. Each person should consult with his/her own attorney, architect or zoning expert to make a determination as to the number of rooms in the unit that may be legally used as a bedroom. TOWN Residential LLC is a licensed real estate broker, proud member of REBNY, abides by federal and state equal housing opportunity laws and owns the following subsidiary licensed real estate brokers: TOWN Astor Place LLC; TOWN Fifth Avenue LLC; TOWN Flatiron LLC; TOWN Gramercy Park LLC (“TOWN Gramercy”); TOWN Greenwich Street LLC (“TOWN Financial District”); TOWN Greenwich Village LLC; TOWN Soho LLC; TOWN West Village LLC; and TOWN 79th Street LLC (“TOWN Upper East Side”).
Haute property
24-Hour Luxe
RobeRt A.M. SteRn teAMS up with LARRy SiLveRStein And FouR SeASonS FoR A new hoteL-condo coMpLex neAR the woRLd tRAde centeR. by c. j. hughes There was a time not so long ago in Lower Manhattan when luxury apartment buildings were so few and far between that they stood out like pennies on a sidewalk. Now, the opposite seems true: The area is becoming so forested with gleaming high-rises that any blocks that don’t have them are striking, especially when they remain a bit rough around the edges, like Church Street at the southern border of Tribeca. There, “meh” office buildings mix with vendors of phones, eyebrow waxes, and DVDs. But an 82-story limestone hotel-condo on Church at Park Place, which is being developed by Silverstein Properties with a Robert A.M. Stern design, could spark major changes that, despite all the activity at the World Trade Center site and nearby Brookfield Place, have been slower to arrive in the immediate neighborhood, observers say.
RendeRing by ARchpARtneRs
continued on page 116
30 Park Place will have 157 apartments; the hotel with 189 rooms will be located on the lower floors.
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A duplex living room at 30 Park Place.
“We kneW sooner or later the World Would come together again.” —larry silverstein “There’s still a lot of room for improvement down here,” said Corey Wecler, a resident and a broker with City Connections Realty of the Church StreetCity Hall Park district, noting that many businesses (steakhouses, for example) cater to those employed in the area instead of those living there. “But we’re not going backward.” Regardless of whether Church can enjoy the kind of retail reboot that nearby Stone and Wall Streets have benefited from in recent years, and which the World Trade Center is about to experience with a vast new retail hub, Silverstein’s tower is sure to make a stylistic impression. Featuring a 189-room Four Seasons hotel on its lower floors and 157 luxury apartments above, the building has the Deco-esque prewar look that has served Stern so
well at uptown projects like 15 Central Park West. With one- to six-bedroom units, the residential portion of the project, which will have the address 30 Park Place, will be colored with a light palette— floors of white oak, counters of white marble, with a grayer, striated marble in the baths. At 926 feet, 30 Park will be the area’s tallest residential tower, easily edging out the 870-foot New York by Gehry rental at 8 Spruce Street as well as the 821-foot 56 Leonard Street condo rising at Church. (The next-door condo-ized Woolworth Building? It’s 792 feet.) In many ways dowdy Church Street is an unlikely fit for Four Seasons, a brand associated with sleek and modern luxury, whose only other location is on the well-traveled 57th Street. But company officials say that even a decade ago, when they committed to
from left:
The lobby entrance for the Private Residences at 30 Park Place; the building’s indoor pool.
