PARK VE
ISABELLE BSCHER THE WORLD’S MOST GLAMOROUS GALLERIST
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SLIM AARONS R. COURI HAY PATRICK MCMULLAN MICHAEL GROSS GILLES BENSIMON GEORGE WAYNE JOHNNY PIGOZZI COCO ROCHA
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1. Triple Mint Duplex in The Pierre 795 Fifth Ave. 7BR. 6Bath $60M. Web #12722359 John Burger212-906-9274
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Most Distinguished Co-Ops 770 Park Ave. 4Br. 4.5Bath $13.5M. Web #21395619 Mary L. Fitzgibbons 212-906-9259
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1059 Third Ave. 4BR. 4.5Bath $13M. Web #20685839 The Leyton Sales Gallery 212-521-5750
4. Historic 25’ Greenwich Village Mansion 280 West 11th St. 9BR. 8Bath $18.995M Web #20351242 David E. Kornmeier 212-588-5642
5. Penthouse In the Heart of Flatiron District
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24 East 21st St. 4BR. 4.5Bath $8M. Web #21335734 Dean Dunbar 212-588-5688 Mike Lubin212-317-3672
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100 Barrow St. 2BR. 2.5Bath $4.95M. Web #21321553 Richard Rosenthal 212-381-3264 Mark D. Friedman 212-381-2379
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13 9. Exquisite Designer Townhouse 110 East 78th St. 5BR. 7.5Bath $16.995M. Web #21299681 Jill Roosevelt 212-906-9340
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17 East 89th St. 3BR. 2.5Bath $4.95M. Web #21327241 Joanne Greene 212-906-9341 Nada Rizk 212-317-7705
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50 West 9th St. 1Br. 1Bath $2.25M Web #21415018 Carl B. Adams 212-906-9389
14. By the Esteemed Architect, Ralph Walker 212 West 18th St. 5BR. 5.5Bath $17.895M. Web #20637325 Chris Poore 212-906-1597
15. Unique Residence with no Detail Overlooked 860 United Nations Plaza 1BR. 2Bath $1.395M Web #20937654 Lara P. Mizrack 212-906-9327 Justine M. Bray 212-906-9253 Elaine Clayman 212-906-9353
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304 East 65th St. 1BR. 1.5Bath $1.195M. Web #20779829 Marilyn Fleming 212-381-3399
All information is from sources deemed reliable but is subject to errors, omissions, changes in price, prior sale or withdrawal without notice. All rights to content, photographs and graphics reserved to Broker. Equal Housing Opportunity Broker.
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2488 MAIN ST, P.O. BOX 1251, BRIDGEHAMPTON, NY 11932. 631.537.5900 © 2021 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
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elliman.com 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 SHOULD BE VERIFIED BY YOUR OWN ATTORNEY, ARCHITECT OR ZONING EXPERT. EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY.
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PARK VE
Contents SOCIETY
24 SLIM AARONS 34 THE PARTY OF THE YEAR FA S H I O N
38 CHARLES JAMES AND ME 46 GIRLS JUST WANNA HAVE FUN
V O LU M E 1 . N O . 2
54 ISABELLE BSCHER
ARTS
64 WARHOL’S INNER SANCTUM 74 DONNA VOCK 78 GUYSTANLEY PHILOCHE 88 2011 ART BASEL 94 CHANGING THE WORLD THROUGH DANCE 98 DIANA & THE SWAN LAKE SUITE 100 COLLETTE LUMIERE 102 BULL MARKET GIRLFRIENDS 104 CARLTON FINE ARTS 106 ROUNDABOUT THEATRE
ESCAPES
108 ATLAS OCEAN VOYAGES 110 SAINT MARTIN 114 ANGUILLA 116 YATCO R E A L E S TAT E
118 CANDELA & JACKIE O. 126 MASTERY OF THE CRAFT 128 LISA LIPPMAN 130 RYAN LEE
50 Central Park West, 8/9A
211 Central Park West, 15/16A
Triple Mint Prewar Grandeur with 90 Feet on Central Park including a stunning new kitchen on the Park! Over 10 foot ceilings, 4 bedrooms, 5 baths, 2 1/2 baths, staff, huge library, primary with 2 luxurious bathrooms and 2 dressing rooms. Gym, storage.. $21.9M.
Classic Mint Contemporary Beauty at the Beresford with unique Park and South Midtown/ Museum views. Newly renovated, 4 bedrooms, 4.5 baths, fabulous primary suite, library with Park views, chef’s kitchen, bright library, 3 open exposures. $21M.
279 Central Park West, PH21
1035 Fifth Avenue, 14C
Jaw dropping views in all 4 directions! Full floor Penthouse with unparalleled views, great outdoor space and floor to ceiling windows Triple mint, brand new renovation, including a luxurious primary suite. Amazing gym, indoor and outdoor play rooms. $9.995M.
Rarely available corner high floor 10 room home with unrivaled views overlooking the magnificent reservoir all the way up to the GW bridge! Grand over 4000’ 5 bedroom, 5 bath home with soaring ceilings and 2 wood burning fireplaces. White glove Fifth Ave. $9.95M
Lisa K. Lippman Lic. Assoc. R.E. Broker llippman@bhsusa.com 212-588-5606 w
Brown Harris Stevens Residential Sales, LLC All information is from sources deemed reliable but is subject to errors, omissions, changes in price, prior sale or withdrawal without notice. No representation is made as to the accuracy of any description. All measurements and square footages are approximate and all information should be confirmed by customer. All rights to content, photographs and graphics reserved to Broker. Broker supports Fair Housing and Equal Housing Opportunities.
PARK VE
Contents
V O LU M E 1 . N O . 2
46
GIRLS JUST WANNA HAVE FUN S H E LT E R
132 COLIN COWIE 138 LINDA HORN 140 ZANOTTA HOUSE PROFILE
142 COMMAND EDUCATION 150 THE DIVORCE BOOK FOR MEN & WOMEN 152 JEREMY MURPHY 154 LAUREN JENAI 156 TRI-COUNTY ANIMAL RESCUE 158 THE DOG STORE 160 HONORING MICHAEL PHELPS 162 TOTENPASS
BEAUTY
164 LA MAISON VALMONT 166 MIGUEL ANGARITA 172 DR. MARIE HAYAG H E A LT H
174 DR. AMANDA ITZKOFF DINING
176 HANCOCK STREET 178 LIVE AXE 180 STRICTLY RESTAURANTS 182 LA GIOIOSA PROSECCO 184 DOROT GARDENS 186 KOSHER.COM 188 A DUTCH MASTERPIECE S O C I A L S A FA R I
190 COURI 192 PARTY PEOPLE A N D F I N A L LY
210 CARTOON CORNER 12 | parkmagazineny.com
PUBLISHER & FOUNDER Christopher A. Pape EDITORIAL DIRECTOR R. Couri Hay
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Julie Sagoskin
ART DIRECTOR Paul Crawford
EDITOR-AT-LARGE George Wayne
FEATURES EDITOR Bennett Marcus
SPECIAL PROJECTS EDITOR Patrick McMullan
ASSOCIATE EDITORS Lauren Bens & Linda Feliz
ASSISTANT EDITORS W.A. Muller & Arlesia McGowan
TRAVEL EDITOR Joe Alexander
REAL ESTATE EDITOR Alison Kenworthy
INTERIORS EDITOR Susanna Salk
COPY EDITOR Sonia Acone
DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL AND SOCIAL MEDIA Sarah Mohamed
CARTOONIST Anthony Haden-Guest
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Betty Taylor, Christine K. Schott, Michael Gross, Linda Horn, Christopher Page, Ashley Brennan, Sergey Gordeev, Claudine Steinberg, Arlan Ettinger, Caleb James, Jake Dressler, David Morton, Randa Jumean, Sucheta Rawal, Spencer Jones CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Gilles Bensimon, Slim Aarons, Udo Spreitzenbarth, Hyuna Shin, David Gamble, James Weber, Cecil Beaton, Anton Perich, Nisian Hughes, John Rawlings, Johnny Pigozzi, Wayne Maser SALES TEAM Lisa Stiehl National Sales Manager 914.760.6875 lisa@ parkmagazineny.com
Wendy Packer Director of Sales Development 203.904.6700 wendy@ parkmagazineny.com
Maria Coyne Director of Florida & Caribbean Sales 305.975.9234 mecoyne@ mecoyneinc.com
Elaine Heyda Jewelry & Watch Sales Director 718.902.5891 elaine@ parkmagazineny.com
Scott Pauker Advertising Sales Manager 917.859.1343 scott@ parkmagazineny.com
Jen Hines Director of New England Sales 413.446.0236 jen@ parkmagazineny.com
PARK is published four times annually by Park Avenue Magazine LLC. Copyright 2021 by Park Avenue Magazine LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any material from this issue is expressly forbidden without permission of the publisher. Unsolicited manuscripts and photographs are welcome on an exclusive basis, but must be accompanied by a self-addressed stamped envelope. Reasonable care in handling manuscripts and photographs will be taken, but PARK cannot be responsible for unsolicited materials submitted. Printed in the U.S.A. *This issue features paid for sponsored content and covers provided by outside sources. Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact Christopher Pape at: christopher@parkmagazineny.com
43 E 78 ST NY, NY 10075 gmurzynska.com
CONTRIBUTORS Patrick McMullan Known for his premiere nightlife and celebrity photos, Patrick McMullan is as iconic as his brand. This photographer, television personality, columnist and philanthropist is also a native New Yorker who captures the city’s most captivating images. With a full-service photography agency, McMullan’s archive, which includes over four decades of photos, is considered to be one of the largest collections of famous, living people in existence. Aside from authoring six books, his works, part of evolving pop culture, are regularly included in top publications and outlets.
George Wayne
Michael Gross
The celebrated celebrity interviewer best known for his must-read Vanity Fair column of 22 years joins PARK as the new Editor-at-Large. ‘’It’s a thrilling opportunity to help set the imprimatur for what I know will be the buzziest new glossy magazine New York City has seen this century,’’ George gushes. He goes on, ‘’Christopher (Pape) and R. Couri Hay are still two of the finest minds dissecting the cultural zeitgeist today and they’ve assembled a great team. This is going to be such fun!’’
is a journalist, editor and the New York Times bestselling author of Model, 740 Park, Rogues’ Gallery and other books. Formerly a columnist for the New York Times, New York, Tatler, Town & Country and GQ, and a frequent contributor to Vanity Fair, Esquire, Travel & Leisure, Departures, and many other publications, he is currently completing a new book for GroveAtlantic on several significant American families.
Anthony Haden-Guest
PHOTO BY THORSTEN ROTH
R. Couri Hay began his career as a Contributing Editor of Andy Warhol’s Interview and went on to write for Town & Country and People magazines. Couri appears regularly on television as a commentator covering high society and Hollywood. His appearances include, The Today Show, E!, Fox News, PBS, ABC’s Primetime Live, Extra, Inside Edition and CNN Headline News’ Showbiz Tonight. He can currently be seen on Showtime’s new series Gossip and throughout the CNN film Halston. Couri is the Editorial Director of Park magazine as well as the Society columnist with a focus on philanthropy, art, culture and travel. Couri lives in NYC and Southampton with his King Charles Cavalier spaniels, Cornelia and Webster. He is also the CEO of his own PR firm.
PHOTO BY JOAN JEDELL
R. Couri Hay
Anthony HadenGuest (born 2 February 1937) is a BritishAmerican writer, reporter, cartoonist, art critic, poet, and socialite who lives in New York City and London. He is a frequent contributor to major magazines and has had several books published. Haden-Guest formerly penned a weekend column on art collection for the Financial Times. His drawings have appeared in The New York Observer and he has contributed articles and stories to the Sunday Telegraph, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, Paris Review, Sunday Times, Esquire, among many others.
David Gamble The world-renowned multidisciplinary artist, opens his archives to reveal here for the very first time some of the exclusive, and many never-before-seen photographs he was commissioned to take of Andy Warhol’s final home on the Upper East Side of New York City. ‘’When Fred Hughes called to ask if I would document every item in the last home of Andy Warhol in 1987, it was the opportunity of a lifetime because I never did get to photograph Warhol while he was alive.’’ The many exclusive images you will see here, many for the first time in public, present a haunting and compelling poke around the ephemera and essence of Andy Warhol. And offers the most provocative glance into the private life of the most iconic American artist of the 20th Century. David Gamble now lives in New Orleans where his latest work on aluminum is on show at NOLA through January 2022.
Christine K. Schott In addition to being the Palm Beach editor of Park magazine Christine K. Schott is the editor of Palm Beach Social Diary - the Palm Beach edition of David Patrick Columbia’s New York Social Diary. She has also served as managing editor of PRESTIGE magazine in New York, and editor-inchief of Beauty Fashion & Cosmetic World. Born and raised in New York, she and her husband George Ledes now divide their time between Bedford, NY, and Palm Beach, FL.
W
hat can I say - we made it to our second issue! I want to thank you, dear reader, for coming along on this journey with us. It is with much gratitude that I can say that PARK is already being so graciously received. It’s that time of the year again - the holiday season is upon us and we want to make sure that it’s the most stylish one yet. Channel your inner hosting powers with some of our favorite brands of bubbly and most festive fashions. It’s also when the who’s who of the art, fashion, and entertainment worlds converge onto Miami for Art Basel. We are so thrilled to be able to share our Art Issue, featuring world-famous gallerist Isabelle Bscher. Bscher’s family has been a prominent fixture in the fine art world for many decades and now, Isabelle is the one taking her family’s legacy to the next level. Basel might be gearing up for some of their most exciting exhibitions yet, but we are also bringing on some nostalgia with never-before-seen Art Basel party photos from the archive of Patrick McMullan. Showcasing the personal lives of A-listers and aristocracy throughout his illustrious career, society photographer Slim Aarons was known for giving us a glimpse into the lives of the most iconic figures of his era. With a new book about to be released, we are so pleased to share this rare selection of Aarons’ photos, plus some juicy gossip. Our Art Issue also features painter and philanthropist Guy Philoche who is giving back to the city he still loves (perhaps even more!) as well as his
Editor’s Letter fellow artists. Guy takes a portion of all the proceeds he receives from his sales and buys pieces from up-andcoming artists. If you’re in Miami, you’ll definitely want to catch the unveiling of his latest collection. Also in this issue, Our Editorial Director R. Couri Hay gives us an in-depth look into his fascinating and long-standing friendship with English-American fashion designer Charles James. One of the most influential designers of the 20th century who is still celebrated for his highly structured aesthetic and ballgowns which have been adored by the biggest stars in Hollywood, James helped shape American fashion. Contributor George Wayne also shares his own personal connection to Andy Warhol, along with photos of Andy’s inner sanctum taken by photographer David Gamble, many of which have never been published until now. New York is back! From Broadway to packed restaurants, the city that never sleeps is wide awake after a long and hard 19 months. The biggest proof of New York’s resilient resurgence is the buzz surrounding Colin Cowie’s partnership with Central Park Tower, the tallest residential building in the world. Read all about what it’s like to live in this sleek space high in the sky. Whether you are staying local this winter or looking to check off some travel destinations from your bucket list - we highly recommend exploring the remote locations offered by luxe-adventure expedition cruise line Atlas Ocean Voyages - I wish you and yours a happy, healthy and haute holiday season! Thank you so much for being a part of the PARK family.
Julie Sagoskin Editor-in-Chief
SANTA’S COMING
available at LindaHorn.com . 212.772.1122
I
The Mission was intrigued when my friend Christopher Pape, PARK’s Publisher, asked me to be the magazine’s Editorial Director. I rushed to Webster’s to find out what my duties would be. Suddenly, I realized I’d always had a dream to assign stories to writers, engage with photographers, create alluring themes and bring my vision of a life well lived to the pages of our coffee table magazine. My goal for PARK is to create a bouillabaisse of modern chic with a dash of posh nostalgia. PARK is about life; people, philanthropy, art, culture, travel and above all Fun! Cover by Gilles Bensimon The biggest challenge of my job is the cover. For me, it should either be a legend or someone I think you should know. For the Art Issue, I thought: who would Slim Aarons like to photograph today? And I came up with gallerist Isabelle Bscher who is also the most eligible girl in the world. I tapped noted Hong Kong-based writer Bennett Marcus to tell her remarkable story. Gilles Bensimon provided the cover shot, and Johnny Pigozzi, Isabelle’s longtime friend, provided the snapshots that reflect her life. Slim Aarons & Patrick McMullan Iconic society photographer Slim Aarons, who documented the lives of the privileged in their natural habitats, from Palm Beach to Palm Springs, and from Cannes to Capri is represented in a 10 page spread featuring holiday shots in a story by PARK’s Palm Beach editor Christine Schott who also delves into the world of designer Lilly Pulitzer. I asked Patrick McMullan, who one could argue is the modern-day Aarons because of his entrée into the world of the elite, to document the cognoscenti at Art Basel.
Editorial Director’s Letter New York Times best-selling author, to write a piece on whether Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis would still be relevant today. I also drew from his book 740 PARK, about the fabled building that was Jackie O’s childhood home. To illustrate the story, I turned to the legendary paparazzo Ron Galella, as he was the ultimate Jackie hunter. Charles James & Halston For my part, I wrote about my friendships with Halston and the couturier Charles James, whose career was celebrated at the Met with a retrospective in 2014 and who’s “La Sirène” gown takes pride of place in the museum’s current exhibition In America: A Lexicon of Fashion. I used an iconic photo of Charles by the incomparable Ciel Beaton. Party Pages No magazine would be complete without party coverage, and I’m offering up 24 pages reflecting the city’s philanthropic and cultural goings-on, including this season’s “Big Five,” The Metropolitan Opera, American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, the NY Film Festival and the Met’s Costume Institute Gala. Andy Warhol & Larry McMurtry During my life, I’ve been exposed to many creative people; in the world of print including my teacher Larry McMurtry, Truman Capote, George Plimpton, Timothy Leary, William Burroughs, Leo Lerman, Diana Vreeland and Andy Warhol who gave me my first job as a Contributing Editor at Interview Magazine. They continue to be my inspiration. I hope that you’ll have as much fun perusing the magazine as I did creating it.
Jackie O, Ron Galella & Michael Gross For the real estate section, I asked Michael Gross, the R. Couri Hay
rcouri@parkmagazineny.com 22 | parkmagazineny.com
SOCIETY
Mary “Miki” Ballou, now Stevenson, who was working as a model in Burdine’s Tea Room. The first setup, which was used on the cover of Holiday, features Mary alone, holding the hat in a straightforward fashion pose. For the next setup, seen here, Slim flagged down a man walking along the beach and added him to the scene, creating a whole new dynamic. Miami Beach, 1954.
SLIM AARONS, SLIM AARONS/GETTY IMAGES
LILLY PULITZER…AND SUZIE ZUZEK? SINCE THE DAYS OF HENRY FLAGLER AND THE FOUNDING OF the Florida East Coast Railway in the 1890’s, New Yorkers have enjoyed a long connection to Palm Beach. Due to the pandemic, there seem to be more New Yorkers moving to Palm Beach than ever - and paying a handsome price for the privilege. An oceanfront home like Villa Artemis would sell for more than $100 million today. Palm Beach is a special place. Photographer Slim Aarons knew this and photographed many “beautiful people doing beautiful things” there, including CZ Guest, Wendy Vanderbilt and Lilly Pulitzer. BY CHRISTINE K. SCHOTT
SOCIETY
A
new book featuring more than fifty never-before-published images by this iconic photographer — focused exclusively on fashion, called SLIM AARONS: STYLE, has been published by Slim Aarons’ Archivist/ Getty Images Curator Shawn Waldron and Fashion Writer Kate Betts, with foreword by Designer Jonathan Adler (Abrams; October 2021; U.S. $85.00; Hardcover). Slim Aarons (1916–2006) is regarded as one of the most influential magazine photographers of his generation. He crisscrossed the globe for decades photographing celebrities and high society on assignment for Life, Harper’s Bazaar, Town & Country, Look, Venture, and Travel & Leisure. He published his first book, A Wonderful Time, in 1974. In addition to Slim Aarons: Style, Abrams has
The dashing and ever-affable Slim Aarons with passport in one hand and camera equipment in the other, ca. 1955.
published five other books on his work: Once Upon a Time (2003), A Place in the Sun (2005), Poolside with Slim Aarons (2007), La Dolce Vita (2012), and Women (2016). Slim insisted he was not a fashion photographer: “I didn’t do fashion. I did the people in their clothes that became the fashion,” he said, according to the book. Despite this, his photographs of high society and socialites being unambiguously themselves have been, and continue to be, an unwavering source of fashion and style inspiration for generations. Most would not associate the name Suzie Zuzek with the iconic Slim Aarons photo of The Young Matrons of Palm Beach, 1964, however, at closer look, the photo is actually a wonderful example of the artist Zuzek’s work. When Lilly’s simple shift dresses hit the fashion scene in the early 1960s, their eye-catching, whimsical prints made them instantly recognizable. Yet few people know that most of those prints were designed in Key West by Suzie Zuzek (Agnes Helen Zuzek de Poo, American, 1920–2011). A Pratt Institute graduate (1949), Zuzek was head designer
Jim Kimberly, known as a three-car, threeyacht sportsman and heir to the KimberlyClark Company’s Kleenex fortune, talks with friends on the shores of Lake Worth, 1968. The car is by Excalibur. SLIM AARONS/GETTY IMAGES
SOCIETY
CZ Guest and one of her beloved dogs at Villa Artemis, Palm Beach, 1955 SLIM AARONS/ GETTY IMAGES
SLIM AARONS/GETTY IMAGES
The young matrons of Palm Beach wearing designs by Suzie Zuzek for Lilly Pulitzer, 1964. included among them (in yellow dress and pink scarf) is New York artist Wendy Lehman Vanderbilt, who appeared in the first advertisements for Pulitzer’s fashion line.
Suzie Zuzek for Lilly Pulitzer: The Artist Behind an Iconic Fashion Brand, 1962-1985, published by Rizzoli Electa, authored by Susan Brown, associate curator of textiles at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, with a contribution by Caroline Rennolds Milbank, fashion historian, author, curator, and appraiser (Rizzoli Electa; March 2020; U.S. $50.00; Hardcover).
Artist Suzie Zuzek at work at Key West Hand Print Fabrics, circa 1969, courtesy of The Original I.P. LLC
SLIM AARONS/GETTY IMAGES
SOCIETY
Prince and Princess Alexis Obolensky having coffee and milkshakes at a Palm Beach drugstore counter after an evening out, 1953.
for Key West Hand Print Fabrics, where Pulitzer sourced most of her fabrics —and all of her prints—between 1962 and 1985, the period during which Pulitzer owned and oversaw the company that bears her name. A book, Suzie Zuzek for Lilly Pulitzer: The Artist Behind an Iconic Fashion Brand, 1962-1985 featuring the original drawings from the privately owned archive that were the basis for the whimsical and timeless prints featured in Pulitzer’s fashions was published last year. It is a treasure trove of the iconic prints and contextualizes this classic American label. Published by Rizzoli Electa, it is authored by Susan Brown, associate curator of textiles at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, with a contribution by Caroline Rennolds Milbank, fashion historian, author, curator, and appraiser (Rizzoli Electa; March 2020; U.S. $50.00; Hardcover).
Now, an exhibition celebrating the designer behind these iconic prints, Suzie Zuzek for Lilly Pulitzer: The Prints That Made the Fashion Brand, is on view at The Cooper Hewitt Museum in New York. It runs until January 2, 2022. It’s the first museum exhibition to reveal the nature and scope of Zuzek’s artistic contribution to the quintessential “Lilly Look”. Included in the exhibition are more than 35 original watercolor and gouache design drawings by Zuzek, alongside finished screen-printed textiles and some of the fashions that made them famous. The works on view include ten drawings recently acquired for the museum’s collection through a gift from the Key West Hand Print Fabrics archive, now privately owned. P cooperhewitt.org
Jackie Kennedy at the ‘April in Paris’ Ball, New York, 1958 SLIM AARONS/GETTY IMAGES
parkmagazineny.com | 9
SOCIETY
SLIM AARONS/GETTY IMAGES
American opera singer Karen Davis arrives at the Palace Hotel, St. Moritz, 1978.
A new book featuring more than fifty never-before-published images focused exclusively on fashion called, Slim Aarons Style, has been published by Slim Aarons’ Archivist/ Getty Images Curator Shawn Waldron and Fashion Writer Kate Betts, with foreword by Designer Jonathan Adler (Abrams; October 2021; U.S. $85.00; Hardcover).
PAR SOCIETY
THE
OF THE YEAR
I N S I D E
T H E
M E T
G A L A
BY R. COURI HAY
I’VE COVERED THE MET GALA AND ITS INSPIRING SHOWS FOR OVER FOUR DECADES.
Originally, I went as the guest of legendary Vogue Editor-in-Chief Diana Vreeland when Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Mrs. William F. Buckley, Nan Kempner and Bill Blass were the gatekeepers behind “The Party of the Year.” In that era, the guest list was dominated by the ne plus ultra of high society, as opposed to the sizzling celebrity fueled fanny basher it is today. Back then I bought tickets at $500 each as opposed to the $35,000 they cost today. During that elegant time, one thousand bright young things came in after dinner to dance at $100.00 each! Vreeland told me she loved their “pizzazz.” I miss that exciting aspect of the party that brought a new generation into the museum. I also remember the time Nan sat me next to Gianni Versace when he didn’t speak English, but we still became lifelong pals. In 1974, with flesh-baring TV lights behind me and my microphone in hand I asked Cher, “Are you naked under that dress?” to which she winked, “Does it matter?” Of course, it did and Cher and her naked dress by Bob Mackie was front-page news; flash forward to 2021 and Kendall Jenner wore the almost identical see-through dress by Givenchy, and it was still a knockout forty-seven years later.
RTY Billie Eilish, Amanda Gorman, Timothee Chalamet, Naomi Osaka at the entrance featuring a facsimile of a grand oak tree
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Some of the VIP’s who made the list for the “Oscars of the East” hosted by Billie Eilish, Timothée Chalamet, Amanda Gorman, Naomi Osaka, Tom Ford, Adam Mosseri and Anna Wintour were a sexy and shirtless Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello, Sienna Miller, Zac Posen, Debbie Harry, Elon Musk, Emily Blunt, Brooklyn Beckham, Cara Delevingne, Amy Fine Collins, and Thom Brown . This year many of the old guard were swept off the red carpet, which was actually white this season, to make room for the new stars. What I heard, repeatedly, on the Met’s steps was “It’s my first Met, I want to see what’s inside,” followed swiftly by “When are we going to eat?” The quick answers were Justin Bieber belting out “Baby,” “Lonely,” “Hold On,” and “Anyone” in front of the Temple of Dendur and a totally plant-based dinner. What else did you expect for 35 k? Here’s the inside scoop! The Dècor This year’s dramatic décor was inspired by the fall foliage of the American countryside. The entrance featured a facsimile of a grand oak tree with orange, yellow, red, and green leaves, which soared 40 feet above what is usually the mundane Information Desk in the Great Hall. The oak’s pedestal, covered in wild grasses and yellow florals, provided the base for the tree’s fabric-covered trunk. Leaves created from preserved materials covered the branches and appeared to have fallen onto the wall-to-wall sisal below, where they were hand-painted. Have you ever? After cocktails
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and non-stop gossip about AOC’s wildly inappropriate dress, n’est ce pas? — guests checked out the striking exhibition In America: A Lexicon of Fashion curated by Andrew Bolton and Wendy Yu. The New York Times Senior Fashion Director and Chief Fashion Critic, Vanessa Friedman called out couturier Charles James’ black “La Sirène” dress made in 1939 as one of the show’s primary highlights. Check out my accompanying story “Charles James and Me” about my friendship with the legendary haute couturier. But I digress, the perfumed pack of 400 pared down from the usual 600, strutted to The Temple of Dendur for dinner. Rihanna, A$AP Rocky, Kim Kardashian, Isabelle Huppert, Prabal Gurung, Kaia Gerber, Jeremy Scott, Irina Shayk, Vera Wang, the Met Museums’ CEO Daniel Weiss, Director Max Hollein and others of that silk and stripe entered the glass-walled room through a triumphant arch cut out of a hedge covered in green boxwood and white clematis, before emerging into the dining room. The usually spare, stone-floored space was made to resemble a park with naturally overgrown, cascading flora. Trees made from recycled paper, some up to 14-feet tall, surrounded square and round tables throughout the room. Hand-painted fall leaves appeared on the trees, tablecloths, and the chic and ubiquitous sisal carpet. Centerpieces with club moss bases emitted wild grasses and late-summer flowers. Moss also filled the bottoms of hurricane lamps holding white candles. Fruitwood ballroom chairs had cushions covered in ivory or green linen, which matched the
Far left to right: Lil Nas X, Kendall Jenner, Shawn Mendes, Megan Fox, Gigi Hadid, Kate Hudson, Anna Wintour, Kim Kardashian, A$AP Rocky & Rihanna
‘‘AS IN YEARS PAST, THE BATHROOMS BECAME THE DE FACTO VIP ROOMS WITH ILLICIT CIGARETTE SMOKING AND THE TAKING OF THE FORBIDDEN SELFIES.’’
hemstitched napkins. Who else would tell you these things? Miranda Brooks and Raul Avila, who created the magical décor, confided that all the flowers and other décor elements were sourced in the United States and were donated after the party and the latter—created primarily from recycled materials—will be reused. I knew you’d want to know. The Menu I’m going to spend less time on the menu because frankly, I preferred the years they served giant icecream scoops of Beluga caviar. That said, this year’s menu featured plant-based dishes from a group of 10 up-and-coming New York-based chefs—both firsts for the Gala. Among the chefs Marcus Samuelsson chose were Lazarus Lynch, Chef Simone Tong, Sophia Roe, Nasim Alikhani and Erik Ramirez. The chosen few received a parting treat of donuts coated with sugar and cinnamon by Chef Fabián von Hauske. Thank goodness for dear sweet and talented Fabián.