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the project, they saw the area’s potential. “It was not about what it was, but what it would be,” said Paul White, a Four Seasons vice president, who added that the chance for a partnership with a proven developer like Silverstein didn’t hurt either. And the Four Seasons has a respectable record at place making, White explained. Its outpost on Market Street in San Francisco has helped spur a revitalization of a once-rundown area. While splashy condos may be increasingly common in Lower Manhattan, 30 Park will offer something others can’t—round-the-clock service from the in-house Four Seasons, which will manage the whole property. That means residents can opt for the regular morning delivery of an egg-white omelet with a kale shake from the building’s yet-tobe-named restaurant (for an extra fee), says White. Masseuses can be ordered from the spa; concierges can arrange pet pedicures. In late January, after just four months of marketing, 60 percent of the apartments had sold. Not surprisingly, many of the buyers are foreign. “From Europe, the Middle East, and Asia,” said Larry Silverstein, the chairman of Silverstein Properties, who has partnered with the California State Teachers’ Retirement System public pension fund for the $1 billion project. The average sale price has been $3,300 per square foot, said Silverstein. That price seems on a par with new developments in Tribeca; the average at 56 Leonard, a 145-unit tower from the Alexico Group and Hines, is $3,300 per square foot, according to the site StreetEasy. But if 30 Park is actually part of the Financial District, as some brokers say, the price can seem record setting. Indeed, at 50 West, a shimmering spire on the West Side Highway from developer Time Equities, prices average $2,300 per foot, based on StreetEasy data. Silverstein, who bought the property for $170 million in 2006, and then razed its 11-story office building, didn’t do much with it for years because of the recession. It was originally supposed to open in 2011; it’s now scheduled to open in 2016. But while the carrying costs on an empty lot might have been burdensome, the five-year delay had an upside: The neighborhood to the south at the World Trade Center grew up in part because of Silverstein’s own handiwork redeveloping buildings like 7 World Trade, 3 World Trade, and 4 World Trade. And, of course, the signature skyscraper, One World Trade Center, from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the Durst Organization, opened for business last year [2014]. Brookfield Place, a new mall in Battery Park City, will debut this spring. “We knew sooner or later the world would come together again,” Silverstein said. “But there’s no question that waiting was absolutely beneficial.” 30 Park Pl., 212-608-0030; thirtypark place.com G
RENDERINGS by ARchpARtNERS (lIvING Room, lobby). photoGRAphy by yAbu puShElbERG (pool)
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Real estate agents affliated with The Corcoran Group are independent contractor sales associates and are not employees of The Corcoran Group. Equal Housing Opportunity. The Corcoran Group is a licensed real estate broker. All information furnished regarding property for sale or rent or regarding fnancing is from sources deemed reliable, but Corcoran makes no warranty or representation as to the accuracy thereof. All property information is presented subject to errors, omissions, price changes, changed property conditions, and withdrawal of the property from the market, without notice. All dimensions provided are approximate. To obtain exact dimensions, Corcoran advises you to hire a qualifed architect or engineer. 51 Main Street, East Hampton NY 11937 | 631.324.3900
haute property tall Stories
The Western Front While real estate experts have noted a slight slowdown in sales, New York’s celebrity real estate market remains as hot as ever. TV weatherman Sam Champion recently sold his luxury Lincoln Square penthouse for a sunny $4.72 million. While this was less than the $5.995 million he listed it for earlier this year, the price is still impressive if you consider he bought the penthouse at 45 West 67th Street for a mere $750,000 in 1995. The twobedroom, two-and-a-half-bath unit on the 33rd floor is 1,950 square feet and comes with two terraces and atrium glass windows. The listing broker was Douglas Elliman’s Ann Cutbill Lenane. Star Trek’s Sir Patrick Stewart, otherwise known as Captain Jean-Luc Picard, is living it up in a former carriage house in Park Slope, Brooklyn, with his third wife, Sunny Ozell. He recently sold the Upper West Side penthouse he owned with his second wife, Wendy Neuss. Their former home, at 118 West 79th Street, sold after a bidding war for $3.82 million, which was well above the unit’s original ask of $3.79 million. The best part of the penthouse is its wraparound terrace with an irrigated garden and Central Park views. 408 Columbus Ave., 212-381-2252; brianlewis.halsteadagent.com Also on the Upper West Side, Bruce Willis and his wife, Emma Heming, have listed their three-bedroom, fourth-floor pad at 300 Central Park West (the El Dorado) for $12.995 million. The apartment, formerly owned by U2’s Adam Clayton, was purchased less than two years ago for $8.69 million, but Willis and Heming need more space now that they have two children. The listing broker is Douglas Elliman’s Ann Cutbill Lenane (1995 Broadway: 212-7699862; anncutbilllenane.elliman.com).