This year’s dramatic décor was inspired by the fall foliage of the American countryside
The Guests As in years past, the bathrooms became the de facto VIP rooms with illicit cigarette smoking and the taking of the forbidden selfies. Among those spotted in the cubicles were Pete Davidson, Lil Uzi Vert, Frank Ocean and Erykah Badu. As I wrote about the stellar show in my last column, let’s focus on a few of the guests. My favorites were Lil Nas X, who arrived in an enormous golden cape which he
slipped off to reveal gold-plated armor before stripping down to what he called “A slutty body suit.” Timothée Chalamet in his Converse sneakers, a vamping Billie Eilish - who stole the Met’s steps with her Cinderella dress on steroids - and Amanda Gorman, who came as the Statue of Liberty with a book as a purse that said, “Give Us Your Tired” on the cover. Isn’t Amanda adorable! Many of the attendees interpreted the “American Independence” dress code to go retro Hollywood glam including Hailey Bieber who confessed, “For me it’s about timeless American beauty, looking back on the Grace Kelly’s of the world and being inspired by that.” Let’s give the last word to the goddess that is Donatella Versace who said, “There’s something very special about the MET, when you are in this great building and have the courage and freedom to express yourself.” Among those doing just that were Megan Thee Stallion, Jennifer Hudson, Serena Williams, Alicia Keys, Dan Levy, Congresswoman Carolyn B Maloney, Ella Emhoff, Leon Bridges, Eliza Gonzalez, Karlie Kloss, Saweetie, Megan Rapinoe, Cynthia Erivo, Simone Biles, Ciara, Emily Ratajkowski, and Sudha Reddy! Part One of this must-see exhibition runs through September 5, 2022. Save the dates: Part Two of the show, In America: An Anthology of Fashion, opens on May 5, 2022, and the next Met Gala is on May 2, 2022. I can wait if you can. P metmuseum.org
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DO’S&DONT’S From Style Sensations to Fashion Flops
Left to right: Justin Bieber & Hailey Bieber, Frank Ocean, Natalia Bryant
Far Left to right: Eiza Gonzalez, Taika Waititi & Rita Ora, Pete Davidson, Kaia Gerber
Left to right: The three incarnations of Lil Nas X
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Left to right: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez , Jennifer Lopez, Kim Petras
Left to right: Dan Levy, Sandy Schreier, Camila Cabello, Lili Reinhart
Left to right: Simone Biles, Eva Chen, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney
FASHION
R. COURI HAY AND CHARLES JAMES AT THE CHELSEA HOTEL IN 1972 The first time I met Charles James, I was a 17-year-old student escaping from prep school to party in NYC. Later, our friendship deepened while I was at Georgetown University and studying with Pulitzer Prize and Oscar winning writer Larry McMurtry at American University. Charles was always bursting with ideas and the energy to complete them and seemed infinitely more talented and committed to his craft than other designers I knew. For example, the sweater I’m wearing in this photograph of Charles and me in the Chelsea Hotel had two buttons that fell off the pockets. One was re-sewn by Halston, my lover at the time, the second by my mentor Charles James. Guess which one stayed on?
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANTON PERICH
J
J CHARLES BY R. COURI HAY
AMES
&ME My Friendship With the Fashion Icon
I GREW UP HEARING THE NAME CHARLES JAMES IN OUR HOUSE AND LIVING with his clothes. My maternal grandmother, who I called Nana, and my mother loved his hats, dresses and coats; my little brother, Walter, wore Charles James baby clothes. When I first started coming to New York on my own in the late 60s, I had letters of introduction, including one to my cousin, Kate Couri, who was a close friend of Diana Vreeland and her husband, Thomas, but who my Nana really wanted me to meet was Charles James. Alas, Vreeland and Charles never got along—they had a classic love-hate relationship—so instead, Mrs. Vreeland decided to send me along to Halston to get our Panama hats for Palm Beach. It was a meeting that kick-started a long friendship and ultimately an affair with the designer.
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Mrs. William Randolph Hearst, Jr. in the four-leaf clover masterwork gown Charles James designed for her
BLACK AND WHITE FOURLEAF CLOVER GOWN c. 1964–1967, black marker on paper This famous Charles James-designed gown was originally creat-ed for Mrs. William Randolph Hearst, Jr. (left) to wear to the Inaugural Ball of President Eisenhower in 1953, however it was too large to fit through the doors of the White House. Mrs. Hearst did wear the Four-Leaf Clover Gown to the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II later that year in London. Three exact duplicates were made for other clients, and several other garments with the same structure but differ-ent colors and skirt details were made over the next few years.
BLACK AND WHITE FOUR-LEAF CLOVER GOWN
c. 1964–1967, black marker on paper This famous Charles James-designed gown was originally created for Mrs. William Randolph Hearst, Jr. (left) to wear to the Inaugural Ball of President Eisenhower in 1953, however it was too large to fit through the doors of the White House. Mrs. Hearst did wear the Four-Leaf Clover Gown to the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II later that year in London. Three exact duplicates were made for other clients, and several other garments with the same structure but different colors and skirt details were made over the next few years.
I met Charles at his 60th birthday party at Max’s Kansas City in 1966 and he fascinated me from the get-go. There was romance around Charles, not to mention the constant drama and theatricality of his whole life and personal history —including the time the writer Jean Cocteau had to cut Charles down from a rope when he tried to hang himself over a love affair that ended badly. Charles lived and worked in three adja“CHARLES JAMES IS NOT ONLY cent rooms on the sixth floor of the THE GREATEST AMERICAN Chelsea Hotel on West 23rd Street. COUTURIER, BUT THE WORLD’S People like to talk about how seedy BEST AND ONLY DRESSMAKER the hotel was in the 60s and 70s, but WHO HAS RAISED IT FROM AN Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, APPLIED ART FORM TO A PURE Willem de Kooning, Virgil Thomson, ART FORM.” Viva, Thomas Wolfe, Ultra Violet, Dylan Cristobal Balenciaga Thomas, and Richard Bernstein (the illustrator who did all the covers for Andy Warhol’s Interview Magazine), had all called the Chelsea home at one time or another. I recall hearing Lou Reed sing one of the first drafts of “Take a Walk on the Wild Side” to Candy Darling, who inspired the song , in Charles’ room at the Chelsea while she modeled Charles’ gowns. There was magic and mystery and a palpable charisma around Charles, and it was New York City for me. I can still visualize Charles’ main room, number 620 , with a big wall 5
of white paper roses that he made in tribute to the French designer Balenciaga, his erotic drawings, the peeling paint, the big storyboard for the biography he wanted me to help him write but never had time to finish, his faithful protégé Homer Layne, and always, his beloved beagle, Sputnik. During this period, I also embarked on a relationship with Halston. We went to Fire Island, Greece and Paris where he would send me to Yves Saint Laurent to buy clothes, and he would instruct me, “Buy the trench coat, get the safari jacket, get this, get that.” And then he’d say, “You know, I’m just going to move this button a half-inch and change the collar a little bit, and then send it to China to copy; it’s a lot faster and cheaper than being Charles James and spending three years and $20,000 perfecting a sleeve.” I’d buy hats in London from Herbert Johnson, and I’d come back for one of Halston’s shows and he would take the hat right off my head, put his label over Johnson’s, and send it down the runway. Of course, I told Charles everything and it fed right into not only what he felt about Halston, but about Seventh Avenue. When it came to design, Charles’ mantra was “I give a woman the figure she wants but doesn’t necessarily have.” He was an engineer and an architect; he built his clothes from the inside out. For example,
MRS. WILLIAM RANDOLPH HEARST, JR. IN THE FOUR-LEAF CLOVER MASTERWORK GOWN CHARLES JAMES DESIGNED FOR HER
that time, 70 and infinitely distinguished and very quiet and witty, Miss Dietrich chose to
FASHION
be photographed in it, and then wished to buy the dress. I thought she looked badly in it, Tell me about dressing Marlene Dietrich in theArden Bow Dress for Vogue? and Miss wouldn’t let it be sold to her. She felt that the way she did her hair was uninWhen I remade it for Elizabeth Arden, 10 years after first making it for a lady who was, at that time, 70 and infinitely distinguished and very quiet and witty, Miss Dietrich chose to be photographed in it, and then wished to buy the dress. I thought she looked badly in it, and Miss Arden wouldn’t let it be sold to her. She felt that the way she did her hair was unin-
“I THINK IT WAS WRONG TO PUT HIM IN THE MARKET—THAT’S LIKE TAKING PICASSO AND SAYING YOU’RE A PAINTER, PAINT THE HOUSE. THIS IS A MAN WHO SHOULD’VE BEEN KEPT IN THE EXPERIMENTAL LABORATORY DEVELOPING THESE THOUGHTS HE DID.” Bill Cunningham Fashion Historian and Photographer for The New York Times
at 10 pounds, the “Four-Leaf Clover” gown, also known as the “Abstract” dress, is one of Charles’ heaviest gowns, but the bodice was tight and the gown was engineered so that all the weight came to the hips. Charles was all about the Point: point of sexuality, point of tension, point of interest, and point of weight. Austine Hearst, who the dress was made for, said it became practically weightless when she famously wore it to the March of Dimes gala and then to Queen Elizabeth’s Coronation Ball in London. Charles was very proud of the fact that when they ran the film of spired,good and certainly she was the gown in movement, it looked regardless ofextremely grouchy at the photographic sitting. It was a hot whether the film was runningday—there forwardwas orno inair-conditioning reverse. at Miss Arden’s in those days—I got an immense block Despite his many clients and creations, I never of ice and put a fan behind it, and it still did not please her. The dress was in one piece, cut really thought of Charles as being in business. on the bias, with ties on the diagonal opening from which allowed a certain amount of flesh MARLENE When Charles looked in thetomirror, he saw Charles black and white dresses to the horse show at the be seen for those whose figures justified this—such as the divine Dietrich. DIETRICH James the artist; he never saw a designer— he hated Garden, got the bottom all fouled up and then I had spired, and certainly she was extremely grouchy at the photographic sitting.wearing It was aCharles hot James’ Bow that word. “You are only as good as the people you to have the skirt taken to pieces; she was96very upset continued on page Dress in a 1944 day—there wastonopay air-conditioning at MissIArden’s in those days—I got an immense block dress,” said Charles, whose client roster comprised about having to have it repaired. couldn’t issue of Vogue. a who’s who of the 30s, 40s, 50s and beyond. This afford that sort of client.” of ice and put a fan behind it, and it still did not please her. The dress was in one piece, cut PHOTOGRAPHY BY group included Queen Ena of Spain, Lady Dina Cooper, Charles was not a businessman, so money was JOHN RAWLINGS, MARLENE DIETRICH WEARING CHARLES JAMES’ BOW DRESS IN A 1944 ISSUE OF VOGUE. VOGUE, OCTOBER 1944 on the bias, with BYties the diagonal from which allowed a certain amount of1, flesh Millicent Rogers, Dominique de Menil, Mrs. John always aPHOTOGRAPHY problem. Heon hated the OCTOBER factopening that JOHN RAWLINGS, VOGUE, 1, 1944he had to Hay Whitney, Gloria Vanderbilt, the sculptor Elizamake money to produce beautiful garments so as the divine Dietrich. to be seen for those whosehis figures justified this—such 86 ignored the financial realities of his situabeth Strong-Cuevas, Elsa Peretti, and Babe Paley, of he simply whom Charles recalled, “I ended my business relation. “My clients don’t pay their bills on time so neicontinued on page 96 tionship with Mrs. Paley because she expected 120 ther do I,” confided Charles. Even though he had a yards of hem to be shortened a half-inch by the evenserious list of rich patrons, he never had a client or a ing, only coming in at three and didn’t expect to pay. corporation that poured endless streams of money And she wasn’t the only one.” Of Mrs. Vanderbilt he into his accounts. I always felt protective towards MARLENE DIETRICH WEARING CHARLES BOW DRESS IN A 1944 ISSUE OF VOGUE. remembered, “Gloria Vanderbilt wore one of my big Charles because I had always heard hisJAMES’ name spoken
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOHN RAWLINGS, VOGUE, OCTOBER 1, 1944
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“DRESSMAKING IS THE MOST VITAL IF IT CARRIES WITH IT A FORM OF LOVEMAKING FROM THE MAN WHO DOESN’T WANT TO MAKE IT WITH THE WOMAN.” Charles James
of Art during the “Charles James: Beyond Fashion” exhibit at the Costume Institute in 2014. A more thorough exhibition was subsequently mounted at The National Arts Club later that year hosted by Cornelia Guest, Amanda Hearst, Anne Hearst McInerny, Patricia Hearst Shaw, Gillian Hearst Simonds, and Kimberly Rockefeller. In 2020 I gave the Met three hundred of James’ drawings from my treasure trove, which ended up being the largest private collection of the designer’s drawings in the world. Eventually, I’m planning on giving the Met several hundred more along with similar gifts to The Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the Museum at FIT. I’ve also given a group of his erotic drawings to the Leslie Loman Museum in NYC. Currently, I am BOW DRESS with almost reverence during my youth and knowing planning additional gifts and a James show at the 1962, pencil on how much my mother and grandmother loved his Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, Russia. Over paper Bias cut crepe evening dress clothes, I took care of him , as best a teenager could, the years I bought more drawings so that Homer made in 1944 for in a friendly way. One winter, I bought him a grey Layne could buy back many of the grand gowns, Marlene Dietrich; cashmere coat and a black lamb’s fur hat at Brooks dresses and coats that were also part of the Met’s 1935 is the date BOW DRESS when the dress was Brothers on my parents’ account. I would take him show from an auction at Doyle’s. It’s my great sorrow 1962, pencil on paper Bias cut crepe evening dress made in 1944 for Marlene Dietrich; 1935 is the first made. that I never wanted to wear any of the dresses, although date when the dress was first made. to Max’s Kansas City or the local automat, just to have dinner and talk. Charles was a peerless raconteur and I did don his famous rainbow-colored ribbon cape 87tired of listening to him. He was my window I never and the white satin eiderdown evening jacket that into an earlier era of history, a flashback to a time I Salvador Dali described as the “first soft sculpture” never knew. to Studio 54. I knew that Charles needed love, he I bought Charles’ drawings, some of which I posed needed attention, he needed support, he needed for nude, one by one for $500 each, which is why encouragement. I tried to bring a youthful enthusiBOW DRESS today I have this remarkable collection; a selection asm to his life. Back then I was a tornado of energy. 1962, pencil on paper Bias cut crepe evening dress made 1944the forplace Marlene Dietric of which were displayed at the Metropolitan Museum I would come into the Chelsea and in turn date when the dress was first made.
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Portrait of Charles James reflected in the lid of a grand piano. PHOTOGRAPHY BY CECIL BEATON
upside-down and it invigorated Charles. I took Charles out on the town on a regular basis; I even brought him to an opening of what turned out to be an S&M sex club with Prince Egon von Fürstenberg. Charles, in leather pants and platform boots, disappeared into the darkness. After, I said, “Charles, what were you doing in there?” And he quipped, “I nourished someone.” Only Charles could explain backroom sex so elegantly; I think he was 70 at the time. I also took him to parties at Studio 54, Salvation, and the other trendy nightclubs of the day. I was determined not to let him lock himself up in his room, so I dragged him out whenever I could. We went to the ballet, the Philharmonic and the opera where we created all these wonderful memories. Although Charles was gay, he was also married to Nancy Lee Gregory and had two children, Charles Jr. and Louise. “Society has always been two-gaited,” he assured me while poo-pooing the rumored affair between Greta Garbo and his former Harrow schoolmate Cecil Beaton, that he said Cecil had fostered to make himself more interesting. “He wants history to link him to Garbo because he knows she’ll live on long after he’s forgotten. The only thing they had in common romantically was their love of the same sex,” he sniped after a bitter row with the photographer that ended their friendship. Charles slaved over his dresses, and sacrificed everything for his art. I think he was angry because he couldn’t make enough money creating clothes and that his art wasn’t recognized enough so he could hire more workers to do more. He was the ultimate suffering artiste at the Chelsea. During much of our friendship, I was working for Andy Warhol’s Interview Magazine, writing a column called “Invasion of Privacy” and doing interviews with Hollywood legends including Marlene Dietrich, Warren Beatty, Ginger Rogers, Lena Horne and Bette Davis, who I knew because I went to school with her son, Michael. Her husband, Gary Merrill, belonged to our WASP-y and very stuffy country club until he was suspended for taking a shower in the ladies’ locker room after a round of golf (and several other rounds at the bar with my father). Charles became a teacher as well as a father -figure to me. He propelled my interest in writing into journalism; however, he always disapproved that I used my talents for gossiping. “You should
only appear in biographies,” he warned me repeatedly. “People that appear in gossip columns like yours are already done and gone for. I want new people.” Yet Charles loved to gossip and always had an endless arsenal of wonderful and wicked stories to share about his friends, clients, and fellow designers including Coco Chanel, Elsa Schiaparelli, Christian Dior, and Cristóbal Balenciaga as well as Marlene Dietrich, Gypsy Rose Lee, Dolores del Rio, Helen Hayes, Jennifer Jones, Gertrude Lawrence, and Paulette Goddard. The fact that the book I’m working on about his life skews a little gossipy, for that, I apologize, however, it is, in my own way, a biography. I was not Charles’ most focused student, although he was the great master who taught me important lessons across the arts, but what he always did was inspire me. I’ll never live up to being what Charles James wanted of me until I write his book. I hope you’ll enjoy reading my interview with Charles and getting to know him just a little bit as I knew him. P
“I’VE HAD MY SHARE OF GOOD TIMES AND BAD, BUT IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN ABOUT THE DRESS, NOT ME. IF I CAN CREATE BEAUTY AND MAKE SOMEONE FEEL BEAUTIFUL IN ONE OF MY DRESSES, THEN MY WORK IS DONE.” Charles James
Charles James in a cape and sombrero on his way to the opening of Studio 54 in 1977 PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANTON PERICH
FASHION
GIRLS JUST WANNA HAVE Omar Salam, of SUKEINA, Designs for the Little Girl Inside of Us CREATIVE DIRECTOR: DEMEJI ALARA PHOTOGRAPHER: HYUNA SHIN MODEL: COCO ROCHA
Black dropped waist dress with black lace front panel. Pleated skirt with jeweled detail hemline and collar.
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Red fitted jumpsuit with black velvet jeweled sleeve and collar detail.
Sheer chiffon trousers and embroidered net top.
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Billowing black chiffon jumpsuit with ostrich feathers swirl hemline. Net and velvet top with black pearl button detail.
Sheer red top over blue, yellow lace embroidery with black velvet pocket tabs, jeweled & button details.
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Blue, red, green and yellow lace top, dropped waist dress with pleated finish in mustard. Velvet black tabs with jeweled & button details.
Sheer chiffon top with net, lace and ribbon detail skirt.
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ELLE THE WORLD’S MOST GLAMOROUS GALLERIST ST U D I O P H OTO G R A P H Y BY G I L L E S B E N S I M O N
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SABELLE BSCHER, PROPRIETOR OF NEW YORK CITY and of Zurich-based Galerie Gmurzynska, was headed to Los Angeles imminently when we spoke in late October for this article. The trip was to plan the upcoming exhibition of painter Anh Duong at Spring Place, in March, to coincide with the Oscars, she explained over Zoom from Switzerland. Bscher has recently been tapped as curator for the private membership club’s two locations, in New York and L.A., both designed by Kulapat Yantrasast of why Architecture, renowned for his work on major art spaces, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Art Institute of Chicago.
BY BENNETT MARCUS
Paris Hilton PHOTO BY PATRICK MCMULLAN
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Bscher’s debut show at the L.A. outpost, of works by Louise Nevelson, is on view through January 15. “The response has been great, and they have such a wonderful member base, a lot of creatives who really appreciate the arts,” she says. Shortly after arriving in the City of Angels, Bscher hosted Halloween cocktails for extravagantly costumed guests including actresses Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson, of the Pitch Perfect movies, and Hollywood moguls like Modern Family co-creator Steve Levitan. Days later, Bscher was at the Pacific Design Center for AmfAR’s L.A. fundraising gala along with Meg Ryan, Paris Jackson, and Madonna, who presented an award to fashion designer Jeremy Scott, one of the evening’s honorees. She sported a sharp white pantsuit at LACMA’s Art + Film gala in early November, hosted by Leonardo DiCaprio and honoring Steven Spielberg and artists Amy Sherald and Kehinde Wiley, whose Obama portraits were on exhibit at the museum. Female art world dynasty Isabelle Bscher was born into this world of art; it is her destiny. She is the third generation to run Galerie Gmurzynska, founded by her grandmother, Antonina Gmurzynska, in Cologne, Germany. Bscher’s mother, Krystyna Gmurzynska, took over the gallery in 1985, relocated the flagship to Switzerland in 2005, and mother and daughter now work together. Bscher grew up in the gallery - a red cube designed by Swiss architect Roger Diener, connected to the family’s house in Cologne - surrounded by priceless
artworks and glittering art-world personalities. She jokes that she learned to walk at Art Basel, accompanying her mother to the fair since infancy. “The gallery and my life have been so deeply intertwined, it’s hard to separate one and the other,” she says. “I felt from a very early point that I was part of it; I always knew I wanted to be a gallerist.” Other family members have also occupied distinguished positions in various fields. Her godfather was Baron von Thyssen, the Swiss industrialist who amassed one of the world’s greatest private art collections – widely considered better than that of the British royal family. Bscher’s father, Dr. Thomas Bscher, a banker, is a racecar driving enthusiast who won a world championship with McLaren at the GTR Euroseries in 1998. He later became CEO of Bugatti, the exotic carmaker. The gallerist’s great grandfather was a prominent German banker, a Protestant, who aided Jews during the Nazi era and became influential in post-war politics. Working full time at the gallery by age 22, Bscher remembers how excited she was to work with artists. “One of the first exhibits I was able to co-organize was with Hedi Slimane, who in addition to being a phenomenal fashion designer is also a great photographer,” she says. After relocating the gallery to Zurich, another early-career thrill for Bscher was working on the Alexander Calder show that launched the new space. “I remember specific shows that meant a lot.” Now with four locations, two in Zurich, one in the
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Sylvester Stallone PHOTO BY JOHNNY PIGOZZI
affluent Swiss enclave of Zug, and another in New York City, they represent major modern artists like Picasso, Kandinsky, James Turrell, Robert Indiana, and Yves Klein, as well as Karl Lagerfeld’s photography, Sylvester Stallone’s paintings, and architects Zaha Hadid and Richard Meier, who has used the gallery’s catalogues in his collages, and who once designed their booth at Art Basel Miami. Galerie Gmurzynska represents the estates of prominent artists including Wilfredo Lam, Roberto Matta, Nevelson, and Spanish surrealist Joan Miró, with whose family Bscher works closely. Sought-after guest curator An art historian who studied contemporary art in London and New York and earned a master’s degree from Sotheby’s, Bscher is in demand to curate shows at museums around the world. Last year, she co-curated a Miró exhibit at Villa Paloma, the New National Museum of Monaco, under the guidance of Prince Albert. It included early works and lesser-known later pieces, some of which had never been shown before, as well as some that are a part of pop culture, like the painting behind Gordon Gekko’s desk in the movie Wall Street. “It was a great show. It actually drew the most visitors ever to the museum in Monaco, and it was at the height of Covid.” Bscher organized a retrospective of Sylvester Stallone’s 55-year painting career for the Osthaus Museum in Hagen, Germany, opening December 4. “It’s a beautiful museum; it’s going to be a big show called ‘Painting
‘‘HE’S BEEN MAKING PAINTINGS SINCE THE MID-1960S, AND I THINK PEOPLE HAVE A CERTAIN PERCEPTION OF HIM, BUT HE IS VERY SOPHISTICATED.’’ for 55 Years.’ He’s been making paintings since the mid-1960s, and I think people have a certain perception of him, but he is very sophisticated, with a great use of color and form in his work.” Stallone is also a lot of fun, Bscher notes. Galerie Gmurzynska began representing the actor’s paintings after he purchased some art there while in Zurich about twelve years ago. “He came in, he was very nice, and he started telling us about his work, and we looked at his work and were really impressed.” She’s also planning a future Stallone exhibition in L.A. Forming alliances with creative geniuses At various art fairs Bscher has collaborated with renowned creatives like Baz Luhrmann and the late Germano Celant, artistic director of the Prada Foundation who passed away from Covid in 2020, on designing her gallery’s booths. “We’re very well known for working with creative geniuses who might be from other backgrounds, like Zaha Hadid,” she says. In fact, the gallery’s Paradeplatz location in Zurich houses the late architect’s very last interiors project, a design for an exhibition celebrating Dada master Kurt Schwitters, in 2016. Bscher brought film director Baz Lurhmann in to create a classroom-like set for an Art Basel Miami show with the theme “My kid could have done that.” “You know how when people see a great artwork and they say, My kid could have done that? We took great masters, like Kandinsky and Twombly, and we showed why your kid couldn’t have done that.”
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With Chanel Iman PHOTO BY PATRICK MCMULLAN
Lagerfeld’s wit, Zaha Hadid’s expertise, Von Thyssen’s extravagance Living among such colorful characters, Bscher certainly has stories to tell. She calls Karl Lagerfeld “the king of the one-liner.” “Everything he said was incredibly funny. He’d ask me about somebody, and I’d say, ‘They have a lot of tattoos,’ and he would say, ‘Having a tattoo is like spending your whole life in a Pucci dress.’” Lagerfeld, she recalls, was a fantastic drafter; constantly drawing. “The most exciting was when he would send drawings and sketches to the gallery as a surprise. It was always such a treat.” She describes the late Chanel designer’s house in Paris as incredible; he did all the interiors himself and had impeccable taste. He was expert in many areas, like poetry and literature, constantly reading. “He was absolutely the most sophisticated person I’ve ever met.” Zaha Hadid was an expert on the Russian avantgarde, on which she wrote her thesis. This was an area in which Galerie Gmurzynska was a pioneer early on, and which helped make its name in the art world. They brought Hadid in to curate a show of her own work along with pieces from Bscher’s mother’s collection. She came up with a black-and-white theme, with Hadid’s work in the black section and the Russian avant-garde pieces in the white. “We started working with her closely after that, and then she designed the
“THE MOST EXCITING WAS WHEN HE WOULD SEND DRAWINGS AND SKETCHES TO THE GALLERY AS A SURPRISE. IT WAS ALWAYS SUCH A TREAT.”
architecture of the gallery,” says Bscher. “She was a phenomenal person.” Bscher’s godfather, Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen, known as Heini, had one of the world’s most important art collections, full of priceless Old Masters, impressionists, and expressionists, with everything from El Greco to Picasso to Van Gogh. His massive collection was reputed to outshine the Queen of England’s, of whom he quipped: ‘’I think the Queen is not, perhaps, really a collector.” Much of the baron’s collection is now in the ThyssenBornemisza National Museum in Madrid. “He had this spectacular house in Lugano, an Italian part of Switzerland, called Villa Favorita, which was the most beautiful house I’ve ever seen,” says Bscher. “It’s right by the lake, part of his collection was in the house, and there was a small, private underground museum and exquisite gardens. It was just extraordinary.” Heini had a colorful, scandalous love life, with five marriages to very different women, from models to fellow aristocrats. His second wife was English model Nina Dyer, whom he showered with lavish gifts including a Caribbean Island, two sports cars with gold-plated ignition keys, wildly expensive jewelry, and a pair of black panthers. The panthers went everywhere with her, including hotel suites which they heavily damaged. Nina left him for a penniless French actor, but soon after married another fabulously rich man, Sadruddin Aga Khan, son of the Aga Khan. Heini’s third wife, Fiona, had an affair with Artistotle
Onassis’s son, Alexander, who was 16 years younger that she, and a teenager at the time.
PHOTO BY WAYNE MAZER
Christo relationship Bscher had a close relationship with Christo, with whom she collaborated on exhibits at various art fairs, like TEFAF and Art Expo Chicago. They met after the artist’s wife and partner, Jeanne Claude, had passed away, and prior to his 2016 Floating Piers project in Italy. “We did a show of his finished and unfinished projects in St. Moritz, and I became quite friendly with him,” Bscher says. “Christo was the greatest.” She traveled with the artist extensively, even to Asia, where the gallery arranged for Christo to give a talk at the University of Hong Kong. Christo is the most disciplined person Bscher has ever met. He’d arrive at his studio by 8 a.m., he didn’t have a chair there, he’d work standing up all day long. He didn’t eat lunch - he was very thin - and at night he’d dine out with his entourage, consisting of his nephew and other loyal acolytes who accompanied him everywhere. He had very strong principles, refusing to take sponsorships, and pouring all proceeds from his work into financing his other projects. He was also an old-school gentleman, insisting, for instance, on taking the street side when walking with a lady on the sidewalk. She was stunned by the prolific artist’s death in May 2020, at age 84, from natural causes. “I couldn’t believe it, I thought we’d work with him for many more years to come because he was, like, the fittest person around,” she says. “The last time I’d seen him he was so vibrant and healthy; I really didn’t see that coming; I was quite shocked.” Galerie Gmurzynska held shows of Christo’s work in Zurich and New York this fall as a tribute, coinciding with the wrapping of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, a lifelong dream that he didn’t live to see completed. Family saga from communist Poland to a new space in New York Bscher’s grandmother, Antonina Gmurzynska, was left an orphan in Poland after the Nazis killed her parents and siblings; she eventually escaped to Germany in the 1960s and founded Galerie Gmurzynska in Cologne in 1965. She had no connections or business experience, but she knew art, having worked at a well-known museum in Poland. Gymurzynska initially built her gallery’s program on surrealism, international constructivism, and
PHOTO BY JOHNNY PIGOZZI
PHOTO BY JOHNNY PIGOZZI
PHOTO BY JOHNNY PIGOZZI
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Christo
Arianna Huffington, Johnny Pigozzi, Warren Beatty
Anja Rubik, Diana Picasso
PHOTO BY JOHNNY PIGOZZI
Hedi Slimone
PHOTO BY PATRICK MCMULLAN
Johnny Pigozzi
Jeff Bezos
Susan Sarandon, Ellen Burstyn
P.Diddy PHOTO BY PATRICK MCMULLAN
the Russian avant-garde, and later added modern art into the mix. She did attract prominent buyers, and the gallery built a fine reputation. The center of the German art world later gravitated away from Cologne to Bonn and Berlin, and many galleries relocated to Berlin or London. Galerie Gmurzynska had already opened a Swiss venue in Zug, in 2003, and had many Swiss collectors, so making that country their base made sense and they opened in Zurich. Now, Bscher is planning a new space in New York, a 6,500-square foot town house on East 78th Street down the block from the gallery’s current location. Architect Drew Lang is helming the renovation, which they expect to complete in fall 2022. It was Bscher’s grandmother’s lifelong dream to have a gallery in New York. “She wished that she had expanded to New York sooner, because she felt like she did so many important shows early on that were
Margot Robbie’s Halloween Party with The Winklevoss Twins
later taken up by museums. She felt that if she had done these shows in New York, more people would have gotten to see them. It was a dream of hers.” Great grandfather saved Oppenheim bank Bscher’s father came from a very old German family that had started out as cotton merchants. Her greatgrandfather Robert Pferdmenges was a well-known banker, head of the banker’s union in Germany, and prominent in the Protestant church. He joined Oppenheim Bank, then the largest private bank in Europe, as a partner around 1930. Under Nazi law, Oppenheim’s Jewish owners were forced to step aside, and the bank was “Aryanized”, its name changed to “Robert Pferdmenges & Co.” After the war, he returned control of the bank to the Oppenheim family. It was one of only two businesses seized from Jews that were given back to the original owners after the war. Oppenheim continued in business
PHOTO BY JOHNNY PIGOZZI
PHOTO BY JOHNNY PIGOZZI
At Nicolas Berggruen’s Halloween Party
PHOTO BY JOHNNY PIGOZZI
Richard Meier, Christina Gmurzynska
PHOTO BY JOHNNY PIGOZZI
At Musso and Frank Grill in L.A.
Prince Albert, Rebel Wilson
until 2010, when it was acquired by Deutsche Bank in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. Pferdmenges then became influential in German politics, helping Konrad Adenauer, a close associate, to become the country’s first post-war chancellor. The Marshall plan for the reconstruction of Germany was designed at Pferdmenges’ house, and he cofounded the Christian Democratic Union, which was the party of Angela Merkel. He is often given credit for Germany’s post-war economic miracle. Philanthropy: Prince Albert II Foundation, animal welfare Environmental issues are a passion, and in recent years Bscher has worked with the Prince Albert II Foundation on saving the oceans. “I curated art for their auctions numerous times, and we were able to get great artists to donate work to raise a great deal of money.” One piece, donated by Francesco Vezzoli,
‘‘ONE PIECE, DONATED BY FRANCESCO VEZZOLI, WAS A PORTRAIT OF ALBERT’S MOTHER, GRACE KELLY, THAT THE ARTIST DID SPECIALLY FOR THE AUCTION.’’
was a portrait of Albert’s mother, Grace Kelly, that the artist did specially for the auction. Bscher also supports animal welfare organizations; she often brings her beloved Maltese, Lolly, with her on her travels. Upcoming shows In addition to Anh Duong and Stallone, upcoming exhibits include photographs by Ezra Petronio, founder of Self-Service magazine, in Zurich. “Ezra is one of the great art directors of our time; in fashion he’s an absolute legend,” says Bscher. In art he’s well known for his Polaroids, which are in the tradition of Lucas Samaras and Andy Warhol. “Self Service magazine is celebrating its 25th anniversary, so we’re doing a show that was previously at the Dallas Contemporary Museum of Art.” P gmurzynska.com
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THE BIG REVEAL
WARHOL inner sanctum NO TRUE DISCIPLE, NO SERIOUS ACOLYTE OF Andy Warhol will ever forget where they were when they first heard the shocking news of February 22, 1987 - Andy Warhol was dead. I didn’t find out until that wintry morning of the 23rd when I went to a familiar newsstand by the West 4th Street station off Sixth Avenue to pick up my morning New York Post only to almost faint on the street after seeing the blaring headline that changed everything. It was such a jolt to the psyche of any creative kid in New York City. I know it was. Andy was dead and we were bereft with grief.
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BY GEORGE WAYNE EXCLUSIVE PHOTOGRAPHS: DAVID GAMBLE
Andy Warhol: Revelation is the title of the latest Warhol art retrospective which opened November 2021 at the Brooklyn Museum and focuses on Andy’s strong Catholic faith. But nothing at that show will match this Warhol Retrospective or revelation from David Gamble.
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“WHENEVER ANDY WOULD SEE ME HE WOULD SAY, - “OH HELLO GEORGE!’’ AND I WOULD QUIETLY SHRIEK WITH INNER GLEE AT THE FACT THAT ANDY WARHOL WAS FINALLY REMEMBERING MY NAME!’’
Andy was all about highbrow and lowbrow as in the kitsch versus the classic. Coca Cola meets a classic marble siren.
This is the moment Warhol’s kitsch collided with the Warhol creep factor. Right here in his living room with that neon-green cardboard cut-out effigy prominently placed in the middle of his main parlor on what seems like Tutankhamen’s throne. The trigger, however, is clearly the gilt frame, old-school portrait of what seems like a midget ballerina.
As a fifteen-year-old boy in boarding school in the West Indian bush of Jamaica and reading Interview magazine for the first time in my life, it was my Eureka moment. It was at that precise moment I knew what my life’s work and calling had to be. From that day on in my dorm room at Munro College, ‘the Eton of the West Indies’, I began dreaming of one day living in New York City and meeting Andy Warhol and working at The Factory. And guess what? I managed to achieve that early dream. I always found it personally fascinating that my first apartment in Manhattan, when I finally got here in 1985, was just down the street from St. Marks Place and where Andy Warhol first lived when he arrived in town at the age of twenty-one in 1949. The shock of it all was the fact that I was just really getting to know Andy Warhol when he died. I went out every night in New York City, at every art gallery opening on the Lower East Side and every night spent at the Michael Todd Room of the Palladium nightclub with
the single goal in mind of getting to know Andy better. And it was working! By 1986 whenever Andy would see me he would say, “Oh hello George!’’ And I would quietly shriek with inner glee at the fact that Andy Warhol was finally remembering my name! And then, just like that, he was gone forever-- and the city, the zeitgeist, the culture, the scene was plunged into a cataclysmic pallor of grief that truly crescendoed when Jean Michel Basquiat-- Warhol’s last somewhat muse-- died suddenly too, just a year later. Basquiat never got over Andy’s death and his tragic descent into heroin abuse was made more profound as a result. A year or so later after Andy’s passing I got my first paying job at a magazine when the first Editor in Chief of Interview (after his death) Ingrid Sischy hired GW as a junior writer working with Glenn O’Brien. And as I sat to prep to write this story I felt the urge to trove my archives and diaries from my black books of 1986 and the very last time I saw Andy Warhol alive.
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“Andy was a deeply devout Catholic and this crucifix was once in his bedroom right beside his bed and that Maxwell Parrish painting next to it was just up for auction at Sotheby’s. How uncanny!”
August 21, 1986 The Michael Todd Room: Palladium It was nothing but a kissy, kissy night tonight at the Todd Room. It’s Thursday night and the room is buzzing! Dianne Brill is kissy, kissy with Keith (Haring) and kissy, kissy with Anita (Sarko) and kissy, kissy with club-kid Bella Karolyi and kissy, kissy with Walter S. from New York Talk magazine. James St James and Michael Musto just strolled by wearing dresses. Billy Idol just walked in the room! The paparazzi are going nuts! I’ve never seen so many paparazzi in the Todd Room. Steve Rubell must be in a good mood. Andy is still not here but when I see Basquiat I’ll know he’s in the room. Inseparable of late, those two. Oh shit! There is Baryshnikov! The paparazzi are ecstatic! Paul, the doorman tells me he is “bottled.” I have no idea what he means. Rudolf Pieper tells me Andy is finally here and I believe him. Because - as is always the case when Andy shows up anywhere - the energy and electric charge in the room takes on a whole new level! There he is by Anita Sarko’s DJ booth with Jean Michel and Tina Chow! That was the last time I ever saw Andy. And to this day, I just can’t get it out of my head. The sudden
death of Warhol rocked the Downtown demimonde to its core. The day Andy died was the day the nightlife went into a depressive funk for years that followed. The scene was never the same again. Just think, as a young poet, a young writer, a young artist-- any young creative and free-spirited soul living their dream and moving to New York City in the big ‘80s when the first pandemic I survived -- the AIDS crisis was ravaging and decimating New York City. I was in my sexual prime and too scared to have sex with anyone. But I still went out every night hoping to meet Andy Warhol. I wanted to work at Interview magazine and The Factory. After surviving the groupie Valerie Solanas’ assassination attempt of 1968 when he was actually declared ‘dead’ on that first operating table only to survive - and truly thrive - after suffering the most gruesome injuries, we all felt Andy Warhol was that blessed deity that would live forever. (Ironically, he has) But for him to go into the hospital for routine gall bladder surgery and never make it back to his Upper East Side townhouse on 57 East 66th Street remains a confounding shock for many of us decades on. Andy Warhol called himself “a deeply superficial person.” Fran Lebowitz called him “a vampire.”
Andy Warhol’s many biographers have never really told us how much of an alpha hoarder he really was. Blake Gopnik, Warhol’s most noted biographer did drop the bombshell that Andy was supposedly well-hung-as in very well endowed. But he barely ever mentioned how much of a hoarder Warhol was. Kenny Scharf would have been happy to note that his work never left Warhol’s home until the day he died.
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NO ONE EVER SAW WARHOL’S HOME UNLESS HE WAS HAVING SEX WITH THEM. HE WENT OUT EVERY NIGHT, EVEN TO THE OPENING OF AN ENVELOPE, HE OFTEN QUIPPED-BUT NO ONE KNEW WHERE WARHOL LIVED.
The single-family townhouse he bought in 1974 at 57 East 66th Street almost every Warholian will tell you-should have been left intact for posterity. And turned into the perfect New York City Warhol Museum. His home just as he had left it for the last time.
There are said to be some 12,000 works of Andy Warhol that exist today but none can compare to this. So what did ‘’Drella’’ stash in his bathroom cabinet? ‘’Drella’’ was the nickname Warhol legends like Lou Reed, John Cale and Holly Woodlawn called him behind his back. Think Dracula x Cinderella = “Drella.” It remains the greatest Lou Reed coinage-ever!
What would that tell us about the ephemera, the decor, the contents of the mini-mansion Andy Warhol had lived in since 1974? Not many people can tell you what Andy Warhol’s home looked like because he rarely allowed anyone to visit. No one ever saw Warhol’s home unless he was having sex with them. He went out every night, “even to the opening of an envelope”, he often quipped-- but no one knew where Warhol lived. And so, when the original gatekeeper of the Warhol Estate, Fred Hughes, commissioned the photographer David Gamble to document everything in the 8,000 square foot townhouse just the way Andy left it when he died was a seminal moment in pop culture history. For David Gamble, one must assume, it had to be the same exhilarating, eyepopping experience as it was for the archaeologist Howard Carter when he first set eyes on Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1925. Many of these images of Warhol’s inner sanctum have been under lock and key for decades. What you are about to see are images of Andy Warhol’s home as he left it, some of which are being published for the very first time. We live in a world
today where Warhol is as iconic as Michelangelo and so this historic moment in the culture should not be lost on anyone. Andy was a hoarder, we now realize. Anyone who has had the opportunity to view and detail many of these Warhol estate images from David Gamble will attest to that fact. He was also as odd at home as he was in public. For one, his kitchen was lined with nothing but Tupperware - everywhere. And he also kept a huge neon-suited cardboard-cut-out-image of himself propped prominently in his living room. As for the contents of ‘Drella’s’ medicine cabinet? (‘Drella’ -- the nickname given to Andy by his Factory acolytes back in the ‘70s.) Well, you will soon see for yourself and much more of the inner sanctum of ‹›the single most influential artist of the last century›› his biographer Blake Gopnik proudly declared. And so, what better way to absorb these exclusive images than with a thorough oral history from this witness to pop history and the photographer who captured them, David Gamble, who remains one of the world’s leading authorities on Andy Warhol arcana. P
ARTS Where beauty met the beast. Grab your magnifying glass and scour up close some of the beauty essentials Warhol never lived without such as Cetaphil, Neet and Vitabath.
My Inside Job
Photographer David Gamble shares his insights on immortalising Warhol’s private townhouse in pictures
he job to photograph Andy Warhol’s house came out of the blue. Apparently, Fred Hughes liked my work and got in touch with the photo editor June Stanier at the London Observer magazine where he’d seen my work. Fred Hughes personally chose me to photograph the house. It was the very same year I won the Best European Kodak Photographer award in France in 1988. My only instruction was to document the contents and take as much time as it would take to do so. I had always wanted to photograph Andy Warhol, so now that he was dead, I thought to myself, at least now I get to make a portrait from what I find in his house. I think Fred liked my work and I think he wanted me to place it in a prestigious shelter magazine before the big Warhol auction in 1988. Keep in mind, this was the first big celebrity auction - one which set the mold for future auctions such as Princess Diana and Wallis Simpson. It was the first auction where the value of an item was on who owned it rather than its purchase value. Andy’s cookie jar, for instance, that he
bought for $5, sold for $250 at auction. I knew this was going to be special. Apart from another photographer from Sotheby’s, a catalog photographer-- I was the only one allowed to photograph the house. I was shocked when I heard he was dead. I was going from London to New York so much during those days and I’d always assumed I’d end up photographing him. I keep blaming the nurses for such a stupid death. I never met Andy formally, but I did dine at a table next to his one night at the Algonquin hotel. I didn’t go over to say hello and I regret it. That was the only time I ever saw him alive. Many people, including Fred, told me that not many people were invited to even stand in the entrance hall, so he was very private in that house. That’s why the house was a complete surprise to those who knew him. His mother did stay with him for a while before he died. Seeing the red brick townhouse for the first time, it looked tall and narrow. I was with a small entourage; Fred Hughes wasn’t there but a young brit who worked for him at the newly
‘‘WHEN I LOOKED AT THE MEDICINE CABINET I REALLY FELT THIS WAS THE CLOSEST TO PHOTOGRAPHING A PORTRAIT OF ANDY WARHOL. THIS WAS THE MOMENT WARHOL BECAME REAL TO ME.’’ formed foundation (Tim Hunt) was, and he was nice and helpful. He was with a small, bespectacled New Yorker who was a bit of a pain; worried about everything even to thinking, Andy might be haunting the house. It was a simple marble floor entrance hall. The staircase was on the left, lined with old black and white photographs of Native Americans. There was a 5-foot wooden 19th century Punch standing at the foot of the stairs. Upstairs the landing was this nice, curved entrance to the two main rooms. The room at the front was his living room - big, tall windows, expensive deco furniture and pop art; Liechtenstein and Jasper Johns. A Duchamp print was on a small easel. I liked the ‘30s Bakelite and silver milk jug shaped like a penis sitting on the table. The tacky track lighting I found to be very odd. The other room was completely different - dressed as a parlor it could have been the drawing room of Sherlock Holmes rather than a pop artist. It had heavy red velvet drapes and Victorian Egyptian artifacts.
I had the feeling Jed Johnson (the interior decorator) had influenced the decor when he lived with Andy (he was Andy’s last live-in partner). The floor above were Andy’s bedroom, a small guest room and the main bathroom en suite. Andy’s room had a very nice, detailed print on the walls and a lovely white carved marble fireplace. He had videos and a teddy bear in the room; the bed was very high and bland. The small guest room had a beautiful Maxfield Parrish in it and a Mexican crucifix. After Andy was shot, he became very Catholic again. He believed he had been given another life because he had died on the operating table for a few minutes after the shooting, so he would often go to church. It’s strange, I have met many superstars of Andy’s Factory - Billy Name, Ultra Violet, Penny Arcade, Sylvia Miles, Nat Finkelstein, and Brigid Berlin. I showed some of the pictures of Andy’s home at an event organized by Billy Name at the Gershwin hotel for what would have been Andy’s 80th birthday. Blondie played and all his old friends alive were there and everyone wore white wigs and glasses - he would have loved it. There is no one to ever replace him. I didn’t move anything [In the house] and everything was exactly as it was when I took these pictures; all the Fiestaware in that kitchen and the bad Polish art. I always envisioned his mother sitting like Whistler’s mother on that chair waiting while she warmed him a can of Campbell’s soup. Andy loved collecting his contemporaries’ art. He had a really nice Maxfield Parrish painting in the spare room. He had, of course, Jasper Johns and Roy Liechtenstein, but also Kenny Scharf and Marcel Duchamp. Andy had a great sense of quality and it showed in his obsessive collections. He loved watches, he loved jewelry and cookie jars - he just loved collecting. when I looked at the medicine cabinet I really felt this was the closest to photographing a portrait of Andy Warhol. This was why I was in this house. I loved that there was nothing of intrinsic value - banal, ordinary objects that said a lot about the personal life of the owner. So this was the first “medicine cabinet of an artist” picture. I spoke to Bob Colacello in the Hamptons, and he told me at the end of his book he wrote a paragraph about Andy’s medicine cabinet; this was the moment Warhol became real to me. P
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Donna VOCK
OWNER OF VOCK & VINTAGE ON BEDAZZLING JEWELS, THE BESPOKE DESIGN EXPERIENCE AND WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A PRIVATE JEWELER BY LAUREN BENS
KNOWN FOR HER TRULY ONE-OF-A-KIND and personalized bespoke pieces, Donna Vock, owner and designer of Vock & Vintage, is the biggest name in the jewelry business you might not have even heard of, and she is perfectly okay with that. “I never craved the spotlight. Making things and making others happy is what propels me.” Shunning the usual PR-driven route to success, Donna has relied on a strong belief that results and experience are what matter. Eventually, true jewelry lovers find their way to her.
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ue to her discreteness and appointment-only business model, Donna has quietly built a nationwide following of savvy enthusiasts who love her style and swear by her level of service, attention to detail and impeccable quality and value. Aside from a passion for mixing both contemporary and vintage signed collectible jewelry of bygone eras, Donna continues to stir things up with her constantly evolving unique creations known for mixed materials of precious stone, metal, wood, glass, minerals and bone, often in unexpected combinations. Color and texture play key roles in all of her eponymous designs. For the client, fashioning a bespoke piece is an intimate custom buying experience that connects designer and collector in a casual, personal salon environment intended to feel more like joining a friend in her dressing room than entering a bustling jewelry retailer. “You have to be in their groove because it’s about them, not me. It’s their look, their lifestyle, and yes, their money, so together we are taking a thoughtful yet somewhat adventurous approach to the end result…jewelry nirvana…and that’s different for everyone.” Being a highly skilled private jeweler for her evergrowing list of clients takes years of formal training and a network of other highly skilled professionals at your disposal (goldsmiths, gem dealers, lapidaries, setters, enamellers, hand engravers, etc.) to make high jewelry dreams come true. With a singularly unique background in geology and engineering, as well as fine arts, Donna is as much an expert at making jewelry (orchestrating a complex series of steps and skillsets behind the scenes) as she is communicating the virtues of collecting with her clients. Whether buying a special statement piece for yourself or a loved one, Donna insists that the key to every successful project starts with listening to the client. “It’s anything but transactional. It’s collaborative, and highly personal.” A bedazzling be-
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‘‘SOON, DONNA LANDED A JEWELRY AFICIONADO’S DREAM JOB IN THE DIAMOND OFFICE OF TIFFANY AND CO. WHERE SHE RECOUNTS A FEW MEMORABLE ENCOUNTERS WITH CELEBRITIES SUCH AS MADONNA.’’
spoke experience can require several meetings, either virtual or in- person to establish goals. All the while she’s getting to know her clients on a personal level as she guides them through the process of selecting both stones and style for whatever custom design they decide to commission. From price point to priceless, Donna takes her clients on their own uniquely memorable jewelry-making journey. Knowing that jewelry can have both sentimental and monetary value, this A-list designer is truly full service, advising clients in both buying and selling practices as they continue to expand their classic or contemporary collections – or both. Discretion is of utmost importance to Donna, and she insists the same of her team. “What happens in this salon, stays in this salon.” These lessons were learned early on, and they stuck. At one point in her career, Donna was even entrusted with repairing and restoring some antique pieces for none other than Jackie Kennedy Onassis. Not even her goldsmiths knew whose items they were working on. It’s clear Donna still prides herself on how she fiercely protects the privacy of her high-profile clientele and is just as sought after for her discretion as for her technical prowess or critical design eye. While she’s been running her own business since 1999, Vock was bitten by the jewelry bug back in the 1980s while working for some of the biggest names in the industry, including H Stern and Tiffany and Co. Her vast experience and dedication to consistent quality and the highest integrity are what makes Vock truly sparkle, just like her creations. Since the pandemic, this devoted jewelry designer, who adapted her bespoke experience to the virtual world, has expanded with a location in Greenwich, Connecticut. “We found that our activity was truly nationwide, global in fact, but having a design atelier in Fairfield County close to home seemed logical. I’m very happy to have both locations.” She might think she is still under the radar, but Donna, who initially launched her brand in Aspen, has seen an influx of fans from around the country as well as buyers from overseas who are now flooding into their NYC showroom. Wherever you find Donna these days, one thing has stayed the same – her passion for helping her clients find or create their own per-
fectly personal piece of jewelry. From concept through creation, she ensures that her loyal clientele receives not only an exquisite piece, but also an elevated experience. She also enjoys sharing her expertise with her team of young, dynamic women who are just as enthralled as Donna was when she first stepped into the realm of jewelry making and design. Her own star-studded story started when she stumbled into an entry-level position at H Stern over three decades ago while doing some post-graduate work at Columbia. For this future in-demand jewelry designer, it was love at first gemstone. “My world changed, and I never looked back.” The science major began a long journey into fine arts and design in her free time, honing her skills 7 days a week. Soon, Donna landed a jewelry aficionado’s dream job in the diamond office of Tiffany and Co. where she recounts a few memorable encounters with celebrities such as Madonna, who she remembers went mad for a pricey pair of one of a kind mismatched earrings that left a big impression on the young jewelry specialist. Donna eventually began designing stunning and sold-out pieces for Lazare Kaplan Int’l and gained not only international recognition, but “an appetite for true creative expression and a definite appreciation for classicism that was fueling my own creative voice, but confidence and success doesn’t happen overnight.” Fine jewelry is also a family affair. Upon becoming pregnant with her second child in 1994, Donna left corporate life and began helping her husband, Alex, build his own gem and pearl company called ProVockative Gems, Inc. Now world-renowned experts in emeralds, rubies, sapphires and antique cut diamonds, Donna’s extensive experience in product development and sales came in handy. “We’ve always been there for each other. I supported us when he started on his own in 1990 with $7,000 we’d saved. No financial backers, no line of credit. He’s the best in the world; a gem dealer extraordinaire, he’s my rock star.” Fast forward to today and Donna, with a reputation as flawless as any D color diamond, is the most trusted source for both private collectors and retailers who are ‘in the know’ about the nation’s best bespoke experience. P vockandvintage.com
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BY JULIE SAGOSKIN PHOTOGRAPHY BY JAMES WEBER
NEW YORK MIGHT HAVE BEEN HIT ESPECIALLY hard by the pandemic, but A-list artist Guy Philoche has been helping to lift spirits—and lift up other artists. Through his new series, Guy is painting the town red, as well as all the other colors that he believes showcase the uniqueness of New York—with all its quirks, eccentricities, vibrancy and everything else that makes her the most resilient city in the world.
While his art sits in many prominent collections, Guy is just glad to finally have a seat at the table now that he has received global recognition from his recent sold-out shows. This passionate painter—who is represented by Cavalier Gallery, located at 3 West 57th Street, with other locations in Palm Beach, Nantucket and Greenwich—realized what is truly important in life once the pandemic hit. He has since made it his mission to remind people what makes New York so special while supporting those who are trying to make it in the art world. Just a few days after Guy decided to buy a pricey new Rolex watch to symbolize all the success and acknowledgment in the art world that earned him that seat at the table, the city started shutting down due to COVID-19. Although Guy has always been philan-
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thropic, this was the beginning of his giving back on a whole new personal and prominent level. “Restaurants and museums and galleries closed, and Art Basel got canceled. I realized just how much my colleagues were struggling. I have been here for over 20 years, through 9/11, blackouts and hurricanes, but I have never seen so many people this scared. It wasn’t even just a New York thing; it was a worldwide thing. Instead of buying that cool $20,000 Rolex watch, I went on Instagram and used that money to start buying up artworks of other artists and raising awareness about them.” After posting about how he wanted to buy $20,000 worth of works from undiscovered or struggling artists, Guy received messages from artists around the country, asking him to consider their pieces. He even
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“I LOVE THE FORMAT OF IT AND WORKING WITH A POLAROID. YOU CAN WRITE THE DATE AND TIME OF WHERE YOU WERE. I JUST LOVE TURNING A CANVAS INTO A POLAROID AND WRITING TO NEW YORK CITY.” began making additional purchases for other collectors who had heard about what he was doing. Guy eventually had to put some of his own works into storage just to make room for his new discoveries. Since using his fame and funds to help others, Guy has appeared in national outlets, including People magazine and even Good Morning America. He says that helping to give others a chance to succeed stems from the fact that he would have liked someone to have supported him when he was starting out. “No one opened doors for me. I had friends who were famous in the art world, but they never did anything to help me. I’m all about sharing the love. There’s enough for everybody, and everybody needs a shot. I’m thankful to now have the opportunity to help others.” When it comes to advising people who want to pursue their artistic passions, Guy says, “Never stop dreaming, always keep dreaming big, and keep painting. Just because one person says no, it doesn’t mean you need to stop. You’ve gotta want it bad enough. I’ve sacrificed a lot; I’m not some overnight success.” In addition to giving hope to his fellow artists, Guy wanted to inspire others through his new works.
For those who say New York is dead following the devastation from the pandemic, Guy is here to tell them—or rather show them—just how wrong they are. His new series, “New York, I Love You”, demonstrates his own sentiments toward his favorite city, which he likens to any great love story: “She’s like, ‘I’m sorry I’m crazy, but I love you!’” It was when he noticed a little girl taking pictures with a Polaroid camera that Guy purchased his own Polaroid and began taking photos, or what he likes to call moments of history, around New York. “I would try to capture all of the beautiful parts of the city. I would go around Central Park and just start taking photos of iconic landmarks and buildings and turn them into a cool painting. I love the format of it and working with a Polaroid. You can write the date and time of where you were. I just love turning a canvas into a Polaroid and writing to New York City.” Just as in his other works, Guy paints a picture of what he sees but with his own creative twists. His painting of a pizza-eating rat went viral. Another piece shows a subway stopping at “Kobe Bryant Park,” which allowed Guy to process his feelings on Bryant’s death while capturing that moment. “This series is my love letter to New York City. It’s
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“THIS SERIES IS MY LOVE LETTER TO NEW YORK CITY. IT’S LETTING HER KNOW THAT I STILL LOVE HER, BOTH THE GOOD AND THE BAD.” letting her know that I still love her, both the good and the bad, and reminding people of all of the elements that make New York so great. I have been here for over two decades and have come to learn that the city will always overcome. I know that so many people left, but I wanted to show that the city is still beautiful and vibrant through these works. I had done another series that was very popular where I took a cartoon character and intertwined it with love and revolution, and it really put a smile on people’s faces. I just wanted people to smile again. The city is always evolving as it continues resetting itself.” Since almost everyone has their own special spot in New York, Guy is also regularly commissioned by people who want to commemorate the places that they love the most. Many of his clients include those who have relocated and want to remember their favorite parts of Manhattan. So how did this painter survive the pandemic? Let’s just say his saving grace was working in his studio, going to the park—one of his favorite places in New York—for his morning workout and, of course, having the cutest assistant around, his French bull-
dog named Picasso. Guy also credits Cavalier Gallery with allowing him to continue to grow as an artist rather than pigeonholing him into creating the same types of works simply because they are guaranteed to sell. Perhaps it is because the gallery is well aware that Guy’s constant creative evolution is exactly what has made him so popular! “I have amazing collectors, from Japan to Los Angeles, who believe in the work and what I do,” explains Guy. After sold-out shows in Nantucket and Greenwich, with his last series resulting in record-breaking sales, multiple television appearances and access to collectors around the world, the countdown is on for his next unveiling, which is set to take place this December at Art Basel. “People are buying my work without even seeing it. A lot is already sold. They just believe in me and my vision that much.” Originally from Haiti, Guy grew up in Connecticut with two siblings and knew that his journey to reaching the pinnacle of success with his paintings would come with its challenges. Having been raised by parents who had government jobs and persis-
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PHOTO BY RON GALELLA (Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
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“THE CITY THAT NEVER SLEEPS GOES TO BED AT MIDNIGHT NOW, BUT THAT DOESN’T MEAN YOU CAN’T HAVE EPIC NEW YORK NIGHTS. THEY JUST HAPPEN A BIT EARLIER! ” tently drilled in the importance of pensions, this budding artist was determined to creatively pave his own way. He says it was his parents’ unwillingness to pay for art school, because they did not want to see him struggle, that made him stronger. “I left home at 17 years old. Fast forward to today, and my parents are now very proud—my dad even apologized a few years later. This made me the person I am because failure was not an option. I didn’t have that security or safety blanket, so this made me more determined to ensure that this thing worked out for me.” Aside from always thinking outside the box with his works, Guy knew he had to think of unconventional ways to get those works noticed by the right people. Before he had sellout shows, major representation and national media coverage, Guy couldn’t afford a U-Haul to move his artwork, so this dedicated and devoted artist walked from 102nd street to Chelsea for the opportunity to get his art into a gallery and have a show. He’ll also never forget when he made 2,000 copies of an ad he had designed and stuffed them into the Village Voice that would go to all the posh neighborhoods, including Tribeca. He would also get them into other magazines and even best sellers in Barnes and Noble. By donating his works to charity events, Guy would get to be in the same room
as potential buyers. “There would wind up being huge bidding wars for my works, so eventually people just started coming to my studio and purchasing things,” explains Guy. It takes a tough person to make it in New York, but Guy knows just what it takes—and appreciates her more for it. After going through so much, New York might be a bit different, but according to Guy, she’s still the best. “The city that never sleeps goes to bed at midnight now, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have epic New York nights. They just happen a bit earlier! If you’re lucky, you can still find hidden gems around the city, plus Broadway is opening up a bit more.” If you think the story of this talented, successful and giving artist sounds like it would make for a great movie, you’re in luck! Guy is currently working on a documentary about his 22 years of being in New York City and navigating his way into the gallery scene and interviewing collectors. There will also be a coffee table book based on the Philoche Collection. From giving back to getting New Yorkers to realize what they love most about the best city in the world, Guy wears his heart on his sleeve—and his canvas. P philochestudios.com
LOOK BACK Gareth Pugh
2011
World famous photographer and author Patrick McMullan shares never-before-seen photos from behind-the-scenes of Art Basel’s 2011 swankiest soirees exclusively with PARK. Capturing iconic photos of heiress Daphne Guinness, filmmaker Julian Schabel and power couple Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones, amongst the other biggest names at Basel, McMullan’s fun flashback showcases the people and the parties in true Patrick style. PHOTOGRAPHY BY PATRICK MCMULLAN
Naomi Campbell. Andrea Dellal
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Karen Bystedt, Peter Tunny
Jane Holzer, Bob Colacello
Paul Handsforth, Julian Schnabel
Paul Sevigny, Rachel K Ward
Janis Gardner Cecil
Steve Simon, Blaine Trump
Nadia Sworofski
Manish, Beth, Kyle
Holly Woodlawn
Marina Abramovic
LOOK BACK
Christian Slater, Brittany Lopez
Felipe Roque, Sean Souz
Ivana Trump with Jason Binn and Paul Shaffer
China Chow, Laure
Pharell Williams
Seth Browernek, Gabrielle Union
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Wan Ting Zhao – Came to America through YAGP auditions in China. Now a Principal Dancer at San Francisco Ballet. PHOTO BY VIKKI SLOVITER
CHANGING THE WORLD THROUGH
DANCE ONE SUGAR PLUM FAIRY AT A TIME BY SERGEY GORDEEV
LL SHE WANTED WAS A TIARA – AND TO LOOK LIKE THE SUGAR PLUM FAIRY from The Nutcracker. For 8-year-old Larissa, things just did not get better than that. And she knew exactly how to get there. Entering ballet school felt like anything BUT a fairytale. Blistering feet, constant hunger and living on the brink of exhaustion is not how The Nutcracker is advertised – yet this is what it takes to become a Prima ballerina who dazzles children as the Sugar Plum Fairy every holiday season. “You have to have the body of a supermodel, strength of an Olympic athlete, and acting skills of a movie star – and then maybe you might have a chance at making it as a professional dancer,” says Larissa Saveliev. And immediately adds, “But there is definitely magic in it.”