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Robert De Niro and his wife, Grace Hightower, are chilling in their $125,000-a-month rental digs at 15 Central Park West, a temporary home until renovations are completed on their Upper West Side residence following a devastating fire. But they’re not the only family members moving around. De Niro recently plunked down $2.8 million for a West Village apartment for his daughter, Drena. Both Robert and Drena’s names are on the deed for the two-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath unit that comes with 13-foot beamed ceilings and a wood-burning fireplace. The ask was $2.795 million, but it sold for $2.852 million following a bidding war. The listing brokers were Corcoran’s Sara Gelbard and Paul Kolbusz (30 Irving Pl., 212-500-7026; corcoran.com). One of the most visible celebrities hunting for housing in New York these days is Robert Pattinson. He checked out a townhouse in Brooklyn’s Vinegar Hill and a $5.75 million unit at the Cobblestone Lofts at 28 Laight Street. The listing brokers for the third-floor unit are Town Residential’s Jason Karadus and Joshua Hatfield (110 Fifth Ave., 646-998-7435; townreal estate.com). Also on Pattinson’s list was a $19.5 million penthouse at 200 11th Avenue, home to Nicole Kidman and Domenico Dolce. That 3,598-squarefoot, three-bedroom unit comes with James Bond-style details like a glass floor that, at the touch of a button, opens to reveal stairs and bookcases that, when pushed, turn out to be doors leading to bedrooms. The listing brokers are Ryan Serhant, at Nest Seekers (56 Reade St., 646-443-3739; nestseekers.com) and Leonard Steinberg, at Urban Compass, (90 Fifth Ave., 646-375-1932; urbancompass.com). G
from top:
Robert Pattinson checked out this penthouse at 200 11th Avenue, which has James Bond details like secret doors behind a set of bookcases; Sir Patrick Stewart sold his former home at 118 West 79th Street (which boasts a wraparound terrace) after a brisk bidding war; Bruce Willis is asking almost $13 million for his three-bedroom pad at 300 Central Park West.
photography by Evan JosEph ImagEs (200 11th avE); douglas EllIman photograpy (300 cEntral park wEst)
For celebs, it’s not only about Downtown. the upper, lower, anD Far west siDes are seeing plenty oF a-list action. by sally goldstein
BROOKLYN, NY | $13,000,000 | WEB: 0137355 Mansion-style unique Brooklyn Heights 5 story elevator townhouse features 11 rooms, 5 Beds, library rooftop with kitchen and exquisite high-end design. Still early enough to customize.
TRIBECA, NYC | $10,750,000 | WEB: 0137416 Brilliant light, water views, and quality craftsmanship mingle to create a one-of-a-kind, duplex penthouse. 4,500± sqft. of interior living, 3,000± sqft. of outdoor space and a private elevator.
GREENWICH VILLAGE, NYC | $5,750,000 | WEB: 0137453 Spectacular 3,050± sqft. Greenwich Village full foor loft with picture perfect view of Washington Square Park. 4 exposures with natural light. Triple mint condition.
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BROOKLYN, NY | $4,300,000 | WEB: 0137491 Uniquely designed, one-of-a-kind 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath duplex penthouse. River, bridge and city views, 4 private terraces over 2,344 sqft. of outdoor space and a gourmet kitchen.
LOWER EAST SIDE, NYC | $3,850,000 | WEB: 0137410 Spectacular, bright and expansive full-foor condo in an historic cast-iron loft building. Enormous entertaining space, hardwood foors and wall of windows.
MIDTOWN WEST, NYC | $3,495,000 | WEB: 0137443 This impeccably designed 2 bedroom, 2 bath loft with stone freplace showcases panoramic city & river views from 100± ft of south, west & north-facing windows and 50± ft terrace.
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CHELSEA, NYC | $3,350,000 | WEB: 0137477 Sun-drenched private full-foor condo loft. Ofers 3423± sqft. of living space, ceiling heights that approach 10± feet and 3 exposures. 5 bedrooms, 4 baths and a home ofce. Live/Work
SOHO, NYC | $3,450,000 | WEB: 0137460 Highly-coveted pre-war Spring Condominium in the heart of NoLiTa. Open city views to the north and west, approx. 1,498 sqft. 2 bedrooms and 2.5 baths.
UPPER WEST SIDE, NYC| $2,650,000 | WEB: 0137524 Big, bright and beautiful, this perfectly proportioned Riverside Drive Pre-War Classic Six delivers grace and elegance. Two generously sized split bedrooms each with two exposures and en-suite baths.
John Tenore, 212.431.2473 | Glenn Norrgard, 212.431.2456
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M. Flash. Blum, 212.431.2447 | Danielle Wiedemann, 212.431.2433
DOWNTOWN MANHATTAN BROKERAGE I sothebyshomes.com/nyc 149 Fifth Avenue, 4th Floor | New York, NY 10010 | 212.431.2440 Sotheby’s International Realty and the Sotheby’s International Realty logo are registered (or unregistered) service marks used with permission. Operated by Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. Real estate agents afliated with Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. are independent contractor sales associates and are not employees of Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. Equal Housing Opportunity.
“The team at NouvelleView handled every detail of our move fawlessly.
i wouldn’t make a move without them.” Whether you’re moving across the block or across the globe, let the luxury moving specialists at NouvelleView expertly budget, plan, and execute your entire move.
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PLAYING FOR A CAUSE
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P R E S E N T E D
7 : 3 0 P. M . – 1 0 : 3 0 P. M .