Above: YAGP Alumna Skylar Brandt (Principal Dancer), American Ballet Theatre. PHOTO BY NISIAN HUGHES.
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YAGP Alumni Hee Seo (Principal Dancer), American Ballet Theatre, and Alejandro Virelles (Principal Dancer), Berlin State Ballet. PHOTO BY VAM PRODUCTIONS.
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The Fairy Godmother Of The Dance World It was the magic of dance that got Larissa through the next 8 years at Moscow’s world-famous Bolshoi Ballet Academy until she joined the preeminent Bolshoi Ballet – one of the world’s top ballet companies. It also led her to the next stop in her life journey: the United States of America. She fell in love with America while dancing on tour with the Bolshoi Ballet – and knew immediately that this would be her new home. Her husband, fellow Bolshoi Ballet dancer, Gennadi Saveliev, joined American Ballet Theatre. Larissa, eager to share the magic, started to teach. Except there was one problem: she could not find a place where she could compare her teaching methods with that of the other ballet teachers in the area. After some research, she realized that in America there has never been a ballet competition for students like those she remembered from their childhood at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow. So, she decided to start one. Youth America Grand Prix When Larissa and Gennadi Saveliev launched Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) in 1999, they had no idea that in 2021 it would become the world’s largest student ballet competition with an operating budget of over $4 million, affiliated offices in 8 countries outside the U.S., and $500,000 in annual scholarships to virtually every major dance academy in the world. The idea was simple: there are talented students all over the world looking for dance schools to develop their talent. And there are the world’s best dance schools looking all over the world for talented students. Yet, there was no network or organization to connect the two groups – until Youth America Grand Prix. “We are now the world’s largest dance network, a pipeline of talent for dance schools and companies all over the globe,” says Larissa. More than $4.5 million has been awarded to talented dance students in scholarships to the world’s leading dance schools, and 450 YAGP alumni now dance in 80 of the world’s most recognized dance companies. ABT’s Skylar Brandt YAGP alumni are perhaps the biggest testament to the organization’s role in ensuring the future of dance. In 23 years of operation, more than 50 dancers came from Youth America Grand Prix to New York City Ballet – and more than 100 YAGP alumni have joined American Ballet Theatre (ABT), including one of its newest Principal Dancers, Skylar Brandt. “My career would not have been where it is today without Larissa’s thoughtful guidance. The YAGP family has supported me every step of the way,” says Skylar, who is now a regular guest artist at the now-iconic YAGP Galas. Another frequent YAGP Gala guest artist is Wan Ting Zhao – a dancer who came to America through YAGP auditions in China and is now a Principal Dancer at San Francisco Ballet. Stars of Today Meet the Stars of Tomorrow YAGP is a non-profit dance education organization, and its legendary “Stars of Today Meet the Stars of Tomorrow” Gala is
YAGP Founder and Artistic Director, Larissa Saveliev; YAGP Founding Director of PR and External Affairs, Sergey Gordeev; and YAGP judge, Tony Award-nominated Actress and former dancer of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Karine Plantadit; with participants from the Youth Grand Prix 2020 Japan Semi-Final. PHOTO BY STAFF TES.
a key part of the company’s mission to educate the next generation of dance artists and audiences. For more than a decade, the YAGP Gala – featuring the world’s most promising young dancers and the stars of the world’s preeminent dance companies – has taken place at Lincoln Center in New York. It has since been exported to other parts of the United States and abroad. Attended by dance luminaries from around the world, it attracts the Artistic Directors of New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Mariinsky Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet and many others. Dance critics annually fly in from Japan, Europe, Latin America, and Canada just to get a glimpse of the future of ballet. International Festival Of Dance The YAGP Galas have seen debuts and farewell performances of the world’s brightest stars, celebrations of legends and explosions of supernovas, started the careers of so many young dancers, and have given a platform to so many established and budding choreographers. But no matter how different the programs, they all have one thing in common: they inspire both those who are dancing and those in the audience. And this, perhaps, is the ultimate goal of everyone at Youth America Grand Prix: to inspire not just its young participants, but everyone involved. “YAGP is so much more than a competition,” says YAGP Board Chair, Jeanene Perry. “It is an international festival of dance, a living and breathing organism, a global network of opportunity that connects dancers, students, companies and schools worldwide. It gives me inspiration every day to be a part of the mission to keep dance alive for generations to come.” As for the 8-year-old Larissa’s dream to look like a princess… it may have ultimately come true: “Larissa is like the fairy godmother of the dance world, helping so many young artists make their dreams come true,” says Skylar with a smile that confirms: the magic is real. P yagp.org
Sergey Gordeev is a New York-based journalist and an Emmy-winning TV host.
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The Crown Jeweler
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t a little after midnight on August 31, 1997, Princess Diana was tragically killed. The story of her death is well known and need not be repeated here. My involvement with Diana though, began about a year and a half later. As the head of Guernsey’s, I was accustomed to receiving interesting, auction-related phone calls. But the call that came amid a raging New York City snowstorm was far more special than most. On the line were two men, an English lord and the British Crown Jeweler, the person responsible for maintaining, in the Tower of London among other places, the precious jewels of Britain’s Royalty. Tradition had it that the Crown Jeweler was selected from amongst the heads of that nation’s most prestigious jewelers, and so it was that the Crown Jeweler was also the president of Garrard.
The Necklace In May of 1997, the completed necklace was described in jewelers’ terms as follows: “A brilliant cut diamond and marquise diamond scroll motif center with a South Sea cultured pearl five stone and marquise diamond fringe drop, to a brilliant cut two row collet back chain tapering to a single row; mounted in platinum, claw set with an integral claw clasp.” The necklace contained five matching cultured South Sea pearls, 12mm; eleven marquise diamonds , 7.71 carats; three marquise diamonds, 0.88 carat; one hundred and sixty-four diamonds, 42.35 carats. In layman’s terms, it was...”beautiful.”
Swan Lake @ London’s Royal Albert Hall Princess Diana had had a lifetime love affair with dance. And so it was that at that season’s premier gala performance of Swan Lake at London’s Royal Albert Hall, she was named “Patron of the English National Ballet.” Though she had often been seen in designs by Versace, Ungaro, Cerruti, Moschino, Lacroix and Valentino, Diana expressed her newfound independence through fashion. Never forgetting her British roots, for the Swan Lake performance she chose an ice-blue, silk Georgette shift dress featuring hand-beaded crystal bugle beads set off by “Hepburn-esque” bows on the straps. The dress was created for T H E S T O R Y B E H I N D T H E N E C K L AC E her by British designer Jacques Azagury. A short hemline, BY A R L A N E T T I N G E R opalescent hose and high heels by Jimmy Choo accentuated her long, slender legs. The whole outfit complemented the stunning, newly created diamond and South Princess of Wales Sea pearl necklace she wore for the first, and The Crown Jeweler explained that in the sadly, only time. spring of 1997, he was working closely with Diana. The goal was to produce a simple but Tragedy Struck. stunning necklace and pair of matching It is believed that other than on her wedding earrings consistent with the Princess of Wales’ day, more photographs of the Princess of Wales elegant image. Indeed, Garrard had scoured were taken on that June 3rd evening than on the world in search of just the right diamonds any other occasion. Pictures appeared and South Sea pearls with which to create the everywhere. The necklace, a marvelous anticipated set.
Diana & the Swan Lake Suite
success. But in the rush to complete his work in time for Swan Lake, the jeweler had not finished fabricating the matching earrings. The earrings worn at the ballet were a pair she already owned. So, after the event, the jeweler requested the necklace back. He was determined to make the stones all perfectly match. After all, this was for Diana. Less than three months later, the completed set consisting of the necklace and matching earrings - which came to be known as the “Swan Lake Suite” - was about to be returned to Diana when tragedy struck. Diana’s Secret Lover It could be said that grieving for Diana has never stopped. It was certainly with great sadness that the Crown Jeweler told me, not only the background of the jewels, but the fact that there had been an outstanding bill for their creation. “After all,” he said, “this was to
Left: Princess Diana wearing the necklace whilst attending the performance of Swan Lake at Albert Hall Below: My daughter, Rosie, age 5, with the Swan Lake necklace days before the 1999 Auction.
have been a personal gift from a dear friend.” At the time, unconfirmed rumor had it that the “dear friend” was indeed Dodi Fayed who sadly died next to Diana. The English Lord Months after the tragedy, the Crown Jeweler telephoned one of Garrard’s best customers the English lord who was on the original phone call with me. “Would you like to acquire the only jewelry worn by Diana that will ever be sold? “ he was asked. Thrilled by the opportunity, the lord immediately made the purchase, believing it to be the ultimate gift a husband could give his wife. And indeed, the lord’s wife was overwhelmed by the Suite. But in time, reality set in when the lady, recalling her girlhood schooldays with Diana Spencer, realized that she would never likely wear the Suite made for her old friend. And so it was that Guernsey’s was approached by the British
Crown Jeweler and the English lord. With the acknowledgment of Diana’s family, Guernsey’s had been chosen to represent the only important jewelry of Princess Diana ever to be sold. Park Avenue Armory: NYC At an elegant event we conducted at the Park Avenue Armory, the Swan Lake Suite was successfully auctioned for six hundred thousand dollars to an American buyer. In Diana’s name, a portion of the proceeds benefitted UNICEF. A decade later, the buyer possibly impacted by the 2008 financial crisis - asked us to resell the Swan Lake Suite. While preparing for this second opportunity with Diana’s jewels , which we ultimately sold privately to its current owner for a substantially greater amount, the New York Times scheduled a feature article about the precious Suite. However, a glitch arose when the paper, on a
hot summer Friday afternoon, couldn’t find a suitable model to be pictured wearing the necklace and earrings. Hearing that the story was about to be scrapped, I suggested that my then high-school-age daughter might serve as a suitable fill-in. To this day, a Times photo of Rosie wearing Princess Diana’s extraordinary Swan Lake Suite hangs in my daughter’s bedroom. P Footnote: In 1975, Arlan Ettinger co-founded Guernsey’s. Since then, the auction house has become widely known for producing fascinating, often unprecedented events ranging from the sale of the ocean liner SS United States to the landmark Cold War auction of artwork from the Soviet Union and The John F. Kennedy, Rosa Parks, Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, Elvis Presley, and Mickey Mantle auctions. Among the auction house’s recent events were the Dr. Hans Sachs Holocaust-related auction series and the unique sale of the Chelsea Hotel’s doors. The firm is currently preparing for the Nelson Mandela Auction.
guernseys.com, aettinger@guernseys.com
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“RUINS HAVE BEEN A THEME IN MUCH OF MY OEUVRE, AND I HAVE QUITE OFTEN DISTRESSED MY WORKS ON PURPOSE.’’
Colette Lumiere Artist Reborn
BY CLAUDINE STEINBERG
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lmost half a century ago, the Tunisia-born artist Colette landed in New York City — from outer space, she claimed, to anonymously paint the streets with mysterious signs and symbols that she received from her far away cosmic home. She made a quiet feminist statement by sleeping nude on an outdoor Carl
Andre sculpture and abandoned herself to her dreams in store windows and museum vitrines. Every aspect of her life was transformed into art: her clothes, the characters she embodies and, most famously, her living space. colettetheartist.mystrikingly.com Maison Lumiere Out of the blue one day in August 2007, the doorbell at Maison Lumiere on Pearl Street
rang with utter urgency: the five-story house from 1831, along with its two slightly older neighbors, had suddenly been deemed unsafe, and Colette was told — “Gestapo style,” she recalls — to leave immediately. A crack in the facade running from the basement to the roof had been widening almost imperceptibly for decades, but more importantly, the three remaining dwarfs at the feet of the Financial District’s glass towers had just been bought by developers with tall ambitions — not even the landmark-worthy birthplace of Herman Melville on what was once known as Great Queen Street would be spared. For Colette, the instant eviction — police officers escorted her outside— did not just mean the loss of a home but the destruction of the already legendary art environment that she had inhabited and continuously transformed for almost three decades: it had evolved from a “minimal baroque,” furniture-free incarnation without furniture and walls covered in white parachute fabric to a Rococo cave created from frilled, ivory-colored silk satin: a sensuous “soft space” gently illuminated by lightboxes that were integrated into the fabric. “ There’s a Mermaid in the Closet ” Three months after having been thrown out, Colette was granted “quick entry”— the bureaucratic term for salvaging essentials within a single hour. “Things flew out of my
fourth-floor windows,” she says about her frantic rescue effort. “My whole life was on the street.” When the three buildings were demolished soon after, Colette performed daily mourning rituals at the void left by the three houses, wearing different costumes each time. Once, six years earlier, when the nearby World Trade Center towers had fallen and toxic clouds were hovering over the neighborhood, she had already been barred from her residence — almost as a prelude to her final expulsion. Driven by the urge to protect and to be with her art, she ignored the fumes and the barricades and hid in her refuge near the smoldering rubble: “People thought that I had been killed in the attack.” And indeed, the artist —who had died at her own hand and then resurrected herself with a new mission and a new name several times in the past — rose from the ashes of 9/11 as Colette Lumiere. Leo Castelli & MoMA/PS1 A sense of fragility had always invaded her Pearl Street cocoon: harassed by her landlord from the very beginning, she had already embarked on a rescue mission for a large segment of her opulent boudoir in the early 1980s — at the time, Leo Castelli had almost succeeded in brokering a permanent arrangement with a Swedish museum to house her signature work — ever since that deal fell through at the last minute, Colette’s mythic
period interior has mostly lived in storage, along with newer iterations of her ever-changing living spaces that have gone on exhibit — as, for example, in the case of her major installation titled “There’s a Mermaid in the Closet” at MoMA/PS1 in 2020 — a place where Colette had shown her work at the onset of her career. Jeffrey Deitch & Löwenpalais The remnants of her original environment, along with the elements of all her other, often large-scale projects, have resulted in what Colette calls her “storage tribulations.” “I have moved some of these objects for decades, feeling like Atlas, sometimes wanting to burn it all — but it is still the nucleus of my art.” This ever-increasing ballast stands in contradiction to her nomadic desires and long term stays abroad, as in Munich (where she was inevitably likened to the flamboyant King Ludwig); or in Berlin, where the multi-media artist-in-residence instantly converted her suite at the Löwenpalais — a turn of the century villa in Grunewald — into one of her “colettisized” abodes. “I create a landscape and become part of it, so even when I appeared in public as a sleeping nude in one of my sceneries, I felt safe, like a bird in a nest.” When Hurricane Sandy swept through New York in 2012, it unexpectedly flooded many
galleries in Chelsea — and Colette’s storage space. She spent her days salvaging damaged drawings and objects, though not entirely distraught over the wounds inflicted by the water: “Ruins have been a theme in much of my oeuvre, and I have quite often distressed my works on purpose, like partially burning them. Sandy was a disaster, but some of its traces were beautiful —I always like markings of time.” Richard Prince & Jeff Koons: Company Gallery There is a nine-minute video by the cinematographer and photographer Robert Polidori that preserves the Pearl Street loft in its youthful, almost pristine state during a 1978 party and playful performance — Colette appears in her own version of aristocratic finery with Jeff Koons and Richard Prince, friends from her earlier days as a more conceptually-oriented artist. The surviving contents of that environment have now been liberated from their long obscurity in storage to appear, along with other art objects, at Company Gallery at 145 Elizabeth St. in a show titled “Notes on Baroque Living – Colette & Her Living Environment” proudly revealing its age and all it has been through, its aura intact. The show will run through January 22nd, 2022. P companygallery.us
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Kris K & Martin Lavoie NFT t is rare to meet a power couple who simultaneously motivates and encourages each other to be their true best. Upon meeting wife and husband, Kris K and Martin Lavoie, I knew this was a relationship built on a foundation of support and passion. The founders of Bull Market Girlfriends, Kris, an NFT(NonFungible tokens) artist, and her serial entrepreneur, husband Martin have set out to shift the paradigm in the art world by establishing an accessible community for all. Born and raised in Russia, Kris has always been inclined towards the arts and aesthetics. She ran her own fashion design firm with success, running three shops and a manufacturing facility. Moose Bicycle Manufacturing Company. Martin’s experience as an entrepreneur could arguably be attributed to his beginnings as a 12-year-old coder. Understanding the significance computer technology would have on our future. He accelerated in school quickly, often surpassing his peers in skill and performance. After graduating he went on to develop Quebec’s largest social media network in the early aughts, pre-Facebook. From there he began exploring the many creative and financial opportunities available for a young burgeoning businessman. With involvement in multiple galleries, developing a team of top-notch photographers for Quebec’s premiere events, and investing in restaurants and nightclubs, there was no stopping Martin on his road to success. However, the wear such a fast-paced lifestyle can have on one began to dawn on Martin. Thus, Fintech Financial Services was born along with the Moose Bicycle manufacturing company. NFT Jump to late summer of 2021, Martin, understanding and recognizing the significance of the emerging market that are NFTs, and appreciating the visceral response individuals had towards Kris’s art, bought her an iPad and she began to draw and draw and draw. With an inclination toward portraiture, Kris developed her own style quickly. Starting with the eyebrows she works to create a visage that is one continuous line, working within the
Portrait of Kris K
Bull Market Girlfriends NFTs and the Art Community BY CALEB JAMES
‘‘HE CULTURAL DYNAMICS
AND THE SOCIAL INTERACTIONS WE HAVE TODAY ARE VASTLY DIFFERENT FROM HOW COMMUNICATION AND BUSINESS WERE DONE SIMPLY A YEAR AGO.’’
The Ethereum Blockchain Bull Market Girlfriends works through the Ethereum blockchain and within 60 days had amassed over 16,000 members in the Discord community and over 22,000 followers on Twitter. This was a by-product of the ripple effect, and word of mouth was generating an unprecedented number of individuals’ interests in the crypto and art communities.
The Gold Diggers
constraints of a specific color palette for each series. Kris holds herself to a standard that is clear throughout her work. Using this as a launching point and knowing when to strike when the iron is hot, Martin and Kris formally developed Bull Market Girlfriends in August of 2021. When playing with names Martín and Kris, along with a friend, settled on Bull Market Girlfriends. Bull Market, an ode to when stock prices go up and Bull being the Anthos of femininity (girlfriends). I found this to be clever; indeed, it is the level of nuance and creativity that makes Kris and Martin such a dynamic team.
100 Portraiture Pieces The first incarnations of “Girlfriends” were 100 portraiture pieces done in love animalistic styles. Thereafter, Kris began to create more and more. Deciding to play with various themes and concepts varying from robots, aliens, fractionalization, the Zodiac, she began to create with vigor and zeal. Kris went on to complete a collection of 2500 NFT pieces. Kris and Martin have collaborated with social leaders and culturally provocative artists such as Greg Overton, Sabet, Gabe Weis and Dario de Siena, amongst others – to provoke and promote change in the art world.
Ocean Cleanup Project Between the launch of Bull Market Girlfriends in August to the end of October 2021, Kris and Martin were able to amass over $1.6 Million dollars, with a portion going towards the Ocean Cleanup Project. Martin and Kris have set out to establish long-term relevance with the art and crypto community, most recently having purchased large portions of land in the metaverse and will set up virtual permanent collections within San Diego, Los Angeles, London and beyond. The cultural dynamics and the social interactions we have today are vastly different from how communication and business were done simply a year ago. Evolving with the times and accepting what is, rather than lamenting what was, is a key element to why Bull Market Girlfriends is generating the success and loyalty it has. Putting art and community first and also recognizing that crossover mainstream success is accomplished through the trickle-down of society is why Kris, Martin, and Bullmarket Girlfriends have and will continue to shape how NFTs and the art community are formed. P bullmarketgirlfriends.com
Charles Saffati & Claude Pardo @ Carlton Fine Arts
Carlton Fine Arts
Charles Saffati reflects on 50+ years of Carlton Fine Arts BY BENNETT MARCUS
Multigenerational Family Art Gallery arlton Fine Arts on Madison Avenue is a family business. “My father was in the business, and I quickly took over when I became of age,” says Charles Saffati, the current proprietor. Saffati considered himself “of age” at 14, when he began showing up to work at the gallery after school. Now his son Morris is in the business with him. “He’s 40 years old now and he also came to me after school,” Saffati adds with a laugh. His other two children did not gravitate toward the business.
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Picasso, Warhol, Chagall, Haring, Miró & Matisse Started in 1969, Carlton Fine Arts specializes in modern masters and pop art. “From the beginning we started in masters: Picasso, Chagall, Miró, Giacometti, Matisse,” says Saffati. As time progressed, he brought in newer artists, like Andy Warhol and Keith Haring in the 1980s. “At the time, those were the new upcoming type of artists. I mean, I used to buy Keith Haring works for $1,000.” Good instincts In addition to dealing in timeless blue-chip artists, Saffati continues to add new talent as the art world evolves. Now CFA handles
contemporary artists like Kaws, who is already a household name, Ron Agam, and Mr. Brainwash, a graffiti artist with a Banskytype style. The artists were featured in the 2010 documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop, directed by Banksy. Mr. Brainwash Saffati’s instincts have paid off. “We carried Keith Haring when nobody even knew who he was. Even Andy Warhol, we carried him when there was very little recognition of his work, we got in on the ground level.” The gallery tries out new artists that they feel are setting new trends going forward, things to invest in the future. “I feel like that right now
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‘‘EVEN ANDY WARHOL, WE CARRIED HIM WHEN THERE WAS VERY LITTLE RECOGNITION OF HIS WORK, WE GOT IN ON THE GROUND LEVEL.”
with Mr. Brainwash,” says Saffati. “We started on the ground level with him, but I really see how it’s been exploding in the last two years, and the recognition that he has gotten.” What makes Mr. Brainwash special, he feels, is his use of iconic images like Einstein, Charlie Chaplin, Mickey Mouse, and Keith Haring. “It’s graffiti. He uses spray cans and stencils to spray the way graffiti artists used to do on the wall, but he does it on a canvas or on paper, and then he splashes the paint in the back, all over the piece.” 9/11 20th Anniversary Memorial An unexpectedly moving opportunity arrived this year when the 9/11 Museum
asked Carlton Fine Arts to host an unveiling of a piece by artist Charles Fazzino that was later installed at the museum. Yankee legend Bernie Williams and the Fire and Police Commissioners attended the gallery event. It included a Color Guard ceremony and a performance by the same NYFD singer who performed at the official ceremony. “Singing the national anthem in the gallery and seeing the Color Guard do the ceremony with the flag from the fire department, then the captains speak, it was very touching. I knew it would be a beautiful thing, but when it actually happened, it was very, very special.”
Art Basel Miami Beach Carlton Fine Arts showed at the Hamptons Fine Art Fair in the summer and will be showing at Art Basel Miami in December. They will be featuring one of their newer talents, Chinese multimedia artist Linjie Deng. Deng has made a splash recently with some anti-racial art related to the uptick in attacks on the Asian community in America. “He was mugged, he experienced it, and it was picked up by all the various TV stations,” says Saffati. “And me being Jewish and Hispanic, I’ve experienced racial hate, so that’s one of the reasons I picked him up, because I felt for him, and he had a very good message in his heart.” He added that Deng is also a part of the LGBTQ community, and the gallery featured his work along with other artists and allies in a Pride Month exhibit titled “Queer Art 1950s-2021.” Philanthropy Saffati is very involved with Bikur Cholim, a charity that serves people with illnesses, the poor and the elderly. He’s also active in his synagogue’s Sephardic Center, which is similar to a JCH or YMCA, with locations in both New York and New Jersey. The gallery has also held exhibitions for the Make-AWish Foundation and similar organizations, with a portion of the proceeds going to charity. In his spare time, Saffati plays tennis, and enjoys bike riding and jogging. P carltonfa.com
Trouble In Mind cast 2021, L to R: Jessica Frances Dukes, Don Stephenson, Simon Jones, Chuck Cooper, LaChanze, Michael Zegen, Alex Mickiewicz, Danielle Campbell, Brandon Micheal Hall PHOTO BY MARC J. FRANKLIN
Roundabout Theatre Company Bringing Broadway Back with Trouble in Mind and Caroline, or Change
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BY B E T T Y TAY LO R
s audiences come back around to visiting Broadway, Roundabout Theatre Company has announced their two latest shows, Trouble in Mind, starring Tony and Emmy Award winner LaChanze, and Caroline, or Change, with three-time Olivier Award Winner Sharon D Clarke. Directed by Charles Randolph-Wright, who is known for his diverse directing career in theater, television and film, including the hit Motown the Musical, Trouble in Mind, written by Alice Childress, is running through January 9th, 2022 at American Airlines Theatre. In addition to superstar LaChanze, the rest of this spellbinding cast includes Michael Zegen, Danielle Camp-
bell, Jessica Frances Dukes, Brandon Micheal Hall, Simon Jones, Alex Mickiewicz, Don Stephenson and Chuck Cooper. Roundabout recently conducted an online reading of Childress’ play, Wine in the Wilderness, as part of the company’s multi-year The Refocus Project. Presented in association with Black Theatre United, this initiative spotlights twentieth-century Black plays and their playwrights while educating a new generation of theatregoers. This powerful and thought-provoking play, which originally opened to much fanfare Off-Broadway in 1955, is centered around a Black stage actress going through rehearsals of a major Broadway production. Trouble in Mind takes a captivating and close-up look at racism, ego and identity amidst the world of New York theatre during mid-1950s. Childress’ moving
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Trouble in Mind will finally be brought back to life on Broadway after a 1957 Broadway production of the play, which was at the forefront of both the Civil Rights and feminist movements, never came to be. In addition to starring as Willetta, LaChanze, who appeared in the 2018 production of Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, which earned her a Tony Award nomination for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical, is also a founding member of Black Theatre United. With a mesmerizing mezza soprano voice and equally profound stage presence, LaChanze is known for her portrayal of strong female figures. Since making her dramatic Broadway debut 28 seasons ago in the original production of Once on This Island, she has won a Tony Award for
bringing her role as Celie to life in The Color Purple’s original staging. This A-list actress went on to win an Emmy Award for her captivating performance in the PBS special Handel’s Messiah Rocks. Most recently, this standout star has had a recurring role as Anne in NBC’s The Blacklist, Amazon Prime’s The Underground Railroad, CBS All Access’ hit show The Good Fight and many others. Roundabout’s Creative Director and CEO, Todd Haimes, is helping Broadway come roaring back to life by reintroducing many of the theatre’s most beloved actors, including Michael Zegen. Zegen, who plays Al Manners, originally made his Roundabout debut in the 2012 Underground production of Bad Jews. Broadway is especially burning up with the on-stage fire from Caroline, or Change. Super-
Nasia Thomas, Harper Miles, Nya, Arica Jackson, Sharon D Clarke in 2021 Caroline, or Change. PHOTO BY JOAN MARCUS
star Sharon D Clarke returns to her Olivier Award-winning role as Caroline Thibodeaux at the famed Studio 54. Caroline, or Change features a book and lyrics by Pulitzer Prize winner Tony Kushner, music by Tony Award winner Jeanine Tesori, direction by Michael Longhurst, choreography by Ann Yee, musical supervision by Nigel Lilley and musical direction by Joseph Joubert. In Caroline, or Change, Caroline Thibodeaux is a Black woman working as a maid for a Jewish family in 1963 Louisiana, just as the civil rights movement is taking hold of and transforming America. Sharon D Clarke is an unstoppable and fierce force in this passionately performed production which showcases the same intensity that is at the forefront of today’s most pressing issues when it comes to change. Longhurst directed the play which previously premiered at the Chichester Festival Theatre in June 2017 and is now back with an all-star cast. In addition to receiving the Olivier Award for her last performance of Caroline Thibodeaux, Sharon D Clarke has also been awarded the prestigious recognition for her roles in Death of a Salesman and The Amen Corner. Constantly leaving audiences in awe, Sharon has won addi‘‘A PASSIONATELY tional awards for Ghost the MusiPERFORMED PRODUCTION THAT cal (Manchester Theatre Award), The Life (Offies) and We Will Rock SHOWCASES THE You (WhatsOnStage Award). SAME INTENSITY Known for her television credits in THAT IS AT THE shows including Doctor Who and FOREFRONT OF Holby City, this megastar has won TODAY’S MOST the Black British Theatre Award for PRESSING ISSUES Lifetime Recognition in 2019 as WHEN IT COMES well as an MBE for services to TO CHANGE.’’ drama in 2017. Gabriel Amoroso is officially making his Broadway debut as Noah Gellman. Gabe, who was previously cast as a young Harry Potter in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child but wasn’t able to take the stage due to the citywide shutdown, is ecstatic to take the stage in such a heartfelt and poignant production. Other cast members include Alexander Bello, John Cariani, Joy Hermalyn, Arica Jckson, Tamika Lawrence, Caissie Levy, Nya, Richard Alexander Phillips, Stuart Zagnit and other talents. P roundabouttheatre.org
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Atlas Ocean Voyages The Luxe-adventure Cruise Line Calling All Stylish Thrill-Seekers BY BETTY TAYLOR
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or thrill-seekers who are looking to explore the world in style, Atlas Ocean Voyages has one of the world’s safest, most sustainable, and of course, sleekest ships around. In fact, this self-proclaimed luxury adventure cruise line is the coolest new kid on the luxury travel block in over two decades. Headquartered in South Florida, Atlas Ocean Voyages, which proudly
waves the Portuguese flag of its parent company, is determined to get you to your destination differently than you’ve ever experienced before. This first of its kind cruise brand, which regularly visits remote locations, is now taking their groundbreaking philosophies and ideals to the seas. From hiking the Inca Trail in Peru to learning falconry in Ireland, or traveling from Casablanca to Marrakech atop 4X4’s and camels and glamping under the stars, their exciting excursions are meant to ensure that
you live in the moment for the most memorable experience possible - this is not your grandparents’ cruise line. Aside from city tours aboard motorcoaches, a complimentary land excursion is offered at every port. Atlas continuously aims to take your travel to new - and more exciting heights. The fun doesn’t end when you return to your ship, either. Rather, guests can gather in one of their lounges while recapping their sightseeing and discoveries over a drink. As they like to say - think Apres Ski at sea. “We
encourage our guests to laugh and just have fun,” explains Alberto Aliberti, President of Atlas Ocean Voyages. “We have created a society at sea of like-spirited travelers. Usually, they’re more experienced and slightly younger compared to other luxury lines. Atlas is always trying to create the most unique experiences for our guests.” After a long 19 months, why wait to hit the waterways when you can wake up in this laidback yet luxe line’s first vessel, World Navigator, which launched in August 2021. With popular itineraries, including Antarctica, travelers can check off a few – or all - of their bucket list items. Featuring six general categories of staterooms and suites with high-end bath products and robes, you’ll have all the comforts of home on the high seas. While plans for their floorplans got underway well before COVID-19 changed the world, Atlas Ocean Voyages, whose tagline is ‘small is the new big’ was pandemic proof before there was a pandemic. Each ship only has 98 rooms with less than 196 guests on board. This intimate and safe environment will allow you to leave your worries behind the moment you hit the water. Atlas Ocean Voyages, which is an all-inclusive luxury cruise line - that means roundtrip air travel, prepaid gratuities (no having to split the bill amongst friends), emergency medical evacuation insurance, unlimited soft drinks, wine and beer, entertainment, and enrichment lectures - will be a fleet of five by 2024. When traveling to Antarctica on World Navigator, your adventure begins before you even arrive on your vessel. That’s because Atlas
‘‘AFTER A LONG 19 MONTHS, WHY WAIT TO HIT THE WATERWAYS WHEN YOU CAN WAKE UP IN THIS LAIDBACK YET LUXE LINE’S FIRST VESSEL.’’ Ocean Voyages charters their own private jet to bring guests from Orlando to Ushuaia, Argentina, minimizing exposure to other travelers in foreign airports while maximizing comfort and safety. This also allows for more efficient connections, especially since commercial routes usually require an extended layover in Buenos Aires or Santiago de Chile. Aliberti was also determined to ensure that all guests onboard his ships remain comfortable. While you can easily get stuffed from their regionally influenced cuisine, the atmosphere is anything but stuffy. Staff wear khakis rather than suits and guests can remain ‘cozy chic’. From retro decor which is stylistically chic without taking itself too seriously - think rich, wood walls with light floors and marble - to SeaSpa by L’OCCITANE, the first ever L’OCCITANE spa at sea, World Navigator is both stylish and more importantly, sustainable. The brand goes above and beyond the necessary guidelines in order to be the best cruise line that they can be, both for their guests as well as the planet. They even incorporated a unique hydro jet propulsion
system in addition to each ship’s twin propellers. When the hydro jets are engaged themselves, the vessel can cruise up to 5 knots in almost complete silence. This leads to less stressed fish and more satisfied passengers who can view various sea life a bit longer. Their ships also feature the lowest forward observation bow of any other watercraft called the Water’s Edge, allowing guests to get closer to marine life. This is in addition to consuming the lowest sulfur marine diesel, one of the cleanest fuels available for marine shipping. Atlas Ocean Voyages wants to provide a unique and elevated guest experience. Let’s just say that while everyone else is going to Alaska this summer, they are traveling to the Mediterranean. “We do things which make us distinctive,” explains Aliberti. Though currently sailing Antarctica expeditions, World Navigator will explore the British Isles and Ireland, plus the Norwegian Fjords, Svalbard, Iceland and Greenland, as well as voyage to the Baltic for summer 2022. World Traveller, Atlas’ second ship, which will launch in July of 2022, will sail the Costa del Sol, French Riviera, Adriatic and Greek Isle voyages for her inaugural season. They might go their own way, but Atlas Ocean Voyages, the alternative - or perhaps only - luxury adventure cruise line, always gets to their destination the right way. P atlasoceanvoyages.com
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Saint
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The French Caribbean Haven BY S U C H E TA R AWA L
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ocated in the northeast Caribbean Sea, east of Puerto Rico, the island of St. Martin is a unique destination in more ways than you may know of. Its 37 square miles are shared by the Dutch (Sint Maarten) and the French (Saint-Martin), devoid of country borders, but with distinct languages, currencies and cultures. The highly diverse society lends to a rich gastronomy scene, friendly citizens, and a laid-back atmosphere. The surroundings are marked by 37 beaches dotting the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. It is no surprise then, that St. Martin has been a popular vacation destination for discerning American and European ‘‘PASTEL AND WHITE VARNISHED travelers since the 1950s. You RESORTS AND VILLAS BLEND might, perhaps, catch a glimpse INTO THE LUSH TROPICAL HILLS of celebrities like Diana Ross, ON THE NORTHERN FRENCH SIDE Usher, Alicia Keys, and John OF THE ISLAND.’’ Legend sailing in their mega-yachts or taking refuge at their private beach villas. Pastel and white varnished resorts and villas blend into the lush tropical hills on the northern French side of the island. The most popular area for visitors is Orient Bay Village, home to several sparsely crowded and clothing-optional white sand beaches, cozy familyfriendly cottages and aparthotels, as well as easygoing cafes and international restaurants. At Cul de Sac Bay, you will find the all-inclusive adult-only Secrets St. Martin Resort and Spa that draws inspiration from the island’s stylish Caribbean and European roots to adorn its 258 ocean, marina and mountain view suites. For a more intimate escape, stay at a villa located at the boutique Karibuny Hotel, fitted with personal plunge pools and private boat service. For a longer stay, head to the Lowlands area, known for its secluded beach villas overlooking turquoise waters and lush gardens. Here you can rent a three-to-fifteenbedroom private home, fully endowed with a private butler, concierge and resident caretaker.
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Strung along the limestone bluffs and white sands of Baie Longue is the chic Belmond La Samanna hotel. Here you will find tons of waterfront activities, great tennis, two freshwater pools, two restaurants, and the largest private wine collection (over 15,000 bottles) in the Caribbean. The modern suites and villas are serviced by well-trained staff to address the needs of the pickiest moguls. St. Martin offers tons of land and water activities to propel your desire for adventure. On land, take a guided hike to Pic Paradis, the highest point on the island, or traverse through sugar mill ruins on horseback, a bike or quad. Test your physical abilities on a zip line and obstacle course at Loterie Farm, and reward yourself with a glass of chilled champagne while relaxing by a natural pool. For airborne adrenaline, take a helicopter ride, parasail or skydive. Enjoy a calm day on a yacht sailing to one of the smaller islands. The clear waters at Tintamarre and Creole Rock are idyllic for swimming, snorkeling and sunbathing. And
the uninhabited Ilet Pinel has a full-service beach club with two restaurants, equipment rentals and a water taxi service. In the afternoon, appreciate a stunning Caribbean sunset from the water. Spend a few hours exploring the capital of Marigot, with its bustling Marina Port La Royale, duty-free shopping along rue de la République and rue de la Liberté, open-air markets selling beach wraps and souvenirs, and ceramic and hand-painted murals depicting the island life. Climb up to Fort St. Louis for a breathtaking panoramic view. Take a break at a patisserie for pain au chocolate and café noisette or try traditional journey cakes and guavaberry rum at a lolo (low-cost outdoor eatery). Learn how to blend your favorite fragrance to create a custom perfume with your own label, at Tijon in Grand Case. St. Martin’s extraordinary blend of cultures makes it the culinary capital of the Caribbean. While you can find a wide variety of cuisine ranging from Italian, German, Indian, Haitian, and Franco-Caribbean food here,
the island has some of the finest French food and wine in this part of the world. The Caribbean’s famous restaurant row in Grand Case stretches along a narrow beach overlooking Anguilla. There’s everything from lobster BBQ on the beach, Caribbean-style chicken curry (Scooby’s), cod fritters and creole red snapper (Villa Royale), to escargots (Ocean 82 by the Sea), and foie gras and caviar, paired with imported French wines. The semi-circle plaza, La Place Du Village, has several dinner options and live music. Celebrated chef Bastian
(trained by Joêl Robuchon in France) offers tasting menus at Villa Hibiscus’s casual and unpretentious home environment, overlooking the valley. Celebrity chefs were drawn to St. Martin for its first annual Festival De La Gastronomie in November 2021. Discovery menus, culinary competitions, cooking classes and charity gala dinners gave local and visiting diners an opportunity to explore the best of the island’s cooking. Michelinstarred chef Laurent Huguet, French food influencer Herve Cuisine, and Tristen Epps from Red Rooster Overtown in Miami, inspired the students at the Danielle Jeffry vocational high school to pursue a career in culinary arts. Francophiles will love to spend a few days in St. Martin, but its prime location makes it easy to islandhop to neighboring Saba, St. Barts, and Anguilla. Board a ferry or rent a sailing charter to extend your vacation and experience the different sceneries and cultures around the Caribbean. P st-martin.org
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Anguilla AFTER THE WEAR AND TEAR OF SUCCESS, THERE IS
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nguilla is a jewel in the Caribbean’s crown. It is an island that has consistently earned praise from visitors and recognition from celebrities. The government’s stringent entry protocols have been extraordinarily successful, resulting in low Covid incidence and high vaccination rates among the resident population making Anguilla one of the safest destinations in the region. Traveling to Anguilla is easy. Some visitors arrive directly on the island by private jet. As of December 11, American Airlines will offer twice-weekly, non-stop service to Anguilla from Miami into Anguilla’s International Airport, and starting January 5, 2022, three flights a week will operate year-round. Other visitors connect over Sint Maarten, for a 6-minute flight or a 20-minute ferry ride to the island. Regardless of how you get to Anguilla, this picturesque island, all of sixteen miles from end to end, boasts thirty-three pristine beaches, considered among the finest in the world. In my visit I thought about the difference between Anguilla and other Caribbean islands. I concluded that for me, it was the laid back, barefoot elegance and the friendliness of her people. Anguilla is a cas-
ual and convivial place, by-passed by the big-box resorts that dominate the Caribbean. Today, there are 6 global, luxury brands that have chosen Anguilla as their destination of choice, carefully located, ensuring that the island still feels untouched by commercialism. In addition to her spectacular beaches and endless watersports, a world class tennis facility, a Greg Norman designed signature 18-hole Championship golf course, Moke and ATV rentals are among the many pursuits available for visitors to this island paradise. Anguilla boasts an incredible selection of luxury villas that attract multi-generational families or groups of friends traveling together, enjoying the seclusion of these fully staffed homes, many on the beach, with service that is sure to satisfy the most discerning guest. These villas are privately owned, some by captains of industry, others by bold face names, all with the most innovative architecture and superbly appointed. Some may feature classic Caribbean décor, while others are modern and minimalist, but they are all warm and inviting. The people of Anguilla take pride in sharing their
‘‘TRENDY BEACH BARS FLOURISH ON THE NECKLACE OF WHITE SAND THAT SURROUNDS THE ISLAND, WITH DELICIOUSLY INTOXICATING COCKTAILS, AND EXCEPTIONAL AMBIENCE.’’
island with visitors and you will be touched by their hospitality. Their love of cricket and boat racing is matched only by their enthusiasm and their ardor for food and festivals. Once you have sampled the fine dining at your resort or villa, be sure to visit the local restaurants, all offering delicacies and colorful fusions to tickle your palate. Sea to table and farm to table cuisine are the hallmarks of the Anguillian culinary scene. Trendy beach bars flourish on the necklace of white sand that surrounds the island, with deliciously intoxicating cocktails, and exceptional ambience. Blue skies, sunshine and balmy sea breezes create the ideal environment for restoration and relaxation. If you are staying in a villa, a masseuse can ease your tension with healing hands. Looking to host a yoga retreat or hire an instructor to lead practice on the sugary sands? Both are readily available. These services are also available at resorts. With Shoal Bay as your backdrop, and birdsong as the soundtrack, unwind in an authentic Thai House offering Taino-inspired massages and facials. Other resorts with on-site spas provide salt scrubs, aroma-
therapy treatments, and healing rituals, just a fraction of an exhaustive list. Whichever option you choose, you are sure to feel rejuvenated. Anguilla is not a ‘swinging from the chandeliers’ kind of island, but a good time will be had by all. Children can make sandcastles and splash in the sea, while parents and grandparents keep a watchful eye, rum punch in hand. Teenagers might enjoy kitesurfing, horseback riding, or stand-up paddle boarding. Anguilla’s offshore cays, Prickly Pear and Sandy Island, are a crayfish lover’s paradise, and a snorkeler’s dream. Charter a boat to take the family on a high seas adventure, or marvel at marine life on board a glass bottom boat. When the children have retired, a doting nanny can watch them while the adults head out for a night of live music. The next day, visit local art galleries and indulge in retail therapy. Whether you are going for the first or one-hundredth time, Anguilla is sure to leave a lasting impression. As their tourism slogan boasts, Anguilla is Beyond Extraordinary. P visitanguilla.com
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YATCO
The World’s Largest Online Market Place for Buying & Selling Yachts BY BENNETT MARCUS
Listing: $50 billion In Yachts “Do what you love” is the recipe for success cited by some of the world’s most accomplished people, from Maya Angelou to Steve Jobs. That’s how Steven Myers turned his lifelong passion for boating into YATCO, the official MLS and sole online service dedicated exclusively to yacht and boat listings by qualified professionals. A digital marketplace for more than 20 years, YATCO has over $50 billion in new and used yachts always listed for sale and supports more than 2,000 professional brokers around the globe. Think of it as the Zillow or Realtor.com of the boating industry. “We’re offering the same thing for the yachting industry,” says Myers. “We are the only platform dedicated to true central listings. The moment any big yacht in the world goes up for sale, it will go into our system.” Then all the professionals in the industry will get alerts that that vessel is now for sale, and they can present that inventory to their client base. Link: https://www.yatco.com/
Steven Myers
Expanded Offerings: Builders, Charters, Consumers, Smaller Boats The company has expanded and now allows boat builders to present their offerings. “On our platform, you can see, for example, who is building a vessel between $10 and $20 million, in a certain category and region, Europe, Asia, or the U.S.,” Myers says. They’ve also recently expanded the service to offer yachts for charter globally, an area that has never had a central source provided by the industry. “Previously, you had to go to one representative to find any charter for sale, and we’re now opening that up so that you can find, in real-time, what’s available, with a calendaring system, so that you can say, ‘I want these two weeks on the Italian Riviera. What’s available?’” Consumer Friendly Traditionally a source for industry professionals, YATCO has now opened its platform to consumers. The site gets millions of visits and already has about 150,000 registered users. As with real estate, if you inquire about a listing, you are contacting a licensed broker who has been contracted to sell the vessel. A recent acquisition in Australia, YachtandBoat.com, has doubled the company’s inventory, and encompassed the Asia Pacific region. That site also focuses on smaller boats, not only yachts. With that combination, it allows us to really expand our reach worldwide and cover from the smallest boat, whether it’s a tender or a little runabout, all the way up to the world’s
biggest superyachts,” says Myers. Link: https://www. yachtandboat.com/ Pandemic Yacht Boom Yacht sales worldwide have boomed during the pandemic; prices are up and inventory is way down. “It’s one of the best family activities you could do throughout Covid; you get on your boat, you’re isolated, you’re contained,” says Myers. As a result, private ownership has exploded, as has private use of vessels, because people are apprehensive about being in a hotel, while a yacht provides an isolated environment with a dedicated crew. Boating life Myers grew up boating on the Chesapeake Bay in his family’s small Sea Ray-style boat. Over the years, he got jobs cleaning boats and sport fishing on charters out of the Maryland coastline. After graduating from Penn State, followed by a program at the University of Nice in France, and another at Wharton, Myers worked for Habitat for Humanity. “I was interested in saving the world, so to speak, as a fresh college grad,” he says. Viking Yacht Company He soon realized that his passion for yachting had been displaced and, at age 22, accepted an offer from the Viking Yacht Company to take over their inventory in Nice, France. Because of a 10% luxury tax that was later repealed, Myers saw Viking go from 1,400 employees to 40 and eventually back to over 1,000. Viking grew exponentially, and it seemed like every time he sold a boat, he saw another hundred cars in the parking lot. Providing jobs, Myers realized, is another way of helping people; he could make a difference doing what he loves. “I never looked back and have been building my career around the yachting industry ever since.” Traveling to boat shows around the world, he eventually saw the inefficiencies in the market and decided to create an online platform to connect retailers. Industry associations were supportive, and he launched YATCO in 2000. Angelina Jolie, Bill Clinton; family Through charity events involving the yachting industry, he attended Elton John’s Oscars party and met VIPS including Bill Clinton, Angelina Jolie, Denzel Washington and Brad Pitt. A big proponent of international travel, Myers tries to expose his two college-age children to different cultures as often as possible. A recent trip took them to 11 countries, including China, Singapore, Tokyo, New Zealand, and Australia. They did not travel by yacht, but they managed to go boating in just about every place on their itinerary. “That’s one of the advantages of having been in the yachting industry for 30 years,” he says, laughing. “Any port in the world I go to, I know someone with a boat that I can go on.” P yatco.com
REAL ESTATE
Candela &Jackie O. A MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN
BY MICHAEL GROSS
IT’S BEEN A PRINCESS OF WALES FALL, thanks to Kristen Stewart, the Duke and Duchess of Montecito and CNN (Breaking News! Diana!), but don’t let it be forgot that once this was the spot where America’s Queen of Camelot grew up and returned to live out her last three decades. Does Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis still matter in a world fixated on dysfunctional royals and hyped-up “reality” and TikTok celebrities? A world where Old Masters get dusty while hedge funders get lusty over the latest name in art, condos are worth far more than coops and substance is trumped by surface? She should. So, here’s to a first rate First Lady, to elegance, understatement and restraint, to speaking in whispers, persuasively, and to planting roots in the center of the world. It’s never not Jackie time here.
An Introduction to NYC Real Estate at the Turn of the 20th Century A brief lesson in New York living arrangements is in order. Throughout the 1920s, developers began putting up buildings like 740 Park (and 1040 5th) full of grand apartments with the proportions of fine, freestanding homes—mansions stacked one atop the other, designed as suitable replacements for the private homes that had led society’s march uptown and become obsolete within a single generation. In the middle of the nineteenth century, Manhattan’s social elite, the Knickerbockers, who were descendants of the original Dutch settlers of New York, the English colonists who followed them and finally, the American revolutionaries who tossed the English out, went to bed at night exclusively in private houses. The location of those homes had moved inexorably uptown over the years. In the eighteenth century, the city’s genteel residential district was a tiny enclave at the southern tip of Manhattan island; south of Chambers Street, clustered around Trinity Church and St Paul’s church, lower Broadway, Bowling Green, and the Battery. Driven north by fire and yellow fever epidemics, social life first alighted in what is now Tribeca, in the 1830s, skittered east to a new district surrounding the intersection of Lafayette Place and Bond Street
From 740 Park: The Story of the World’s Richest Apartment Building, Courtesy Steven Candela
REAL ESTATE
4 | parkmagazineny.com
MANHATTAN RETURN BY CHRISTOPHER PAPE
in today’s NoHo. It was eighty more years before the town-home era ended, years in which new money poured into New York faster than derogatory names for the arrivistes could be coined. New York absorbed its outer boroughs in 1898 and was inching toward a new role as a world-class city, second only to London, and beginning to reach for the sky. Nothing was permanent in this new New York, least of all living arrangements; the famous skyline was created as thousands of new apartment buildings and grand new office and public buildings rose in Manhattan and redefined fashionable life. The east side of Central Park was dubbed the city’s emerging “aristocratic residential section” in 1906 by the Real Estate Record, which also pointed out that thanks to Park Avenue’s width, it was well suited to large buildings.
Candela: An Italian Master Conquers Manhattan Born in Sicily in 1890, Rosario Candela, the son of a plasterer, came to the United States at nineteen, somehow gained entrance to Columbia’s School of Architecture, and graduated in 1915. Christopher Gray, the leading historian of New York real estate, reported that Candela was already so sure of his talents that he placed a velvet rope around his drafting table to keep other students from copying his work. “He really was a genius,” says his granddaughter Jackie Candela. “He was very arrogant and knew his talents.” Candela began his career working for several fellow Italians, Michael Paterno and Anthony Campagna, the most significant luxury apartment-house developers of the time. Candela started small, with apart-
Years later, after becoming the most glamorous First Lady in American history, after the birth of her two wonderful children and the horrifying assassination of her husband, John Fitzpatrick Kennedy, Jackie O. returned to Manhattan. Just like in her youth, she lived in a sprawling Candela apartment, this time at 1040 Fifth Avenue. Designed by Candela the year after 740 Park in 1930, 1040 5th was and continues to be one of the most sought-after addresses in New York City. Towering seventeen floors above Central Park, there are only 27 apartments, some occupying full floors and/or duplexes. Its architecture, with Candela’s famous approach for asymmetry and large windows, makes 1040 one of the most recognizable buildings in Manhattan. Yet, it is most famous as the home of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis; in fact, she purchased and moved into 1040 only one year after JFK’s assassination. She bought the apartment, located on the 15th floor, in 1964 for $250,000. After her death in 1994, the apartment was sold to David Koch and his wife for $9.5 million. He subsequently gut renovated it for a cost of over $10 million, but later moved to a larger apartment in 740 Park, claiming the 1040 home was too small for him and his family, even though the apartment had four bedrooms, two dressing rooms, staff quarters, library, living room, dining room, conservatory, wine room, three fireplaces, five and a half bathrooms and two terraces.
REAL ESTATE
‘‘THE INEVITABLE TREND TOWARD TALLER APARTMENT BUILDINGS ON PARK AVENUE PLAYED TO CANDELA’S STRENGTHS.’’
Ron Galella Captures His Mona Lisa BY MICHAEL GROSS
ment houses on the West Side of Manhattan, but in the mid1920s, with two dozen completed buildings on his resume and the economy bubbling like fine champagne, he began planning the building that would become, half a century later, the most lust-inspiring real estate in the world. The inevitable trend toward taller apartment buildings on Park Avenue played to Candela’s strengths. He discovered he was an expert at fitting different sized-and-shaped apartments together like puzzle pieces inside his buildings. His early architectural efforts were mostly flat-topped and sedate. Then a landmark zoning law passed in 1916 allowed buildings to rise higher if they incorporated setbacks – a requirement that above a certain height, buildings be set back a certain distance from where their walls stood at street level so that light and fresh air would reach streets and neighboring buildings that would otherwise be submerged in darkness. By varying the lines of these setback buildings, urban planners created the jagged, vertical modern skyline and gave the Jazz Age and Manhattan their visual signatures. The first great co-op sales record was set at Candela’s 950 Fifth Avenue, built by Anthony Campagna, which opened in 1928. A jigsaw puzzle of one-and-two-story apartments, it contained one especially sparkling gem - the apartment of a widower, Dr. Preston Pope Satterwhite, with a dining room and library each thirty feet long flanking double-height fiftyeight-foot-long living room that contained a crisscrossing double staircase up to Satterwhite’s bedroom, which had a balcony overlooking the grand parlor. Nine Sixty Fifth was the first of a Babe Ruthian string of home runs for Candela. In 1929, 720 Park Avenue was com-
A
gesliaus II, the King of Sparta in the 5th Century B.C., was surely never confronted by a paparazzo, but he was the first person in recorded history to cite the most important elements of success in that field. “It is circumstance and proper timing,” he wrote, “that give an action its character and make it either good or bad.” Ron Galella, like all paparazzi, has benefited from good luck and timing. But what makes him singular, not just part of the flash-lit crowd outside red-carpeted events and subterranean nightspots, is what also makes him more than a mere pap. Alongside luck and timing, Galella has maximum skill and resolve. And it’s those traits that raise his character and make it good, distinguishing him from the churning shoal of pirhana. The result is photo-journalism with staying power. The pictures make that plain. The fine gradations that separate photographers are not often as clear as the focus on the subjects of their photos. The same is true of print journalists. I
started my career writing puff-pieces about rockstars, slow wet kisses, as they were sometimes called, about idols, for fans. In mid-career, I turned to what are known as write-arounds, deeply reported stories about the most public figures who felt they could and should control their images, how others saw them. I always felt my writearounds were more revealing and interesting than my previous idolatry. In celebrity photography, where Galella excels, there is a similar dichotomy. Some photographers make authorized portraits, often plotted out in advance with subjects and their handlers, or else submit their photos for approval, with the subject given the right to say This one not That one. Others, notably the party photographers whose work is so ubiquitous in today’s culture of controlled voyeurism, only shoot with permission, and strive to make their subjects look as good as possible, in order to
ensure they are invited back to shoot the next party, preferably exclusively. Not Galella. As you can see in some of his most iconic photos, as when the restaurateur Elaine Kauffman, proprietress of the defunct but legendary sleb saloon Elaine’s, was caught in the flash of a strobe, trying to whack his camera (or him) with a garbage can lid. Or when the youngish Mick Jagger flipped Ron the bird, as Jerry Hall, unperturbed, posed, a picture-perfect supermodel, beside him. Galella has stones; he didn’t flinch, he got the shot. And he also has a sense of humor, as made manifest in the photo of him in a football helmet, stalking a Jor-elera Marlon Brando. That quality is present, too, in his posed shot of Ringo Starr and Peter Sellers, cocooned in sleeping bags on the set of the 1969 film The Magic Christian. It’s one of the surprises in his ouevre. And it’s a great picture, like so many others
Galella has taken of cooperative members of the famous-or-infamous set, but to me, it’s not as revealing as those grabbed, snatched, hunted, yes, even stalked. It’s the difference between shooting a bird in a well-stocked game park where killing is a fixed game, and bagging prey in the wild. I don’t like hunting, but hope you get my point. And yes, paparazzi have arguably been lethal. But not Galella. Consider his photograph of Diana, The Princess of Wales. It humanizes her (Royals! They’re just like us!); it doesn’t exploit. Ron call “Windswept Jackie” his Mona Lisa,. I suspect Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis secretly liked it, despite their public battles. “Let Mr. Galella take as many pictures as he wants,” a Secret Service agent once ordered, after their court battles, and, tellingly after conferring with her. The world’s a visually richer place because he did.