B Y
and The Committee for the Hassenfeld Center and KiDS of NYU Langone
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575 MADISON AVENUE, NY, NY 10022. 212.891.7000 | © 2015 DOUGLAS ELLIMAN REAL ESTATE. ALL MATERIAL PRESENTED HEREIN IS INTENDED FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY. WHILE, THIS INFORMATION IS BELIEVED TO BE CORRECT, IT IS REPRESENTED SUBJECT TO ERRORS, OMISSIONS, CHANGES OR WITHDRAWAL WITHOUT NOTICE. ALL PROPERTY INFORMATION, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO SQUARE FOOTAGE, ROOM COUNT, NUMBER OF BEDROOMS AND THE SCHOOL DISTRICT IN PROPERTY LISTINGS ARE DEEMED RELIABLE, BUT SHOULD BE VERIFIED BY YOUR OWN ATTORNEY, ARCHITECT OR ZONING EXPERT. EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY.
INVITED
SAKS FIFTH AVENUE AND ALEXANDER MCQUEEN Prudence Fairweather, Jordie Cozzolino, and Alexandra Fairweather
Chantal Elnekaveh, Marcel Goodman, Dana Prussian, and Kate Vogel
Lindsay Ellingson
GQ MEN OF NEW YORK TOMMY HILFIGER’S FIFTH
Avenue flagship hosted its third annual GQ Men of New York event, honoring the city’s industry leaders and raising awareness for the global nonprofit Save the Children.
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Monika and Matthew McLennan
Michael Godere, Brian Geraghty, Sam Rockwell, and Ivan Martin
Gary Sheinbaum and Estelle
R.J. King
Bebhinn Timmins, Liz Radler, Kate Mallouk, and John Weiner
Honorees Willie Geist, Tony Goldwyn, Sam Rockwell, CC Sabathia, and Drew and Jonathan Scott mingled with VIP guests, among them Leslie Bibb, Estelle, and Lindsay Ellingson.
Darlene McCloud and Bonnie Burnham
Hailey Clauson Tommy Hilfiger’s Fifth Avenue flagship
PHOTOGRAPHY BY BFANYC.COM (SAKS & ALEXANDER MCQUEEN); CRAIG BARRITT/GETTY IMAGES (GQ MEN); OPPOSITE PAGE: BEN ROSSER/BFANYC.COM AND ANGELA PHAM/BFANYC.COM (GEM AWARDS); IAN STROUD (PIPER-HEIDSIECK)
SAKS FIFTH AVENUE welcomed guests to preview Alexander McQueen’s Spring 2015 collection while enjoying cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, and music by celebrity DJ Alexandra Richards. The buzzy event was hosted by Alexandra Fairweather, Monika McLennan, and Jacqueline Sackler, and a percentage of its proceeds were donated to the World Monuments Fund, the leading independent organization dedicated to the preservation of historical places and cultural heritage.
More than 250 jewelry industry leaders gathered at Cipriani 42nd Street.
Norman Miller and Dave Bonaparte
Jane Seymour
Larry Pelzel and Karen Katz
David and Sybil Yurman
GEM AWARDS GALA
MORE THAN 250 jewelry industry leaders gathered at Cipriani 42nd Street on January 9 for the 13th annual Gem Awards gala. Hosted by Norman Miller and Jewelers for America , the much-anticipated awards ceremony presented its main honor, the Lifetime
Achievement Award, to Larry Pelzel of Neiman Marcus. Other winners in the categories of design, marketing and communications, and media excellence included Stephen Webster, luxury goods brand Shinola , and Claudia Mata , respectively. Amanda Gizzi and Rashad Jennings
The crowd mingles at the film preview.
Heather Graham
Brian Newman, Cecile Bonnefond, and Suriya Parksuwan
Amy Sedaris
PIPER-HEIDSIECK AND ROOFTOP FILMS PIPER-HEIDSIECK AND ROOFTOP Films hosted the New York
preview of Goodbye to All That at Highline Ballroom. The film’s screenwriter, Angus MacLachlan, and star, Paul Schneider, mingled with guests including Heather Graham, Anna Camp, Amy Sedaris, and Kyra Sedgwick. Piper-Heidsieck CEO Cecile Bonnefond and Rémy Cointreau CEO Suriya Parksuwan joined the fashionable crowd in toasting MacLachlan and his directorial debut. Anna Camp and Romain Pianet
Kyra Sedgwick and Angus MacLachlan
GOTHAM-MAGAZINE.COM
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INVITED
DJ Flo spun tracks throughout the evening Sydney Albertini Kristen Hynes
Maude Boulleau and James Maki
Claire Distenfeld
SISLEY BOUTIQUE OPENING PARISIAN LUXURY BEAUTY
brand Sisley fêted the opening of its first boutique in New York City, a luxurious space featuring a library, lounge area, and
spa room in the West Village. Owners from local retailers were among the guests, who sampled luxe products while enjoying the music of DJ Flo.