REAL ESTATE
“I LIVED IN NEW YORK CITY UNTIL I WAS THIRTEEN. I HATED DOLLS, LOVED DOGS AND HORSES, AND HAD SKINNED KNEES AND BRACES ON MY TEETH.’’ Jackie O.
pleted. That year the Times predicted that 1929 would be “the greatest of all building construction years,” and a new multiple-dwelling law went into effect in New York, allowing apartment houses to rise to nineteen stories. In a mere eight months, Candela would design and file plans for six more buildings - 740, 770, 778, and 1220 Park Avenue and 834 and 1040 Fifth Avenue - that are “the most magnificent assemblage of extraordinary apartments ever produced by any architect,” according to Andrew Alpern, “the final display of fireworks before the Depression descended.” Candela’s innovations, listed singly, may seem mundane, but they added up to something extraordinary. As the architectural designer David Netto has noted, Candela thickened walls to hide columns, structural framing, plumbing risers, and building mechanical systems. In his buildings, protruding radiators disappeared beneath deep windows, and rooms and windows were re-proportioned, “endowing [them] with a feeling of greater space and balance.” The architect Donald Wrobleski, who has made a lifetime study of Candela, praises his use of visual axes, diagonals that “produce a panoramic view upon entering” a Candela apartment. “This gives complete orientation of the sort that one might expect in a great country house,” Wrobleski writes. Thanks to Candela’s genius, windows are perfectly framed in doorways, daylight is maximized throughout, and not only the public rooms but also the hidden sleeping quarters on the second floor of the
duplexes are immediately perceived as elements of an integrated whole. Yet uncannily, privacy is maintained. Jackie O: A Candela Girl There were two blessed events in James T. Lee’s family in the summer of 1929. A granddaughter Jacqueline Lee Bouvier, Janet and Black Jack’s first child was born on July 28, 1929. A few days in early August, the 740 Park Avenue Corporation (where Jackie was raised) was born. The handsomely printed prospectus for 740 Park made Lee’s audacity clear. He’d set out to build a stack of mansions, four triplex mansionettes and another twenty grand duplex apartments…it was a beehive of apartments , each fit for its own queen. Candela proposed (and built) a 506-room fortress occupying twentytwo thousand square feet covering half a block on Park Avenue and most of Seventy-First Street. Jackie and Lee (Jackie’s younger sister) had a blissful life, doted on by servants in a Park Avenue apartment, each with her own room and a playroom besides. “I lived in New York City until I was thirteen,” Jackie later recalled. “I hated dolls, loved dogs and horses, and had skinned knees and braces on my teeth for what must have seemed an interminable length of time to my family. I read a lot when I was little, much of which was too old for me. There were Chekhov and Shaw in the room where I had to take naps and I never slept but sat on the windowsill reading, then scrubbed the soles of my feet so the nurse would not see that I was out of bed.” P
Adapted from “740 Park” by Michael Gross. Copyright © 2005 by Idee Fixe Ltd. Published by Broadway Books, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Jackie O. at the Met Gala
REAL ESTATE
A ONE-OF-A-KIND PROPERTY,
YONE WILL WANT IT.
UALLY, A BEAUTIFUL PROPERTY S A BEAUTIFUL AND
TEGIC MARKETING PLAN.
omes are so unique that they deserve
ctive showcase. Eight times a year
Mastery of the Craft
Harris Stevens publishes Exceptional
tial Properties, a publication devoted to
able listings across our regions and
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ide. Inserted into the Sunday New York Times,
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Mastery OF THE Craft
I
The Campaign Behind the New Brown Harris Stevens
YOU’RE THINKING PO OL, PATIO, PARTIES. WE’RE THINKING TERMS, CONTINGENCIES, AND LATE-STAGE PANIC.
A talented agent is always thinking three steps ahead. And talent is what you need today in the complex world of getting a high-stakes transaction to closing. Time and again, the agents of Brown Harris Stevens show why they are one of the Top 10 Power Brokerages in the country.
Mastery OF THE Craft
BY A S H L E Y B R E N N A N
n June of 2020, the real estate world was stunned when Halstead became part of Brown Harris Stevens. While both were known industry giants owned by Terra Holdings, each firm held specific strengths. Brown Harris Stevens - a legacy brand with offices in NYC, South Florida, and the Hamptons - has commanded the luxury market since it was founded in 1873. Halstead, a much younger, larger firm, had strong roots in the New York Tri-state area and won numerous awards for innovative marketing and technology strategies. As the pandemic loomed large and many businesses were forced to shutter or sell off to larger operations, Brown Harris Stevens was tasked with redefining itself.
To outsiders, Brown Harris Stevens and Halstead might make for a strange marriage but the two firms are both built upon the same theme: Real estate is serious business, and it takes a mastery of the craft - agents with a command of every nuanced detail of the transaction - to be successful in this fast-paced, emotional process. Combined, the two firms were unstoppable: Brown Harris Stevens currently has the #1 highest average sales price per agent in the nation, each agenta possesses an average of 23 years of experience, and 2021 was shaping up to be the best year in the firm’s nearly 150-year history. Driven by Brown Harris Stevens’ Chief Marketing Officer Matthew Leone and the 50+ in-house marketing team, in partnership with renowned boutique creative strategy firm
AgencySacks, the Mastery of the Craft campaign came to life over the next 12 months. The campaign combines Brown Harris Stevens’ unmatched history of leadership in the luxury market and the distinctive skills required to meet modern real estate demands while tackling real-life challenges portrayed in a series of lifestyle ads. The campaign incorporates media across print, digital, video, TV, streaming services, outdoor and social platforms and will run through October 2022. “Mastery of the Craft showcases the skills of YOU’RE THINKING HOMEBUYING today’s BHS agents and executives as well as IS SIMPLE TODAY — our incredible array of properties across the EVERYTHING’S ONLINE. East Coast,” explained Leone. “We are presenting a picture of all the necessary components neededGY for aCAN modern brokerage to TECHNOLO SURVEY succeed - from experience and knowledge to THE MARKET, BUT IT CAN’T CLOSE THE DEAL. Technology has changed the way we look for homes.
IT’S A ONE-OF-A-KIND PROPERTY, EVERYONE WILL WANT IT.
ACTUALLY, A BEAUTIFUL PROPERTY NEEDS A BEAUTIFUL AND STRATEGIC MARKETING PLAN.
Some homes are so unique that they deserve a distinctive showcase. Eight times a year Brown Harris Stevens publishes Exceptional Residential Properties, a publication devoted to
‘‘AT BHS, LUXURY IS NOT ABOUT PRICE; IT’S ABOUT SERVICE. OUR STAFF, AGENTS, AND CLIENTS ARE FROM ALL WALKS OF LIFE AND THIS IS WHAT WE AIM TO EMPHASIZE IN OUR FIRST AD CAMPAIGN AS ONE UNIFIED COMPANY.”
remarkable listings across our regions and around the world offered through BHS Partnering
YOU’RE THINKING PO OL, PATIO, PARTIES.
Worldwide. Inserted into the Sunday New York Times, it reaches a key affluent readership — one important
WE’RE THINKING TERMS, CONTINGENCIES, AND LATE-STAGE PANIC.
step in a beautiful marketing plan.
A talented agent is always thinking three steps ahead. And talent is what you need today in the complex world of getting a high-stakes transaction to closing. Time and again, the agents of Brown Harris Stevens show why they are one of the Top 10 Power Brokerages in the country.
Mastery OF THE Craft
Mastery OF THE Craft
IT’S A ONE-OF-A-KIND PROPERTY, EVERYONE WILL WANT IT. BEFORE THE CHAMPAGNE,
BEFORE THE ACTUALLY, A BEAUTIFUL PROPERTY MOVING VAN,
NEEDS A BEAUTIFUL AND
STRATEGIC MARKETING PLAN.
Some homes are so unique that they deserve a distinctive showcase. Eight times a year YOU’RE THINKING PO OL, PATIO, PARTIES.
Brown Harris Stevens publishes Exceptional
YOU’RE THINKING HOMEBUYING IS SIMPLE TODAY — EVERYTHING’S ONLINE. TECHNOLO GY CAN SURVEY THE MARKET, BUT IT CAN’T CLOSE THE DEAL.
Residential Properties, a publication devoted to remarkable listings across our regions and
THINK YOUR around the world offered throughYOU BHS Partnering WE’RE THINKING TERMS, CONTINGENCIES, AND LATE-STAGE PANIC.
THERE ARE DISCLOSURES, COVENANTS & CONDITIONS, AND GENERALIZED BUYER/SELLER ANGST.
HOME IS THE BEST LO OKING ON THE
Worldwide. Inserted into the Sunday New York Times,
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step in a beautiful marketing plan.
Technology has changed the way we look for homes.
THE ART OF UPDATING But there is no technology for bringing buyer, seller, YOU’RE THINKING PO OL, PATIO, PARTIES. A HOME TO SELL. attorneys, and bankers together at the closing table. That takes a smart agent who knows the craft and WE’RE THINKING TERMS, CONTINGENCIES, AND LATE-STAGE PANIC. is armed with the software to pull up listings, comps, historical analytics, forecasting tools, and more.
YOU THINK YOUR HOME IS THE BEST LO OKING ON THE BLO CK. BUT YOU’RE NOT SELLING TO YOU.
A talented agent is always thinking three steps ahead. And talent is what you need today in
THE ART OF UPDATING A HOME TO SELL.
the complex world of getting a high-stakes transaction to closing. Time and again, the agents of Brown Harris Stevens show why they are one of the Top 10 Power Brokerages in the country.
Mastery OF THE Craft
Mastery OF THE Craft Tastes change, styles come and go. Curate by BHS is a (physical and digital) home preparation service created to maximize a home’s value and minimize time on market by doing updates and staging, as needed. No upfront costs make it a smart way to add value while paying for it after the sale.
Mastery OF THE Craft
Mastery OF THE Craft
YOU’RE THINKING HOMEBUYING IS SIMPLE TODAY — EVERYTHING’S ONLINE. TECHNOLO GY CAN SURVEY THE MARKET, BUT IT CAN’T CLOSE THE DEAL. Technology has changed the way we look for homes. But there is no technology for bringing buyer, seller, attorneys, and bankers together at the closing table. That takes a smart agent who knows the craft and is armed with the software to pull up listings, comps,
YOU THINK YOUR HOME IS THE BEST LO OKING ON
historical analytics, forecasting tools, and more.
THE BLO CK. BUT YOU’RE NOT SELLING TO YOU. THE ART OF UPDATING A HOME TO SELL.
Tastes change, styles come and go. Curate by BHS is a (physical and digital) home preparation service created to maximize a home’s value and minimize time on market by doing updates and staging, as needed. No upfront costs make it a smart way to add value while paying for it after the sale.
Mastery OF THE Craft
powerful marketing and imagery, to a global network of best-in-class agents and properties. This is a proud next era for the new Brown Harris Stevens and helps to differentiate our unique offering in a very noisy space.” Although the campaign is companywide, imagery and messaging are designed to celebrate each unique region BHS serves including NYC, the Hamptons, Miami, Palm Beach, Connecticut, New Jersey, and the Hudson Valley. The campaign was photographed and directed by portrait photographer Jason Madara with cinematography by Nick Kormapilis. .“Real estate can be an incredibly complex process and great agents possess a mastery of this highly nuanced journey. At BHS, luxury is not about price; it’s about service. Our staff,
Mastery OF THE Craft
agents, and clients are from all walks of life and this is what we aim to emphasize in our first ad campaign as one unified company,” said Bess Freedman, CEO. Mastery of the Craft ads will appear in premium magazines and papers including The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Architectural Digest, Vanity Fair and local/ regional publications in each market. There will also be out-of-home ads including NYC digital taxi tops, NYC/Miami outdoor bus shelters, NYC/South Florida airport ads, billboards, train station platforms, and cause-based marketing events. For the first time, Brown Harris Stevens will air commercials across television and Hulu streaming channels. The new ad campaign follows a long list of new marketing initiatives introduced at Brown
Harris Stevens including: Refreshed brownharrisstevens.com website with new chat functionality, search options, and aesthetics. Exceptional Residential Properties print insert in the New York Times and online. Updated BHSNow blog which offers exclusive content created by an in-house team of marketing professionals and outside authors. Features include design trends, neighborhood profiles, in-depth property stories, events, company news, and more. Curate by BHS, a pre-market home staging service; and Bridge Loans, a loan program covering the gap for those selling a current home and buying a new home. P bhsusa.com/mastery.
REAL ESTATE
Lisa Lippman Don’t Overlook the Value of NYC Co-ops and Location Location Location !!! A DV I C E F R O M # 1 B R OW N H A R R I S S T E V E N S AG E N T L I S A L I P P M A N
I
n real estate headlines, condo-rich new developments get all the love. After all, these shiny structures consistently attract wealthy and celebrity buyers, defy architectural norms and forever change the NYC skyline. With fabulous amenities, compelling financial offerings, and fresh aesthetics, these buildings are built for buzz. However, when it comes to holding value and superlative location, co-ops give their newer, flashier competitors a run for their money. Before I jump into why cooperatives should be on your radar, let’s explore the basics. New York City’s housing inventory is roughly 75% co-ops, even though more condominiums are typically on the market at any given time. When purchasing a condo, your apartment belongs to you. When you buy a co-op, you are buying shares in a corporation - your building. Buying shares enables you to occupy a unit in the co-op building. When you close on a condo, you receive a deed; when you close on a co-op, you’ll receive a proprietary lease. In condos, you’ll pay monthly common charges and taxes, while in cooperatives you’ll pay monthly maintenance fees. Of course, buying into a co-op requires that you obtain board approval which is a lengthy and often complex process,
but it’s worth it if you meet the financial requirements and are not in a rush to close. An experienced agent will help you through the entire process. Because cooperatives are structured as corporations and decisions are made by board members, they are able to retain their value much more consistently than condos. Overall, co-ops are less expensive than condominiums and occupy some of the greatest real estate in New York City, particularly across Central Park West and Fifth Avenue. Think of the Dakota, The San Remo, The Beresford, and 993 Fifth among others -- all of these buildings offer such a unique New York lifestyle and location that they are unphased by economic downturns. In contrast, new developments are often in less desirable locations, their value is tied to market volatility, and they cost a lot more. According to the most recent Brown Harris Stevens Manhattan market report, the average co-op resale price was $1.3M; in new condos, the average sale price was $2.9M! Don’t get me wrong - new developments offer a certain way of life that appeals to many people, but I think it’s time serious buyers take the value proposition of co-ops seriously. After all, co-ops offer iconic architecture, history, unbeatable location, compelling prices, and some of the most prized park-side views in the world. Financial requirements may be more stringent, and some boards are more notorious than others, but co-ops are safe investments that stand the test of time and make for incredible homes. P bhsusa.com/real-estate-agent/lisa-lippman
YIN - YANG
AN EXHIBITION OF ARTWORKS BY LINJIE DENG
www.carltonfa.com/
Instagram: @linjie_deng
REAL ESTATE
ince joining RXR Realty in 2015, Ryan Lee, 28, has been responsible for transacting over $15 billion in investment activity at the firm. A First Vice President on the Investments Team at RXR, a vertically integrated real estate company, Lee focuses on executing equity and debt investments across all types of asset classes, from office to industrial to retail and residential. Amazon Of the numerous deals that many would consider a career highlight, one standout is the 1 million-square-foot, multi-story, high-
Real estate wunderkind After graduating with high distinction from the University of Michigan’s prestigious Stephen M. Ross School of Business, he jumpstarted his career at RXR as an intern. A few months into the job another employee left, and Lee was promoted to a full-time analyst. Within seven years he went on to become a Vice President at 25, and later, a First Vice President at 26. That trajectory directly into real estate investment and acquisition is even more remarkable given RXR’s reputation as a blue-chip company highly sought after by the industry’s brightest talents. Commercial Observer’s top 30 In 2021, Lee was named one of Commercial Observer’s top 30 national real estate professionals in finance and equity under 35 years old. The publication also featured him as this year’s “Day in the Life” honoree, documenting his typical daily routine, from early morning gym session through the workday and into evening’s extracurricular activities.
Ryan Lee
Philanthropy Lee plays an active role on the Board of Governors of the Young Men’s/Women’s BY B E N N E T T M A R C U S Real Estate Association of New York (YM/WREA), among the city’s most tech, logistics facility custom-built for prestigious professional groups. In addition Amazon in Queens. Lee has been involved in to networking opportunities, Lee the deal throughout the process, acquiring participates in YM/WREA’s charitable and the raw land in 2018, developing it, and community outreach efforts. bringing it to Amazon. Recently, he helped negotiate a deal to sell an interest in the Cycle for Survival project to a few investors. One recent Saturday he helped to Over the past year alone Lee spearheaded rehabilitate a community center in Coney $3 billion in transactions, a very high volume, Island that offers educational programs for especially coming out of the pandemic. In at-risk youth and families. Last spring, the addition to the Amazon project, this year’s group donned rubber gloves and filled trash deals included a 2,000-unit multifamily bags cleaning up Madison Square Park, and portfolio throughout New Jersey and later did a similar cleanup on streets Pennsylvania, a 3,600-unit self-storage throughout various parts of Brooklyn. Other portfolio in the New York metropolitan area, recent charitable endeavors included a Cycle and a 2 million-square-foot, state-of-the-art for Survival to raise funds for cancer distribution center in Brooklyn. research, blood drives, and fixing up a
Real Estate’s Rising Young Star
community garden with Rebuilding Together NYC. These outdoor programs enabled YM/WREA to continue to serve the community throughout the pandemic. Habitat for Humanity They’ve also worked with Habitat for Humanity and Crossroads Community, and the group holds an annual “Operation Backpack” program in which they pack backpacks with all necessary school supplies for underprivileged youth. Lee is on the Young Leaders Group (YLG) Committee for the Urban Land Institute of New York (ULI) and is a member of the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY). A San Francisco native, Lee is Chinese American, and serves on RXR Realty’s Racial Equity Working Group, working to leverage the firm’s position as an industry leader to address systemic racism and structural inequality throughout underserved communities. Newly minted homeowner; art collector; investor Lee recently bought his first apartment in NoHo and is working with interior designer Nicole Fuller to complete the space. He also collects art, focusing on post-war, contemporary, and emerging artists with the guidance of art advisor Rachel Cole. His collection so far includes artworks ranging from George Condo to Stephanie Temma Hier. Marea & China Live Other personal investments include Marea, the restaurant in Columbus Circle, Outer Heaven, a forthcoming Lower East Side nightlife destination, online fitness platform Ladder, and China Live, a culinary and cultural destination in San Francisco’s Chinatown that Eater described as “a Chinese version of Eataly” and “one of the biggest openings to hit San Francisco in quite some time.” Lee is a lifelong Golden State Warriors and San Francisco 49ers fan, and he enjoys playing basketball, golf, and chess – he won the California state chess championship as a child. P ryanlee.com
‘‘IN 2021, LEE WAS NAMED ONE OF COMMERCIAL OBSERVER’S TOP 30 NATIONAL REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONALS IN FINANCE AND EQUITY UNDER 35 YEARS OLD.’’
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Colin Cowie
The Crown Prince of Hospitality BY G E O R G E WAY N E
COLIN COWIE WAS DOING WHAT COLIN COWIE DOES best - mesmerizing a crowd of tastemakers with his tantalizing Anglo-African rasp about all things bespoke in the realm of elevated style and hospitality. As one would expect, he was doing so at Manhattan’s most spectacular new private residential tower and the most talked-about new skyscraper on the planet -it’s the buzz of Billionaires Row and is already regarded as Gotham City’s most prestigious new address. Central Park Tower is that preening, regal and gorgeous slither of silver now fully topped off at 1,550 feet as the latest ‘supermodel’ to the already fabled New York City skyline. So, there was the masterclass long famous for creating some of the world’s most bespoke luxury experiences once again being that visionary and showing how to stage an unforgettable cocktail party in the post-pandemic era. That this gathering was to celebrate his 11th book with the setting the jaw-dropping luxe of this new tower - where he’s helped set the ephemera as the appointed ‘’Lifestyle Curator’’ - made it quite clear that the 60-yearold Zambian-born tastemaker is still very much at the top of his game. Colin Cowie rose to fame as Oprah Winfrey’s go-to party planner. He first made waves as the classy impresario for the millionaire class sourced to stage that one-of-a-kind-meta-destination wedding. Over three decades he’s finessed his brand to become that mercurial authority on how ‘The 1%’ live with style and elan. And so the news that Mr. Cowie had been recruited by Gary Barnett (CEO of the blue-chip Extell Developers) to finesse the hospitality aspect to his 21st Century skyscraper has now proved to be brilliant gut instinct and perfect creative synergy. ‘’This is over a
100th Floor Cigar Lounge
Colin Cowie’s latest book
decade of planning and collaboration with the world’s most talented designers and consultants and this is now our greatest achievement.’’ The Extell CEO is on the record for exalting about his already iconic NYC tower. Without question ‘The CPT’ is now the ultimate prestige tower to live in off Billionaires Row. The next-level realtors from Corcoran Sunshine are trilling with glee and eager to let you know that this thoroughly curated oasis of luxury is now the best-selling Manhattan residential tower of 2021. Colin Cowie Lifestyle was hired to set the seduction for the common space for residents on the fourteenth floor and the one-of-a-kind Central Park Club and restaurant concept for 50,000 square feet on the hundredth floor of this stunning glass tower. It is slated to be the most private and exclusive boite - with the most stratospheric views - only for the gilded set who are lucky to live here. Haute snobbism is a mere understatement in this part of town. And if the 100th floor ephemera
is going to be as stunning and intoxicating as the vast outdoor 14th-floor esplanade - replete with gym, spa and the 60-foot pool - then Central Park Tower will be totally sold out by the end of this feature. ‘’This is how we seduce the customer,’’ the tastemaker purred as we donned construction crew hats for a quick tour of the grand state-ofthe-art surroundings. And that was just the beginning. GW You’ve said that your whole idea here was “to create an oasis that these lucky residents will never want to leave.’’ That was your mantra when you took this gig from Extell Developers. So, are you happy with the final outcome? CC I’m beyond happy with the result of what Extell has developed. We have every amenity imaginable to WOW our residents and to create an oasis they will never want to leave. GW Who approached whom? Did Extell CEO
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14th Floor Pool Rendering
Gary Barnett make the pitch, or did you come up with the notion?
GW They call you a ‘’Lifestyle Specialist’’. Is that a fair assumption?
CC I was introduced by a creative agency that Extell was working with. As soon as I came on board, my role and scope of the work increased.
CC I create authentic experiences, so lifestyle specialist seems appropriate.
GW What’s the most seductive aspect to the glorious setting you’ve helped to create here on the 14th floor of what is now considered Manhattan’s most prestigious new address, Central Park Tower?
GW The final bit to this monumental and epic involvement of yours with the developers of Central Park Tower is the hottest private club in the world that you plan to create with 50,000 square feet on the 100th Floor of CPT. Tell us more!
CC I’m madly in love with the 14th floor. Particularly the outdoors. It’s like a beach club in Manhattan and ideal for outdoor entertaining. With a fabulous outdoor kitchen, BBQ, swimming pool, fireplace, lounge beds and TV there is no need to leave! I was there last Tuesday and ironically, they were mowing the lawn! Indoors has a great lounge and a very comfortable screening room.
CC The 100th floor is the epicenter of the Central Park Tower Club. Boasting a 45-seater restaurant with a coterie of revolving celebrated chefs like Alfred Portale, Gabriel Kreuther and Lauren Tourondel – the menu will be seasonally driven by our extraordinary chefs. Each time the menu changes, napkins, water goblets and votive candles will change too. There will always be something new to
offer our residents and guests. Add to that a private cigar and cognac bar stocked with the very finest spirits available. We also have a ballroom that will seat 150 guests with the most staggering views of Central Park. There is nothing else that comes remotely similar to what we are doing. It’s a unique model. GW So it will be, no pun intended, the most elevated private nightclub in the world? CC Indeed, it will be the chicest private club with wrap-around views of New York City and Central Park. GW How would Colin Cowie define the art of reading a room? What are the first signs you look for when something is not going right? CC I always strive for harmony with the senses. Building and decorating can be relatively easy – how you bring a room alive and give it a soul is
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‘‘WE ALSO HAVE A BALLROOM THAT WILL SEAT 150 GUESTS WITH THE MOST STAGGERING VIEWS OF CENTRALPARK. THERE IS NOTHING ELSE THAT COMES REMOTELY SIMILAR TO WHAT WE ARE DOING. IT’S A UNIQUE MODEL.’’ 100th Floor Ballroom
what takes time and a ton of effort. I use the senses to tell my story. It’s all about how music, lighting, temperature, fragrance and food come together and seduce the senses. GW Is this Central Park Tower project the greatest opportunity you’ve ever had to, as you say in your lectures, ‘’the opportunity to tell a story’’? CC Central Park Tower is certainly a very exciting and glamorous project and I feel very honored to bring the guest experience alive and to tell their story. GW What are the three simple rules to crafting inimitable service? CC Inimitable is the right word! It starts with the client DNA, so the branding is woven into the overall experience that’s personalized, shows attention to detail and is delivered
consistently. Without consistency, you have no credibility. GW Your brand pivot during the Covid crisis was remarkably deft and clever. Talk a bit about that - such as the collaboration with the Boca Raton Beach Club. CC When all our parties and events for 2020 were postponed I refocused my team and efforts and homed in on luxury resort developers. My first project was The Boca Raton Club. I reimagined the design of the lobby, lounge bar and patio, and created a new restaurant called Marisol. All have been very well received by our members and guests. We are now working on the interior design of the guest rooms and guest experience. In development are another restaurant and a beach club. My focus is interior design, programming of all spaces, menu development, uniforms, floral and a signature
fragrance. In addition to Boca Raton, we are also working very closely with Tavistock on their amazing Pier 66 – a 32-acre development built from the ground up. It will be a gamechanger in Ft Lauderdale. Other projects include Four Seasons Surfside, Zaha Hadid Building in Hong Kong and several others. GW More than 20 years in the hospitality business and he’s visited over 100 countries, but which five are your absolute favorites? CC It’s 15.5M miles and close to 100 countries. I was born in Zambia, but I am very partial to South Africa, love the UK, Turkey is a favorite, as are Italy and France in the summertime. GW Talk about this new book of yours, and your eleventh-- The Gold Standard (HarperCollins/Leadership). CC This is my 11th book and my first business-
to-business book. I wrote The Gold Standard to give the reader the right protocols and tools to deliver proactive customer service and how to stand out in a crowded space. Why creating the ‘emotional connection’ is the goal of any transaction and why it’s important to always look for opportunity. None of this can happen without a motivated team that is aligned and all working toward the same goal. The book is very anecdotal and loaded with ideas and sizes businesses can use and be inspired by. GW What else can Colin Cowie possibly say that he hasn’t already in the previous ten books? CC It was a fun challenge to write this book which is focused on how to do it vs. how to design it. GW Central Park Tower-- the tallest residential building in the world! When are you moving in? CC I’m just waiting for the paint to dry! P
colincowie.com
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Linda Horn Creating Your Own Style
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BY L I N DA H O R N
Victorian style bobbin turned chairs and lamps take on a new life with African elements of ebony and bone boxes, incised silver Moroccan tables and my fun loving sheep in white Merino wool.
he world has become so homogenized... The people we come across all look alike... dressed in jeans and a T-shirt or exercise clothes... it doesn’t identify much about the person or their personality... So I thought... what about our environment... it can speak about you now as your wardrobe used to... Your home... where you spend quite a bit of time and now since the epidemic a lot more time... can reflect a lot about you and what you like... what you dislike... and how you’re comfortable... what colors you relate to and what comfort level is important to you... Years ago many homes just had the same couch and chairs and whatever for decades and decades... but now in our rapidly changing world we find ourselves taking more of an interest in our home and our environment... we want it to reflect who we are and what we are about... our surroundings
make a statement about ourselves... A while ago when I began to see the impact that new objects... literally re-creations of old ideas... were starting to have on our society... I decided to take a big chance... So... on one of my buying trips to Europe I bought a tremendous amount of new things that were inspired by very old things... being very careful that the quality and patinas were up to a standard that made them special and reminiscent of their forefathers... Arriving home I worried about when this very large container of new things arrived would its contents harmonize with so many of the antiques that I had purchased over the years... but I was truly surprised and fascinated by how well it all blended and certainly created a new and fresh look that said a lot about my personality and hopefully would be enjoyed by my clients... You see I’m all about old and new... Take a skirt and soft
droopy blouse that you may have gotten a long time ago or even very recently in one of the big chain stores for a few bucks... and mix it with an old jacket maybe created 100 years ago and you decided the cost was worth having something that no one else had... and you now brought your simple underpinnings up to an outstanding creation... This is what I think you can do in your home and this is what I think will give you pleasure when someone walks in and compliments your surroundings and enjoys your ability to put all these things together... and understands immediately more about who you are... So many of us have inherited our mother’s or grandmother’s old furniture and we don’t really know what to do with it... You can paint it or bleach it... cover the seats in exciting patterns and mix it with something very new and very streamlined and
totally unexpected... that way you’re creating and you’re making a very strong statement about yourself and your abilities... If you like color don’t be afraid to mix it all up together and put patterns side-by-side... If you like monochromatic and feel that it gives you a peaceful quiet environment... then pick all kinds of textures and patterns but no color and put it all together with pale furniture and Lucite... the bottom line is that it should give you great pleasure... And at this point in our lives... as complicated and difficult as they can be... anything that can bring a smile to your face and make you feel happy and good about yourself is certainly worth it... Give it a try... What do you have to lose... P
lindahorn.com by appointment 212-772-1122
Mix tropical glamour into your living space with unexpected elements… vintage palm trees, chic boho brass chairs, a fun swan table and quirky feathered lamp shades.
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‘‘WHAT WE ARE DOING NOW IS OFFERING A SIMULATION OF HOMES, JUST LIKE TAKING THE STEERING WHEEL OF A FERRARI.” Francesco Secchiaroli
Zanotta House
An Elevated Experiment in Experiential Design BY L A U R E N B E N S
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ocated on the quaint Cornelia Street in Greenwich Village, the 5,400 square-foot Zanotta House is an experiential concept. According to Italian industrial design firm Zanotta’s America Sales Director Francesco Secchiaroli, they are creating an experience. “The idea came from realizing that the industry has been presenting itself in the same way for the past few decades or so with no innovation. If you go into a car dealership, they’re going to hand you a key and ask if you want to go for a test drive. What we are doing now is offering a simulation of homes, just like taking the steering wheel of a Ferrari.” New York studio Tihany Design, which is known for pushing boundaries in both residential and hospitality spaces, created the inaugural design for the home. Taking inspiration from the new ways in which we live our lives due to the pandemic, Tihany Design created a hybrid concept to reflect these new working and living needs and relationships. This former carriage house, which was built in 1912, is now a part of pop folklore as Taylor Swift lived in the house and even wrote about it in her song entitled Cornelia Street. The Zanotta team, which took over the house just this year, spent almost one year renovating the home which also has a steel frame from a previous renovation which is visible from the outside. It is what’s on the inside, however, that really counts, especially when that inside includes rare artwork and fine furnishings.
Those from the architecture and design worlds from around the world are often invited to come and explore this haute home for dinners, events and overnight stays. With rarely shown Zanotta pieces, plus one of the largest collections of Mr.Brainwash artwork, unique design products by Zanotta’s partners, and one of the only 22 swimming pools in private residences in Manhattan, Zanotta brings a fun flair to each room which has its own character. Since they are an Italian company, they made sure that the dining area would be the focus of the house where everyone can gather. The entryway is also conceptual with a welcoming checker pattern as a reference to their iconic Quaderna desk,while the two main living spaces feel completely different –one makes use of bold color along with a while the space downstairs is softer and smoother. If you happen to notice the desk in the office, you have exceptionally exquisite taste, as this desk is a masterwork designed by Carlo Mollino. Mollino is perhaps the biggest name in the world of furniture collectors, with most Mollino pieces currently in New York collections. During the pandemic, the Brooklyn Museum of Art sold one of their two Mollino pieces for $6.7 million, making it the most expensive piece ever sold. There is also a living room table by the designer as well as other famous and historically significant furnishings throughout this truly unique house where yes, you can sit on the sofa while you eat. P zanotta.it
John’s Island It’s your lifetime. Spend it wisely.
Blue Water. Cool Breezes. Warm Welcome. Welcome to John’s Island. A sunny, cherished haven enjoyed by generations who have discovered the undeniable allure of life by the sea. With 1,650 pristine acres, miles of private beaches and a thriving community, this is ocean to river living at its finest. Indulge in gorgeous architectural details, tranquil living areas and lush grounds - all a stone’s throw from ocean, river or golf. Every home takes advantage of prime location with access to an array of amenities at our legendary Club. We invite you to indulge in a life of bliss in John’s Island.
M i les Of Beach : 3 Cha mpionship Golf C ou rses : Ten nis & Pick leba l l : Squash : Ver t ic a l Membership : Ocea nf ront Beach Club
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7 7 2 . 2 31. 0 9 0 0 : V e r o B e a c h , F l o r i d a : w w w . J o h n s I s l a n d R e a l E s t a t e . c o m
PROFILE
Command Education Helping Students Make the College Admissions Cut B Y J U L I E S AG O S K I N PHOTOGRAPHY BY UDO SPREITZENBARTH
HEN WE THINK OF ELITE AMERICAN COLLEGES LIKE HARVARD, Yale or Stanford, academic excellence immediately comes to mind. It’s no secret that admission to top schools requires grades and test scores that are well above average. But in the current era of competitive college admissions, those are only enough to get an applicant’s foot in the door. While a 4.0 and perfect SAT scores could have landed you a spot at Harvard in the 1990s, the admission landscape has evolved significantly since then, and with it, myths and misconceptions about the process have skyrocketed. HAIR & MAKEUP BY RENEE COHEN SHOT ON LOCATION AT ZANOTTA HOUSE
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PROFILE
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PROFILE Christopher Rim, Founder and CEO of Command Education
‘‘THEIR UNIQUE STRATEGIES INCLUDE OFFERING AN UNLIMITED ANNUAL COMMITMENT IN ORDER TO ENSURE THAT EVERY EFFORT IS MADE TO HELP STUDENTS REACH THEIR GOALS.’’
So how exactly can a student stand out from the crowd? The answer, according to Christopher Rim, Founder and CEO of boutique college consulting firm Command Education, may not be as straightforward as one hopes. “It’s not just about grades or test scores anymore. Students need to show that they have explored their passions and made a lasting, positive impact on their communities.” Melody of New York was one such student. She performed well at Trinity School, receiving mostly straight A’s and scoring a 1560 on her SATs. Her main interest, however, was literature. She was passionate about writing and spent time after school tutoring elementary school students in English. Eventually, Melody became aware of the plight of newlyarrived refugees to the U.S., as well as the lack of educational resources available to them. She decided to combine her lifelong love of literature with her desire to aid these refugees but wasn’t sure where to start. Melody got to work researching how to get connected with refugees in need, and after dozens of cold emails, partnered with a global aid organization that provided her with the
contacts necessary to get her project off the ground. She developed her own curriculum and started a book club for refugees aged 13-18, in which she not only helped them strengthen their English language skills, but also introduced them to her favorite childhood novels and stories, from Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree to Homer’s The Odyssey. Eventually, her project’s original NY chapter spread to several chapters across the globe, and Melody became a promising name in refugee advocacy. What Melody demonstrated to colleges was the critical X factor that so many schools are looking for: impact. She not only excelled at an elite private high school that offered her a plethora of state-of-the-art academic resources, but she also went the extra mile to make real change in her community and create a butterfly effect of activism with her peers. By dedicating so much time and energy to her passion, Melody not only made an impact but also ended up with a college application that made her stand out from the crowd and ultimately gain admission to her dream school, Brown University. Founded in 2015, Command Education, a
PROFILE
“WE MOTIVATE STUDENTS TO VIEW EDUCATION AS A PATH TO REALIZING THEIR POTENTIAL AND MAKING AN IMPACT ON THEIR GENERATION.”
boutique college consulting firm, works with students like Melody to help them craft compelling applications centered on their authentic passions. Ultimately, top schools have their pick of the litter. With most schools having received a record-breaking number of applications last year, they could fill their incoming freshman class several times over with 4.0 GPAs and 1600 SAT scores, says Christopher Rim, Founder and CEO of Command Education. This means that elite colleges these days are looking for students with unique backgrounds or niche interests who are making an impact in their community. But how exactly can a student authentically build the memorable, compelling profile that schools are looking for? Fortunately for parents, Command Education provides an emotionally intelligent approach to college consulting, centered on not simply improving an applicant’s chances of success in the process, but also helping them build crucial life skills as they explore and develop their passions. Navigating the complexities of the elite
college admission process can be stressful to do alone, which is why many parents pay $1,500/ hour to work with Command Education. “We work like an incubator for teens, providing support and expertise to help students develop their own passion projects, build a meaningful nonprofit, or run their own company. Students learn leadership skills within their community, and this naturally helps them stand out to top schools,” says Rim. “It’s important that this initiative develop the student’s own personal ambition and something they are truly passionate about — that’s why it takes years for something like this to be developed.” The core focus of any high school student who has ambitious goals for college should be to explore and develop their passions and end high school having made an impact in one of those passions. Command Education’s mentors help students through this process and work with the student to identify and develop those interests. For example, one student’s main passion was poetry. After a few
Roberta Seiler, Partner and COO
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PROFILE Wafa Muflahi, Partner and Senior Program Director
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PROFILE
‘‘THE BIGGEST ADVICE THEY HAVE FOR PARENTS IS THAT IT IS NEVER TOO EARLY TO START PLANNING YOUR CHILD’S COLLEGE PATH BY HELPING THEM TO REALIZE AND PURSUE THEIR PASSIONS, WHATEVER THAT MAY BE.’’
sessions with his mentor, this student discovered his passion for foreign languages, along with the creative aspect of writing poetry. From there, Command Education helped him create a multilingual poetry magazine and guided him on marketing it to secure submissions from teens around the world. This student from New York City recently received admission to Stanford University. The critical component in any successful application is authenticity, which is why Command Education mentors take their time to get to know their students and identify their genuine interests. Oftentimes, parents may see this process as manufacturable and think that a flurry of strategic moves can win their child admission to a top-tier school. However, this is far from true. If a student does not have an inherent, authentic passion for the work they are doing, they will not be able to commit the necessary time and effort into making an authentic impact. There is no “one-size-fits-all” approach to this process.
When a student successfully identifies and develops their authentic passions, they reap the benefits of their hard work, and parents are more often than not thrilled. One such parent wrote to Rim, “Your team, ethos, and work ethic are truly world class. I am grateful you were a part of Darren’s life. Thank you again for all your help and guidance, and the dedication you showed my son!” What colleges are truly looking for is the young generation’s movers and shakers, the changemakers and leaders. When a student demonstrates that they have left a lasting impact on their community, a college knows that they will go on to make a similar impact on their own campus and beyond. By dedicating their time in high school to meaningful and authentic activities that reflect their genuine passions, students can vastly improve their chances of standing out in the competitive college admissions process. P commandeducation.com
PROFILE
The Divorce Book for Men & Women
Harriet Newman Cohen & Martha Cohen Stine
M
eet Harriet Newman Cohen and Martha “Marti” Cohen Stine, the mother-daughter legal duo who are principals of their firm Cohen Stine Kapoor LLP, specializing in family and matrimonial law. “We were one of the first motherdaughter law firms, and we’re one of the only mother-daughter law firms in New York,” says Harriet.
Andrew Cuomo & Laurence Fishburne The Wives of Howard Stern and Harvey & Bob Weinstein Both lawyers have decades of experience under their belt, representing high-profile clients including Andrew Cuomo, Paul George, actors Laurence Fishburne and Linda Lavin, the wives of Harvey and Bob . “WE WERE ONE OF Weinstein and comedians Louis C.K. and THE FIRST MOTHER- Howard Stern, singers Ute Lemper and DAUGHTER LAW FIRMS, Isabel Leonard and other high-net- worth AND WE’RE ONE OF individuals during challenging times in their THE ONLY MOTHER- lives. Both are consistently listed in Super DAUGHTER LAW FIRMS Lawyers as among NY’s top 50 female attorIN NEW YORK.” neys and top 100 male and female lawyers and hold the highest rating from MartindaleHubbell. Streamlined Services After working virtually during 2020, they realized they could continue to do so and streamline their practice. “With so many lawyers working from home, we realized we did not need the huge amount of space we had. We took smaller space in the same building and reduced our overhead, servicing our clients in a more efficient, cost-
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BY BENNET T MA RCUS
effective way.” In January 2021, mother and daughter joined forces and relaunched their practice as Cohen Stine Kapoor LLP, a leaner, more effective boutique law practice with five attorneys. “With remote court appearances, we can easily appear in any county or even another state. For example, I appeared remotely in West Virginia, because of Zoom capability. Harriet Newman Cohen Doyenne of Matrimonial & Family Law Harriet had a circuitous path to becoming known as the “doyenne of matrimonial and family law attorneys.”
She entered law school at 38 after years as a stay-athome mother of four and a stint teaching math. “I didn’t want to continue to be a schoolteacher, I wanted to go into a profession where women were in a man’s world.” She was one of only a handful of women at Brooklyn Law School in those days. “I felt that I had to make my mark in a man’s world and wanted to make a difference and have a voice that was going to be heard.” President of the NY Women’s Bar
Harriet’s many achievements in the field include serving as president of the NY Women’s Bar and as a member of the Matrimonial Mediation Subcommittee of the NY State Supreme Court. She helped negotiate and draft NY’s Equitable Distribution Law and served on the Child Support Commission that drafted the Child Support Standards Act. She authored The Divorce Book for Men and Women and writes an annual New York Law Journal article on family law. Harriet is often selected as an attorney for the child in contested high-conflict custody cases and as a neutral evaluator in complex financial disputes where a judge feels that an outside experienced lawyer can work with the parties and their lawyers to help effectuate a settlement.
Lotos Club Board & Stecher & Horowitz Foundation
Harriet serves on the board of the Stecher & Horowitz Foundation which organizes the NY International Piano Competition and Young Artists Series. “We have a competition open to pianists of all nationalities, identifying young artists and talent from around the world. It’s a very gratifying way to give back.” She is also on the Board of Directors of the Lotos Club, a prominent literary and cultural club that was founded by Mark Twain. She was also awarded the Medal of Merit, the Lotos Club’s highest award. Martha Cohen Stine: NY County Lawyers Association As an undergrad at NY University, Marti knew that she wanted to be a lawyer. “Harriet was in law school while I was in college, and I would sit in on her classes. I loved the classes, and my mother was an inspiration. I was always vocal and outgoing, and I’m a good writer. I figured if she can do it, so can I! She warned me that I had to be top of the class and make law review, and I did. I never dreamed that someday we would work together. We know how lucky we are and feel like our family can help other families during their most difficult times to turn a new chapter.” Marti received her JD from the Cardozo School of Law, then spent the first ten years of her career as a litigator at Shea & Gould before joining her mother’s practice and focusing exclusively on family law. She has been a top attorney in family law for over 25 years. Marti sits on the board of directors of the NY County Lawyers Association, is Chair of the Matrimonial Law Section, and presents continuing legal education programs; she is often a speaker/panelist. Marti is also Chair of the NYCLA Foundation, the charitable arm of NYCLA which supports pro bono programs.
Martha Cohen Stine (left) and her mother Harriet Newman Cohen (right)
Lambs Club, Utopia Opera & Blue Hill Troupe A classically trained singer, Marti has performed with the Blue Hill Troupe, Village Light Opera and Utopia Opera. She has produced and directed original musicals performed by lawyers and judges throughout NY and is an active member of the Lambs, America’s oldest theatrical club, and the Lotos Club, where she Chairs the Music Committee. P csklawny.com
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Jeremy Murphy Not Ready for His Close-Up B Y DAV I D M O R TO N
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PROFILE
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F*ck Off, Chloe t was a Wednesday in early September when Jeremy Murphy, a former CBS executive and founder of 360bespoke, received a text from the wife of a very prominent entertainment executive with bad news: he was the subject of a two page “expose” in the National Enquirer alleging his upcoming book “F*ck Off, Chloe: Surviving the OMGs and FMLs in Your Media Career” was a dishy tell all that would reveal all the Hollywood secrets. “That was an experience,” says Murphy, over a glass of Brunello at his favorite restaurant on the Upper East Side. “They reported stars from my CBS days may be scared -- and that might be true -- but they shouldn’t be. It’s not that kind of book. I mean, it has illustrations. I call it a coloring book for media (expletive).”
“THERE ARE A FEW SECRETS I COULD SHARE. WAS EVERYONE NICE? NO. WERE SOME A--HOLES? YES. WHEN YOU WORK THAT CLOSELY WITH PEOPLE YOU SEE A LOT.’’
Neil Patrick Harris , Juliana Margulies & Christine Baranski Still, one has to wonder. Murphy spent 14 years traveling the world with stars like LL Cool J (“Nice enough, but has a high maintenance entourage”), Neil Patrick Harris (“The most fun I had at CBS”), Simon Baker (“Standoffish but warms up eventually”), Juliana Margulies (“total class act, and the most beautiful person I’ve ever met”), Michael Weatherly (“A total prankster, and the wittiest and funniest person I ever met”), Christine Baranski (“Exactly as you’d imagine: poised, elegant, charming, and photographs beautifully”), and the cast of The Big Bang Theory (“Four out of five are very nice. The other one was a nightmare.”) “What I know stays with me,” he says with a smile. “There are a few secrets I could share. Was everyone nice? No. Were some a--holes? Yes. When you work that closely with people you see a lot. But that’s not what the book is about … Now, if the Enquirer offered money …” he says with a smile. “That’s a joke.” He does have one complaint about the tabloid story. “I wish they used a better photo,” he says, laughing. “That was my Tony Soprano phase. I’m much better more better looking nowadays.” “How to Interview with Anna” “F*ck Off, Chloe” is generating strong media buzz, including mentions in WWD, Page Six, and other platforms guessing what he’ll share.
Among some of the more searing chapters are “How to be Woke,” “Reasons PR People Drink,” “How to Interview with Anna” and “Things Media Care About, But Not Really.”“F*ck Off, Chloe is an attempt at spoofing the media industry through lists, charts and illustrations,” Murphy says. “It’s a humor book that pokes fun at the cultural divide between a younger, entitled generation new to media, who I call ‘The Chloes,’ and pissed off people like me. The only names I include are people you should read and listen to. No one is getting burned. Well, not publicly. But I guess you can read between the lines in some of the descriptions.” The Good Wife’s , CSI: Miami & NCIS Publishing a book was never on the radar screen for the writer, who spent 14 years at CBS in various roles, including Vice President, company spokesperson and creator of its glossy magazine Watch, which he ran for a decade. Among his most memorable experiences was a week through Italy with Neil Patrick Harris, including a night on the Orient Express; crashing Valentino’s last fashion show as its designer during Paris Fashion week in 2008 with CSI: Miami actress Eva LaRue; convincing Christian Dior to let CBS photograph NCIS star Cote DePablo in their fall collection months before its debut; and bringing “The Good Wife’s” Julianna Margulies to the Hotel du Cap in the French Riviera for a cover shoot with Patrick Demarchelier. Feeling burned out with the corporate world, he left in 2016 to start 360bespoke, a boutique PR firm in New York. Hearst Magazines “It has been very exciting to see Jeremy grow his company from just an idea to a successful enterprise,” said Cathie Black, former Chairwoman of Hearst Magazines. “It’s very different from working for a big network but he has survived, thrived and learned, all the while utilizing his many creative talents. And being a charming, funny, and self-deprecating person is what sets him apart.” F*ck Off, Chloe: Surviving the OMGs and FMLs in Your Media Career” debuts in March but is already on pre-sale on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. P f-offchloe.com
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CROSSFIT FOUNDER
Lauren Jenai Advice for Achieving the ‘New You’ In 2022
BY BENNETT MARCUS
ike many of us, CrossFit co-founder Lauren Jenai reassessed many aspects of her life during the pandemic, including her approach to health and wellness. At CrossFit, health and fitness were very intense, with hard workouts and a “blood, sweat and tears” level of fitness with stringent eating protocols. “It takes discipline and hard work,” says Jenai, who sold her share of the company to her ex-husband during their divorce. She felt pressure to maintain her physical appearance in a positive way. “Now I’m 50 years old and I have four kids, and I’ve really released that pressure from myself,” she says. A More Forgiving Wellness Philosophy Now her attitude is, “Okay, I had a pint of ice cream; it was good. Do I want to do that every day? No. But really, it’s important to take all the judgment and stress out of your nutrition routines.” The key is to consistently eat in a way that you not only enjoy food, but don’t have any guilt or shame over it. Her philosophy toward exercise is similar; it’s okay to miss a day as long as you remain consistently active in whatever it is that you love doing. Jenai trains in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and is serious about the sport. “But I don’t have to win every competition today. I don’t have to be best at this moment.” Embracing this more forgiving approach to wellness has been a revelation. “In the past it’s been really stressful when I’d fall off the wagon, so to speak in, in terms of eating. Now I just think, Yes, I had pizza. It’s okay. And literally taking the drama and stress and guilty feelings out of the process, you tend to make better decisions overall, over the long term.” This philosophy has also proven beneficial for her mental health. “There’s so much in the world to stress about, food should not be one of those things.”
Steps For Achieving The “New You” In 2022
Know What you Want The most important factor in achieving your health and wellness goals in the new year, Jenai advises, is to know what you want. Be honest and aware of what your goals are. “I think that’s where a lot of people fail,” she says. “People say ‘I want to lose 20 pounds.’ Well, maybe you actually don’t want to lose 20 pounds; maybe you want to lose some body fat and gain some muscle.” Set Realistic Goals to Stay Motivated It’s important to make sure the goals you set are for you and not for somebody else, because you’re not going to achieve something that you don’t want for yourself. And your wellness goals need to be realistic. “If your goal is to become an Olympic athlete and you’re 65
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‘‘EMBRACING THIS MORE FORGIVING APPROACH TO WELLNESS HAS BEEN A REVELATION.’’
years old, that’s probably not going to happen,” laughs Jenai. Small, Incremental Steps; Make It Doable After setting realistic goals, you need to decide what can you do today that takes you a little bit closer to that goal, and practice that. For some people, these may be very small baby steps at first. Say you want to drink less in 2022 because you started drinking too much during Covid. You don’t have to quit cold turkey. “Maybe instead of starting drinking at noon, push it back to 5:00 pm,” Jenai jokes. “Not three bottles of wine every night but taper down.” Many people fail at their goals because they start feeling deprived.
Feel Good About Yourself It’s hard; make it easy. Make it doable. “Celebrate the little things, and those days where you just don’t feel on and maybe you just laid in bed and didn’t do anything productive, don’t beat yourself up for it. You need the rest.” It’s really an attitude shift. When you’re critical of yourself, you’re sending your body messages that are negative and self-loathing. The important thing is to change that internal dialog to feel good about yourself. “Over time it programs your brain to not be self-defeating in your behavior, but self-celebrating instead,” Jenai says. Reassessed Priorities Jenai has made other life changes amidst the pandemic, taking incremental steps to get where she wants to be. She has taken on more
household duties for which she used to rely on paid help. “I find myself super busy because now I have taken on the job of landscaper and general contractor,” she says, laughing. Her two daughters have enrolled in high school, and Jenai continues to homeschool her two younger sons. Manifest Her new fitness app, Manifest, is on hiatus. The concept, which was about to launch when the pandemic hit, was eerily prescient – it’s remote, but you are in virtual contact with a live facilitator to monitor your progress. “With the Covid situation, launching a new concept and company, I decided to put any development of Manifest on the back burner until 2022.” P bemanifest.com
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PROFILE
Wendy Diamond with Happy
Jean Shafiroff, Janna Bullock, Andrea Stark, Sir Darius Brown and Sebastian
Consuelo Vanderbilt Costa
Tri-County Animal Rescue Saving Dogs & Cats with Stylish Bow Ties B Y J U L I E S AG O S K I N
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Sir Darius Brown
he luncheon for Tri-County Animal Rescue held at the Upper East Side penthouse of Andrea Stark was a fashionable fete for both supporters of the organization and their furry companions. Teenage entrepreneur Sir Darius Brown, recipient of the Tri-County Animal Rescue Young Leadership Award and founder of Beaux & Paws, had an array of pet-friendly handmade bow ties on display, bringing the soiree to even more
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stylish and life-saving heights. Sir Darius’ bow ties, designed to fit any cat or dog, are not only fun but also raise funds and awareness for animals who are in need of their forever home. In addition to Stark, the event was also co-chaired by Jean Shafiroff, Janna Bullock, and Adrien Arpel, with many notable guests in attendance and of course, some very posh pups. Animal Advocate Andrea Stark As an animal lover with two of her own rescue dogs, Andrea Stark has been involved with Tri-County Animal Rescue, a 100% No-Kill,
501(c)3 non-profit animal shelter for ten years. She continues advocating for voiceless animals across the country and just recently saved a lab named Lucky one hour before he was set to be euthanized in Texas, a state which has some of the harshest kill laws in the country. Since then, this philanthropist and advocate have rescued countless other canines. Princess Diana Leadership Award After a story popped up on her phone about a young man who was helping animals get adopted by sending his bow ties to shelters where neglected pups who were used to being
“I WANTED TO MAKE IT MY MISSION TO HELP AS MANY ANIMALS AS POSSIBLE AFTER LEARNING THAT THE SHELTERS KILLED THE DOGS AND CATS AFTER A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF TIME.”
overlooked were now being recognized thanks to their paw-positively fabulous new accessories, Stark knew she had to call Sir Darius. The 14-year, who currently attends The Lawrenceville School in New Jersey, has already received multiple awards, most notably the Princess Diana Leadership Award and the Daily Points of Light Award founded by former President George H. W. Bush, which recognizes and honors individuals for their exemplary service. President Obama even sent the energetic entrepreneur a heartwarming letter, which Andrea read aloud to guests during the event: “I wanted to reach out to commend you for your commitment to community service... it’s clear you are doing your part to look out for your fellow citizens...know that I am rooting for you in all that you do.” Sir Darius, who started making his own bow ties at the age of eight, has always been a fan of fashion. “When you’re walking around you don’t necessarily see a person wearing a bow tie, so it automatically stands out and shows your character,” he says. “I was diagnosed with a speech comprehension and fine motor skills delay and I would always see my sister on a sewing machine making hair bows, but she wouldn’t let me use her machine because she was nervous, I would hurt myself. I did play with the fabrics though!” Recognized by Presidents Barack Obama & George H.W. Bush This passionate pet advocate who has been recognized by presidents might have stayed away from his sister’s sewing machine back then, but he is now endorsed by none other than Singer Sewing Machines. It was following the devastation of Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma that he knew he had to do something after realizing the need to help dogs and cats who were being transported from Texas to New York. Sir Darius wound up donating his first set of bow ties to the ASPCA and the rest is Haute - and helpful - bow tie history. “I wanted to make it my mission to help
Prince Dimitri of Yugoslavia, Liliana Cavendish
Flo Anthony
as many animals as possible after learning that the shelters killed the dogs and cats after a certain amount of time.” “PAW-SOME MISSION” Since that first bow tie, Sir Darius has appeared on CNN, The Today Show, in People
Magazine, and other national outlets. His “PAW-SOME MISSION” has now helped countless animals get adopted - and he isn’t done yet when it comes to making a difference! “I want to continue helping dogs and cats by making sure they’re taken care of. I’m really into fashion as well so I’m sticking to both passions.” One of his favorite stories was hearing that a dog who had been living in a shelter for five years was adopted just three weeks after he donated one of his bow ties. Darius’ passion has even prompted others at his school to help find ways to cover sponsor fees for dogs staying in animal shelters so that they can find homes faster. “A lot of kids don’t have a path, but Darius has a path, and that path is to do something for animals that don’t have a voice,” explains Andrea. “He is such a great young man with such a great mission. Our latest problem is Covid dogs. With Darius’ help, we have to get this out there. A dog is not just somebody you hurt or abandoned. You have to have some type of commitment, or at least not send them to kill shelters. I’m currently trying to get a 15-monthold Bernedoodle adopted as well as other animals that have just been abandoned.» London Jewelers At the end of the intimate conversation and Q&A, Sir Darius was presented with a watch from Candy Udell, president of London Jewelers - and major animal advocate - in recognition of all he has done. Guests were also greeted by two adorable pups who looked even cuter in their bow ties! Allison Monaco, who runs Jake’s Rescue Ranch in Nassau County, brought the two animals who are currently up for adoption. Others in attendance included Prince Dimitri of Yugoslavia, Consuelo Vanderbilt Costin, Sharon Bush, Wendy Diamond, Andrea Warshaw-Wernick, Kathy Gantz, Liliana Cavendish, Maria Fishel, and Pamela Morgan. P tricountyanimalrescue.com
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The
E
dward Alava came to NYC as a young aspiring photographer to follow his dreams, but quickly began to develop a different skill set around his love of dogs. “I was working for this woman who loved dogs just as much as I do. I met her because I was going to take photos of her store for her website.” Eventually, Edward decided to open his own store. Now his name is legendary in the dog-grooming community. “After two decades, every client knew me,” says Alava. Alava has been famous in the canine world of the rich and richer since 2009 when he first opened The Dog Store on the Upper East Side. He has always been an avid dog-lover and fondly reminisces about his teen years in San Francisco where he would rescue strays. Vera Wang’s Lola, Sam, Frankie, and Cooper. When taking your furry best friend to The Dog Store, you can expect the essentials, and a lot more. Services can include doggy yoga, hot-oil and conditioning treatments, and fun up-dos like the cornrows Alava did for Beyonce’s Shih Tzu, Munchie, “It’s everything you would want for yourself.” Alava explains the reasoning behind these over-the-top services. “It sounds crazy but it’s not that different than what you would do for yourself and if your dog enjoys it, you would want that for them every week too.” Munchie is one of the many A-list regulars Alava takes care of. This includes Simon Cowell’s Squiddly, Diddly and Freddy, Blake Lively’s Penny, and Vera Wang’s Lola, Sam, Frankie and Cooper. “These dogs have the best birthday parties; sometimes we have them at their homes, or sometimes we rent a room at a restaurant,” says Alava. More Than a Dog Groomer It would be incorrect to say that all Edward does is groom dogs. He’s designed dog bags, leashes, collars, and developed safe highquality shampoos and conditioners. Edward
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Dog Store
NYC’s Ultimate Dog Groomer B Y R A N DA J U M E A N
also opened a boarding/summer camp in the Hamptons. “We are your canine concierge.” He explains, “You check in at the Four Seasons and the first thing your concierge gets you is your personal shopper, and they go everywhere because you’re coming in with your dog. I’m there to make sure your dog has the food it wants, walks it needs, and of course the luxury grooming.” Alava does it all, from training dogs how to walk down aisles at your wedding to hosting black-and-white themed parties for poodles or constructing high-end doggy cabanas. Alava reminisces about the fun things he has done throughout the years. “It just feels good, I’m being very creative. I love building and designing; this helps me create wonderful
things for dogs.” He also offers private jet and yacht training. “In the Hamptons when the boats come in or when you fly private, we get a lot of calls because smart owners want their dogs to be calm, so we give them a nice lavender bath to make them more relaxed,” Alava shares. “Also, we have to make sure that their paws and nails are perfectly manicured, so they don’t scratch the leather on the furniture or the seats.” Additionally, Alava has a mobile grooming unit that goes to your house in the Hamptons to pamper your four-legged friends. The Dog Whisperer There is no one better than Alava to turn to when looking for advice on how to care for a dog, young, old, or in between. His biggest tip for new dog owners is to groom your dog frequently. Every three weeks to be exact. “Having your dog go to the groomer regularly is like having an extra set of eyes to help you. Your groomer will find a tick in the dog that maybe you haven’t found, or something wrong inside your dog’s ear,” says Alava. Nonetheless, if you do not have access to a groomer, three things to keep in mind when grooming your pet at home are: don’t get soap in their eyes, keep their nails short (especially if they’re older), and blow-dry their paws and fur thoroughly. “You do not want your dog sitting in that wet hair or wet paws because that can cause allergies and fungus.” Adopt-Don’t-Shop Alava is a supporter of many animal-based charities including the ASPCA, Southampton Animal Shelter and American Humane Society. He is a firm believer in “adopt-don’tshop”. He gives all dogs first-class service from celebrities to socialites and everyone from the neighborhood. “Dog owners love me because of the love I have for their dogs,” Alava explains. If you live in the city and have a dog that needs grooming, don’t think twice about heading to The Dog Store to give your best friend the treatment it deserves. P thedogstoreny.com
“THESE DOGS HAVE THE BEST BIRTHDAY PARTIES; SOMETIMES WE HAVE THEM AT THEIR HOMES, OR SOMETIMES WE RENT A ROOM AT A RESTAURANT.”