ERNO LASZLO INSTITUTE HOLIDAY EVENT
Arnaud Naintré
Elizabeth Foster and Jan Doms
Linda Franklin and Candace Sandy
Marleah Martin, Shannon Lichten, and Nicole Howard
ERNO LASZLO INSTITUTE,
Glow Beauty and 6-Figures, a professional women’s network, partnered with Shining Service Worldwide to host an event to bring awareness to the 20,000 female veterans in New York City and their challenges reintegrating after military service. Erno Laszlo CEO Rochelle Weitzner presided over the soirée while guests enjoyed cocktails and hors d’oeuvres.
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Anne Akers, Jason Mabel, and Carol Quintero
Loree Sutton and Mark Logue
Rochelle Weitzner
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARK VON HOLDEN (SISLEY); ROSSA COLE (ERNO LASZLO)
Christine d’Ornano and Natasha Esch
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Out Of Step
Among certAin fAshion tribes, the $1,000 stiletto is worn like A bAdge of honor.
Even Carrie Bradshaw would be horrified. A beauty editor from a major fashion publication went “full-on crazy” during a recent Manolo Blahnik sample sale at the Warwick Hotel when a few impatient fashionistas boldly tried to cut the line (which she’d been waiting on since 6:30 am). A partygoer at the Gansevoort Hotel’s rooftop bar was stabbed with a stiletto by an out-of-control reveler. And, in a creepy parallel to the infamous Sex and the City episode in which Sarah Jessica Parker’s character is held up at gunpoint for her favorite pair of Jimmy Choos, there’s a thief with a foot fetish on the loose in Brooklyn who has been yanking shoes off women at several subway stations. Investigators say the weirdo usually sprints off with his victim’s right shoe. Is our collective obsession with high heels tripping us up? Despite the grated sidewalks and potholed streets, New York women have always loved heels, but never before have so many been teetering around on vertigo-inducing fiveand six-inch spikes. Among certain fashion tribes who frequent The Core Club and swan around at the Met Gala, the $1,000 stiletto is worn like a badge of honor. “My husband would kill me if he knew how much I spent on shoes,” says one Louboutin loyalist who wishes to remain anonymous. “Whenever I come home with a new pair, I ask my housekeeper to throw out the box so he doesn’t see the price. I’m forever taking them to the Leather Spa to get them stretched because they usually kill my feet, but they look fantastic.” PR executive Maury Rogoff, who on a chilly day in December chose to wear her favorite four-inch red suede pumps— barelegged, of course (all the better to keep
128 gotham-magazine.com
the focus on the shoes)—for lunch at Michael’s, says, “I’m totally a Manolo girl.” On the same day I also spotted Katie Couric and Gayle King in their signature stilettos. “These shoes cost as much as a mortgage payment, but I love them,” says Rogoff. Sometimes, though, the mere thought of her favorite shoes nestled in their box is enough to boost her mood. “I’ve got one pair I’ve never worn. I just take them out and pet them once in a while.” What’s going on here? “There is a lot of fantasy involved with women and their shoes,” says psychotherapist Dr. Robi Ludwig. “They make us feel like our best selves, and many of these shoes are like works of art.” Well, if that’s true, many are suffering greatly for their art, and there’s a whole cottage industry that’s making a fortune because of it. Podiatrists’ offices are full of women desperate to find relief from foot pain. At her Park Avenue “Institute Beauté,” Dr. Suzanne Levine, who has tended to the fabulous and famous feet of Anna Wintour and Oprah Winfrey, administers her trademarked treatment, Stiletto RX, which she calls “pillows for your feet,” during which she injects Sculptra facial filler into the balls or heels to add cushioning. The cost: $1,500 per injection. But for those of us not willing to make a trip to the Provident Loan Society, there’s always Dr. Scholl’s. As a lifetime lover of high heels now hobbled by round-the-clock foot pain, I think the exquisite beauty and excruciating torture of high heels is the perfect metaphor for living in New York. Both stilettos and the city are sexy, powerful, and imposing. Both can build you up or knock you on your ass. You just have to watch your step. G
illustration by daniel o’leary
Is our collectIve obsessIon wIth dIzzyIngly hIgh heels trIppIng us up? by diane clehane
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