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Honoring
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atrons of this year’s 15th annual Hope for Depression Research Foundation luncheon painted the Plaza yellow, the official color of HDRF, to symbolize the hope they have in the fight against the debilitating effects of depression. Mental health illnesses, including depression, do not discriminate when it comes to who they affect, and that includes Olympic champions such as Michael Phelps. The Foundation, founded by Audrey Gruss, recognized the athlete for his advocacy and efforts in raising awareness which has helped to open a dialogue around depression while reducing the stigma of mental illness. Other award honorees included Jim Irsay, CEO and Owner of the Indianapolis Colts, and James R. Borynack, CEO of Findlay Galleries. This fabulously fun event raised over $750,000 crucially important funds for the organization. Prince Harry & Meghan Markle, From his fellow Olympic peers including Simone Biles, to world tennis champion Naomi Osaka and supermodel Bella Hadid, Phelps acknowledged that celebrities are opening up about their own mental health struggles on the world stage like never before. He also spoke exclusively to PARK about what advice he would give to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who are very vocal about their battles with mental illness while also advocating for others to get help. Prince Harry has opened up over the years about the difficulties of dealing with his mother Princess Diana’s death in the public eye, while Meghan admitted to Oprah earlier this year that she contemplated suicide while pregnant with their first child, Archie Harrison.
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Michael Phelps Painting the Plaza Yellow with Hope for the Hope for Depression Research Foundation B Y J U L I E S AG O S K I N
When it comes to battling their demons, Phelps, who told us that at one point he «thought of not wanting to be alive anymore,» went on to explain that he would tell the Duke and Duchess to «just try to be your authentic self. Being able to show that you’re going through a struggle is something that is more powerful than you will ever understand. It shows you that you are a human being. For me, I struggled because I felt like I was a swimmer and not a person for my whole career. I looked in the mirror and saw somebody with a cap and goggles and not a human being, so it took me a while to realize and understand that. I think once I did, I was able to just live freer and happier. Being comfortable with who you are and being your authentic self is something we’ve lost track of.” Princess Diana Princess Diana, whose life story is back in the headlines due to the new musical Diana, which is now on Broadway, as well as the movie Spencer, featuring Kristen Stewart, also dealt with the bulimia and depression throughout
her toxic marriage as well as in the aftermath. Understanding her struggles, Phelps explained that he would have wanted her to know that “everybody’s mental health is different, and we all deal with our mental health in different ways. Even if we’re struggling with depression or anxiety or suicide, mental health looks different for every single person. The only thing I hope we can learn from everyone we have lost is that hopefully we can learn the importance of opening up and talking about our struggles. I think that for so long people have looked at being vulnerable as a sign of weakness, and that’s ludicrous, and we need to change that. I believe that we all need to become vulnerable in order to give ourselves the best chance.” The Olympian also went on to say that “it’s so important to find somebody you can trust. Mental and physical wellness is one, it’s really unified me.” Audrey Gruss Audrey Gruss, Founder & Chair of Hope for Depression Research Foundation, which is named after her mother, Hope, has made it her mission to bring attention to mental illness after witnessing firsthand just how much her mother struggled with depression. Since its founding in 2006, HDRF has already made significant contributions to the cutting-edge neuroscience research into the origins, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of depression, as well as mood disorders related to depression, including anxiety disorders, PTSD, bipolar disorder, postpartum depression and suicide. HDRF has raised over $35 million for research grants since its inception. Depression Task Force, Emmy-award winning television anchor Chuck Scarborough from NBC 4 New York, who is also a supporter of many notable causes, got the luncheon off to a successful start.
‘‘FOR ME, I STRUGGLED BECAUSE I FELT LIKE I WAS A SWIMMER AND NOT A PERSON FOR MY WHOLE CAREER. I LOOKED IN THE MIRROR AND SAW SOMEBODY WITH A CAP AND GOGGLES AND NOT A HUMAN BEING, SO IT TOOK ME A WHILE TO REALIZE AND UNDERSTAND THAT.’’ Speakers included members of HDRF’s Depression Task Force, an elite group of worldrenowned neurosurgeons who are partaking in a joint research plan in order to share data in real time. These researchers, who are daring depression to back down with breakthrough treatments, hail from prestigious academic and medical institutions including Weill Cornell, Columbia, Duke, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, University of Michigan, Douglas Institute & McGill University and even Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in Munich, Germany. Helen Mayberg, M.D., founding director of the Center for Advanced Circuit Therapeutics at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, spoke about the strides she and her team have accomplished though Deep Brain Stimulation, a surgical treatment she pioneered for severe and resistant depression. Dr. Conor Liston, associate professor of Neuroscience and Psychiatry in the Brain and Mind Research Institute at Weill Cornell Medicine, joked that probiotic yogurt, which is often attributed to promoting healthy gut function, might not be the cure for depression just yet, but he has published several seminal studies on the gut-brain axis. Dr. Liston went on to explain his latest research, including the development of novel neuroimaging tools for psychiatric diagnosis and predicting antidepressant response.
Michael Phelps with Audrey Gruss
To read the entire interview of Michael Phelps, please go to our website at parkmagazineny.com.
Jim Irsay, Owner of The Indianapolis Colts Jim Irsay, CEO and Owner of The Indianapolis Colts, and recipient of the Ambassador of Hope Community Award, applauded his fellow honoree, Michael Phelps, for his bravery. “It’s so great to see him show the courage to talk about what he’s been through. When someone like him does that, they literally save lives.” In addition to building one of the most successful franchises in the NFL, Irsay and his family have launched “Kicking the Stigma,” an initiative
aimed at raising awareness about mental health disorders as well as supporting local non-profits in their efforts to expand treatment services. ‘‘When life doesn’t make sense anymore and you don’t have hope and you don’t want to be alive, it’s a tough place to be’’, Irsay explained. ‘‘It’s an illness, and we want to end the stigma because we believe so strongly that people who are sick are afraid to speak out or get help because they are afraid, they are going to be stigmatized.” 28 Olympic Medals Phelps, who has racked up 28 Olympic medals throughout this career, including a record-setting 23 gold medals, took to the stage to partake in a conversation with founder Audrey Gruss. The athlete, author and advocate opened up about his lifelong struggles with depression, including the first time he broke down in tears during a 2016 pre-Olympics interview with Sports Illustrated. He has since applied his hard work and dedication in the pool to his post-Olympic life. With a wife and three boys, Michael is open with his family about his ups and downs and encourages his own children to fully express their feelings. Phelps is passionate about ensuring that all children feel that they are fully supported and that they have the confidence to go after their dreams. He also credits his ongoing success to his own strong support system. “I can’t do it alone. There are times when I need to ask for help or be there for somebody else.” With over 20 million adults suffering from depression in the United States alone, supporters and scientists alike are doing everything they can to make sure that a new dawn of depression awareness and treatment is on the very hope-filled horizon. P hopefordepression.org
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Totenpass Ancient Form of Data Storage BY JAKE DRESSLER
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Roy Sebag, CEO of Goldmoney
otenpass is bringing back an ancient form of data storage that will carry on your legacy for thousands of years. “Data storage is ephemeral,” says Bruce Ha, founder of Totenpass. “With hard drives lasting 3 -5 years and memory cards only lasting 10 years, it’s becoming clearer that we can’t preserve our legacy on Dropbox.” Ha, a Vietnamese immigrant, has been thinking about preserving his family’s legacy since the 1970s when old family photographs were
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tainted by water during his family’s escape to America. “As refugees from Vietnam, my family rushed so much that the only thing my mom took were the baby bottles and the photo albums of our family,” Ha told Park. “During that time, our albums fell into the water and started degrading. I had a lot of trouble restoring them and thought that there must be a better way to preserve data.” Before launching Totenpass, Ha had been engineering technology that could print a resolution of 25,000 dots per inch, and was used to inscribe the entire Wikipedia, 30 million pages, onto a leaflet that weighed
only eight grams. The leaflet was buried on the moon as part of a Lunar Library. Ha’s technology can precisely print thousands of words, pictures and other forms of data onto a page the size of a fingernail. With the idea of permanency in mind, Ha partnered with Roy Sebag, CEO of Goldmoney Inc, to use his technology to help consumers and businesses store their data in more efficient ways. How It Works Totenpass stores your data on a thin plate of nickel and gold the size of a credit card that
team is confident that a prototype will be out soon.
“MY PERSONAL VISION IS TO BUILD A FUTURE WHERE IMPORTANT INFORMATION IS NEVER LOST. YOU LOOK AROUND IN HISTORY AND LIBRARIES HAVE BEEN DESTROYED AND EVERY TIME I SEE IT, I’M DISTRAUGHT.’’
Ha’s 8-gram leaflet containing 30 million pages of Wikipedia inscribed on a micro level
lasts for centuries. USB drives, hard drives and cloud storage all run into the same problem - they don’t last long. Within several years, memories on your USB drive will start to fade away. With Totenpass, you can store entire family albums on a micro level and pass them down to future generations. Ha’s technology of precise printing will transcribe your data perfectly. And if you ever want to transfer your data from Totenpass to digital, you’ll be able to use the Totenpass reader, an optical reader that scans your Totenpass and uploads it as a digital file. The technology isn’t available yet, but Ha’s
King Tut’s Gold Tablets Ha’s technology was partly influenced by ancient kings, who used the most efficient forms of data storage to preserve their legacy without even knowing it. The word “Totenpass” is German for the inscribed tablets or metal leaves found in burials. Kings and other nobility would inscribe their legacy on gold tablets to be brought with them to their graves. The surviving tablets have literally lasted thousands of years. “King Tut’s collection of gold tablets from 2,000 years ago is still alive today,” Ha said, “So gold is the perfect medium for preservation. But we want to do that in a very high-tech way.” The Key to Longevity “The key to longevity on digital is to migrate from one platform to the next one,” Ha explained. “When you store date online, you trust these companies like Dropbox or Facebook, but these companies are storing your data on tapes and spinning disks, physical items that die. In the Library of Congress, they use these tapes, because they can store a lot of information, but the drawback is that they have to keep re-copying it onto another tape so that the digital information is maintained. In that process there is a deficiency and they can lose information that way. Even for corporate conglomerations and major companies there’s about one document lost every twelve seconds. So, there’s a difficulty in retention.” Thomas Edison Predicted: Books on Nickel By using gold and nickel to inscribe data, Totenpass creates storage that will outlive any form of digital medium. Gold and nickel are great for storing data because they are characteristically immune from common types of data destruction, like degradation or fire, and they last a long time. In 1811, Thomas Edison predicted that books would one day be written
on thin sheets of nickel because of nickel’s longevity. “If you look in space, the visors of the astronauts are gold-plated; all the foils are made of gold. It’s highly tolerant to heat, radiation, it’s highly conductive,” Ha said. “Nickel is used in alloys in marine ships and vehicles because they don’t rust. Propellers and things submerged in saltwater have nickel.” Store Documents Forever Preserving personal legacy is the main focus of Totenpass, but Ha believes this technology will be used for other data storage too. Ha said, “My personal vision is to build a future where important information is never lost. You look around in history and libraries have been destroyed and every time I see it, I’m distraught. We’ve lost so much valuable information over the millennia. Digital information, I don’t think, will last for years. We’re looking way into the future, in a way that people can read the information years from now. We’re trying to store documents forever.” Crypto Market Totenpass is also venturing into the Crypto market. Ha said, “In crypto we see people putting their links and they create cold wallets like that. People have done wills, and those wills are legal documents. We’re looking at a lot of different applications and we’re working on a focus group to look at even more applications.” Shakespeare On One Card Totenpasses are currently available in slates the size of credit cards and can store the entire works of Shakespeare on one card. Other sizes are available upon request. “For the price of lunch, you can store your data on a Totenpass and carry on your legacy for generations to come” said Ha, “And that’s being stored without energy costs, in a decentralized way and we do not touch consumers’ data. We’ve developed a way to create Totenpasses without ever being exposed to your data.” P totenpass.com
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BEAUTY
Maison La Maison LaLa Maison Valmont Valmont Valmont Introducing the latest Introducing the latest Introducing the destination latest art and beauty art and beauty destination art and beautyin New York destination in New York City City!
in New York City!
G R A N D O PDECEMBER 10 E N I N G D E C E M B ETH R 12021 0 TH 2 0 2 1 GRAND OPENING
GRAND OPENING DECEMBER 10 TH 2021
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idier President cosmetics and fragrances developed cosmetics developedby by idierGuillon Guillon President and Artistic Director of the my partner Sophie Vann Guillon, and Artistic Director of the my partner Sophie Vann Guillon, C.E.O of of cosmetics and fragrances bycurated art idier Guillon President Valmont Group is an Artist, Valmont Group, but but developed also from from our our Valmont Group is an Artist, Valmont Group, also curated art and Artistic Directorentrepreneur, ofentrepreneur, the my partner Sophie Vann Guillon, C.E.O of philanthropist, pieces whileoffering offering a unique experience. philanthropist, pieces while a unique experience. Valmont Group is an Artist, Valmont Group, but also from our curated art and globe-trotter who and globe-trotter who has philanthropist, entrepreneur, a unique has built a luxury group Whatoffering made you chooseexperience. built a luxury group withpieces while globe-trotter who has What made you choose with art inand its DNA. The Carlyle Hotel in New York art in its DNA. built a luxury group with as your next destination? The Carlyle Hotel in New York made you choose art in itsLa DNA. Why open a new Maison Valmont? What as New York was an obvious choice for the first your next destination? Why open a newbecomes La Maison Valmont?The Carlyle Hotel While the World increasingly La Maison Valmont in the United States. in New York New York wasbeing an obvious choice for theYork first digital, we wanted to create a physical spaceas to your The Carlyle, an emblematic New next destination? While the World becomes increasingly digital, La Maison Valmont in the United States. Why open awanted newour La Maison maintain bond Valmont? with our customer. hotel, is a match made in heaven for us. we todeep create a physical space to The Carlyle, beinginanthe emblematic was obvious choice forEast theNew York firstthe It’s a place to tell our story and convey our New York From itsan location Upper Side, While themaintain World becomes digital, our deepincreasingly bond with our customer. hotel, is a match made in heaven for us. and La Maison Valmont in the unique Valmont world to everyone who walks history, the nearby artUnited States. museums, galleries, It’ s a place to tell our story and convey our we wanted to create a physical space to From its location in the Upper East Side, an truly emblematic through our doors. We want our customer toThe Carlyle, luxurybeing retailers make it New York Valmont to everyone who walks maintainunique ourthe deep bond world with our customer. history, the nearby art museums, hotel, isthe match made in heaven for us. feel emotions emanating from our aaperfect partnership.
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For more information visit: lamaisonvalmont.com
BEAUTY
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nown for its famous clients, Madison Avenue location and some of the most experienced stylists in the city, Oscar Blandi Salon is always a cut above. While they have specialists for cuts, color, styling and extensions, the Blandi blonde whisperer is without a doubt Miguel Angarita. Not only does this star hair stylist bring his talents to the salon – as well as red carpets and photo shoots - but he is also sought out when it comes to teaching others his truly skillful O S C A R B L A N D I S A LO N ’ S techniques. B LO N D E W H I S P E R E R
Miguel Angarita
“I have always been BY L A U R E N B E N S passionate about beauty and fashion, and especially the New York lifestyle,” explains Angarita. “I came to New York determined to make it. I apprenticed at only the top salons so that I could learn from the best. Louis Licari, Brad Johns, Beth Minardi.” Originally from Venezuela, Miguel has certainly conquered the hair coloring – and media scene - in the Big Apple and beyond. He has appeared in
numerous national outlets including Time Out and on CNN, in addition to making regular appearances on The Rachael Ray Show where he gives much needed makeovers. This specialized stylist values his close relationship with Oscar and the whole team which feels like one big close family. When it comes to working at this stylish salon, he also loves “the glamour vibe, the glitz, the opportunities and the support that I get from Oscar.” From coloring his client’s hair on balconies to visiting their Hamptons homes during the pandemic, Miguel really came to realize his worth during these crazy, and very bad hair day days. “It taught me to think outside the box and find ways to keep safe and also accommodate my clients. I would Facetime and teach husbands how to apply their wife’s color. I would even review instructions with their kids to make sure Dad got it right. Once I did a client’s color in her driveway and then ended up getting more clients when neighbors saw what I was doing.” When it comes to tackling even the toughest hair color changes, Miguel remains fearless. “I welcome the big ‘projects’ that other colorists might be hesitant to take on. Perfect example - I have several dark-haired clients who I have taken to white blonde, and they still have hair on their head.” P
oscarblandi.com
‘‘MAKING REGULAR APPEARANCES ON THE RACHAEL RAY SHOW WHERE HE GIVES MUCH NEEDED MAKEOVERS.’’
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50 Route 111, Suite 300 | Smithtown, NY 11787 Smithtown | Southampton | New York City | Boca Raton pincusplasticsurgery.com
Empowering You Through Physical Change The road to plastic surgery success is paved with names that have been in the industry for decades, revered for their craft, and labelled as innovators. However, with the onset of an evolving social time follows an evolution of beauty and idealism. The next generation of visionaries are making their mark with the understanding that beauty is no longer coupled with the concept of perfection or fits a mold, that of a "model." As the next generation takes the helm of plastic surgery royalty, Dr. David J. Pincus has soared into stratospheric success by being at the forefront of innovative, impeccable work that has been catered to the most important component of any plastic surgeon’s career-- his patients. Dr. David Pincus conceived Pincus Plastic Surgery in 2018 and has since risen to colossal accomplishment. His patient clientele has increased over 700%. He is one of the most sought after surgeons in New York with a fully booked surgical schedule through May 2022 and an extensive waiting list eagerly anticipating a cancellation.
Dr. David J. Pincus, MD, FACS
Many have questioned how it is possible to sky-rocket to such a level of success in this short period of time when Pincus Plastic Surgery is a practice where one surgeon does it all. The answer goes back to the most essential and simple way of practicing medicine- sheer talent and individualized patient care. The secret to his success is not linked to the most talked about phenomenon of visual social media nor the new concept of doctor shopping online. It is quite the opposite. His secret is the rudimentary practice of individualized patient care without the current trend of outsourcing care to other surgeons under his umbrella nor any visual social media phenomenon. These new age concepts that the current literature speaks to only gets you so far as a surgeon that relies on visual results. The intent and care of Dr. David Pincus can certainly make an impression on a patient at their consultation, but the true talent of a surgeon can only speak to you through the results of their work. As the saying goes, his results speak volumes. Dr. Pincus does not believe in a mold or ideal of the human shape. His objective is to empower his patients by helping them achieve their individualized concept of beauty and confidence. The success of Pincus Plastic Surgery is due to the unfiltered, unadulterated talent of a surgeon that was cultivated by 18 years of training in Miami, Boston, and Paris in order to achieve the expertise needed to be extraordinary. For Dr. Pincus, it most certainly did not take a decennary to become a trailblazer in his area of expertise. But as we all know, giving yourself the title of an expert in any field is completely different from proving your brilliance and talent. Dr. Pincus has most certainly proven his title as an innovator and continues to persevere. After three successful years of practicing in Smithtown, Long Island, Dr. Pincus is now opening up his second and third office in Manhattan and Boca Raton, Florida.
BEAUTY
Desired Outcome “During a cosmetic consultation I listen to a patient’s desired outcome, concerns, fears and what is important to them. I then incorporate those factors, educate the patient about the procedures, and lay out a curated plan to meet these desires based upon their facial anatomy. I also stress the importance of continuing cosmetic maintenance treatments and proper skincare regimens to enhance their skin’s appearance both for the near term and the future.”
Dr. Marie Hayag F I V E - S TA R B E A U T Y T R E AT M E N T BY LAUREN BENS
Best in Beauty
“DURING A COSMETIC CONSULTATION I LISTEN TO A PATIENT’S DESIRED OUTCOME, CONCERNS, FEARS AND WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO THEM.’’
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r. Marie Hayag’s concierge dermatology practice, Fifth Avenue Aesthetics, located on Manhattan’s Upper East side, caters to her nationwide patient base. Board-certified in dermatology, Dr. Hayag creates a uniquely incredible experience for her clientele. Beyond evaluating the patient’s whole face analyzing the different angles, contours, and facial proportions - she more importantly simply listens.
The Spa at Fifth Avenue Considering Dr. Hayag’s emphasis on skincare maintenance through both cosmetic treatments and daily routine, she founded The Spa at Fifth Avenue located within her Manhattan practice. Under her medical directorship, top celebrity estheticians deliver amazing treatments in a serene relaxing environment. The Spa at Fifth Avenue offers not only phenomenal facials, but the licensed estheticians are certified to deliver various skin-enhancing treatments including microneedling, Biologique remodeling facials and LED Therapy. These devices can stimulate collagen production, soothe post-procedure irritation and swelling, or give an immediate red-carpet glow and lift for that special event. Appointments for Dr. Hayag’s services have never been stronger “The last several months I have had a constant demand for my cosmetic treatments. I see this trend across all age demographics, from my younger patient that wants preventative treatments to address fine lines before they occur, to patients who desire a thread lift dubbed the ‘non-surgical facelift.’” Dr. Hayag still schedules time in her week to consult with new patients largely referred to Fifth Avenue Aesthetics from existing clients. Dr Hayag recently announced the grand opening of her Palm Beach, Florida satellite office to service the needs of her patient base. Appointments are booking for January 2022.P mariehayagmd.com
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HEALTH
Dr. Amanda Itzkoff F O U N D E R O F C U R AT E D M E N TA L H E A LT H
AT T H E F O R E F R O N T O F P Y S YC H I AT R I C T R E AT M E N T
BY LAUREN BENS
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hen it comes to helping patients battle mental illness, psychiatrist and assistant clinical professor, Dr. Amanda Itzkoff, has made it her mission to find the most innovative treatments and techniques available. In fact, Dr. Itzkoff was doing just that back in 2014, when she set out to offer IV Ketamine and Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) to her treatment resistant patients at the time. While the benefits of using Ketamine to help treat those suffering from resistant depression, or TRD, is now widely known to be highly effective, Dr. Itzkoff was initially one of just a handful of doctors in the country to offer this treatment to patients outside of research studies. Though she was met with resistance from others in her field, this devoted doctor, who fundamentally understood the lifechanging effects that Ketmine could potentially have on those patients who were still suffering after all other treatment options had failed them, did what she does best fought for her patients. Passionate about putting her patients’ progress first, Dr. Itzkoff opened her own
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practice in New York over a decade ago, which she continues to operate. Now, Dr. Itzkoff is using her same determination and foresight to help even more patients with the recently announced opening of Curated Mental Health, where patients will not have to worry about covering the cost of their care. Though patients will still be able to see Dr. Itzkoff at her private practice location, which does not currently accept insurance, Curated Mental Health, led by a highly qualified team whom Dr. Itzkoff has assembled and will continue to oversee, will afford patients the ability to receive these transformative treatments without having to pay any of the high out of pocket costs. The team at this revolutionary new center plans to offer the latest advances in psychedelic therapies, along with standard psychiatric treatment, to patients who have previously been unable to access these groundbreaking therapies. For the first time ever, patients will be able to use their insurance benefits to receive IV Ketamine and Ketamine assisted psychotherapy. Curated Mental Health might already be a breakthrough practice, but this is
just the beginning. With the help of strategic partnerships, they are already planning a national rollout in order to make these cutting-edge psychedelic treatments available to all, regardless of financial situation. According to Dr. Itzkoff, Curated Mental Health will aim to help others through the most advanced practices available. “We are dedicated to addressing the massive barriers to care that exist in obtaining mental health treatment, especially the most cutting edge services,” she explains. “We therefore established Curated Mental Health where we are committed to treating patients with ketamine assisted psychotherapy and additional psychedelic assisted psychotherapy modalities as soon as they become available.” Dr. Itzkoff is currently completing training with MAPS, or Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, for MDMA assisted psychotherapy for PTSD, and she plans to use a similar model to the one that she has developed for ketamine treatment to allow patients who need to use their insurance benefits to access this care. For those who want to learn more about how this pioneering doctor is hoping to bring psychedelic assisted psychotherapy to practices around the country, Dr. Itzkoff will be hosting Cocktails and Conversations with special guests on December 9th at her new office located at 253 West 28th Street. Colleagues in the mental health field, as well as press and the community at large, are invited to both learn and celebrate the launch of a growing network of offices bringing psychedelic assisted psychotherapy to all patients who might benefit from these unorthodox but crucially beneficial methods. Dr. Robin Carhartt-Harris will serve as the keynote speaker on Psychedelics: Brain Mechanisms, preceding a Q and A forum with Dr. Itzkoff and gala dinner benefiting MAPS. Dr. Itzkoff is excited to share how she is at the forefront of the future of mental health by sharing Curated Mental Health’s cutting edge approach, as well as how they are attempting to make these treatments accessible to all. P curatedmentalhealth.com
DON’T MISS YOUR CHANCE TO SEE THIS MUSICAL MASTERPIECE. BROADWAY TICKETS FROM $49 WITH CODE COCPAM
SHARON D CLARKE
Book and Lyrics by TONY KUSHNER Music by JEANINE TESORI Choreographed by ANN YEE Directed by MICHAEL LONGHURST Major support for Caroline, or Change generously provided by Ravenel Curry and Jane Moss Underwriting support provided by Roundabout’s Musical Production Fund partners, Andrew Martin Weber and Elizabeth Armstrong. Caroline, or Change benefits from Roundabout’s Musical Production Fund with lead gifts from The Howard Gilman Foundation, the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, Michael Kors and Lance Le Pere, Diane and Tom Tuft, and Cynthia C. Wainwright and Stephen Berger.
13 WEEKS ONLY BEGINS OCT 8 Studio 54 254 West 54th Street 212.719.1300 roundabouttheatre.org
FOOD
Hancock St
P O S T- M I L L E N N I A L A M E R I C A N C U I S I N E BY GEORGE WAYNE
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o, what does that mean GW? One could politely ask, “What is this take of yours?” This idea of Post-Millennial American Cuisine. What is it exactly? A fair question that was the first probe to the seasoned and successful Greenwich Village restaurateur John McDonald at his brand-new Mercer Street Hospitality Group contribution to the bustling West Village foodie scene. It’s called Hancock St. “It’s an elevated contemporary take on American cuisine,” he says, which is not much help. But John McDonald has mastered the template of setting a cool only-in-New-Yorkstyle-vibe for his many successful restaurants, such as his most famous Lure off Mercer Street in Soho and the personal favorite Bistrot Leo that buzzily fronts the Thompson Hotel. And Hancock St has been an instant hit
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along the super-hot foodie corridor on the lower Avenue of the Americas between Houston St and West 4th Street in the ever-groovy West Village. “It’s about a well-balanced and a heightened depth of flavor here,” rhymes his Chef/Partner here--Ryan Schmidtberger. “It’s a new neighborhood restaurant in one of the great neighborhoods of New York City.” And that’s one fact we can’t argue with. At Hancock St that also means a fairly simple and not overly conceptualized menu from this competently creative chef who earned his laurels setting the imprimatur for Mr. McDonald at his still-reigning Soho seafood mecca Lure. Here he’s offering a pared menu with little room for frippery except for the Russian Osetra Caviar indulgence which sticker shocks ($295/8 oz.) the fabulous Raw
Bar offerings. And, in fact, the Raw Bar is already the signature niche that makes Hancock St special. There is nothing over-conceptualized or flaunting the latest gastronomy techniques here. Just a simple offering of the tastiest kisses from the sea, such as a delightful mix of East and West coast oysters. The plump, creamy Pink Moon from the oyster beds of Canada’s Prince Edward Island to the briny best from the beds off Cape Cod. Order a dozen to start your evening going. The rich and complex oyster merroir (i.e. variation to the true connoisseur) is simply supreme. And the unctuous offering of specialty in-housecontrived garnishes and sauces that accompany the dish is the deft coup de grace. “The sauces are made in house,” says
THE PLUMP, CREAMY PINK MOON FROM THE OYSTER BEDS OF CANADA’S PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND TO THE BRINY BEST FROM THE BEDS OFF CAPE COD. Chef Schmidtberger, ambling over to say hello on our first visit. The citrus aioli and the green tomatillo concoction are the two standouts. In fact, order the entire Raw Bar menu as your meal and go home happy. That would include the perfect Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail and the divine Tuna Sashimi with a dash of tomato sauce, gooseberries and radish. Then wrap the titillate to the taste buds with the perfectly prepared melt-in-your-mouth Sea Urchin & Crispy Potato with a spicy ponzu sauce drizzle with jalapeno. The appetizers, vegetables and salads have their own prime spot on the menu where the Charred Heirloom Cauliflower and a Finocchiona Salami and Burrata set the standard. The rustic elements to the menu that surely will find an audience this winter in Manhattan
include a slurp-worthy Squid Ink Linguine and why not pig out too with the rustic standout here with the Crispy Veal Schnitzel. Or better yet, the crowd-pleaser-- the Slow Roasted Short Ribs - spectacular depth of flavor with a punchy note of smoke and braised for eight hours. The flawless presentation is the final telling sign of the lengthy gestation and the exquisite preparation of the dish certainly catches the eye on the way to the table. A modern display of true range and improvisation from this kitchen and nothing exclaims that more than this statement piece. The beef dish is guaranteed to be the center of attention as it’s being swanned through the old school supper club atmospherics here this new season. The design comes from the creative genius of the
long-regaled Downtown influencer (for centuries already it seems!), the Swiss-born Serge Becker. The gorgeous plum-colored and beautifully lacquered bar, pre-pandemic, would have been one of the coolest bars in the Village for an illicit rendezvous hook up. There’s no reason why it still can’t be. So, despite the strange denouement - PostMillennial American Cuisine - let’s just keep it real and state that Hancock St, if nothing else, is a hip, new, New York City restaurant with a solid offering of a few re-imagined classics from the American bistro formula. Forget the famously cool pasta spot Bar Pitti right across the street, people. The latest RESY must be Hancock St. P hancockst.com @hancockstreet
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DINING
Live Axe E AT, D R I N K , T H R OW MODERN AXE THROWING EXPERIENCE IN MANHATTAN
BY BENNETT MARCUS
Creator: Zac Segal ive Axe, a bar and lounge featuring axe throwing, brings a sophisticated, New York City-level experience to this activity that has become popular across the U.S. Manhattan’s first axe-throwing venue, Live Axe offers delicious food, including vegetarian and gluten-free options, an elevated cocktail menu in a Viking-themed bar, and chic, Instagramfriendly industrial design in its 10,000 square-foot Soho space. And no worries, it’s
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perfectly safe to hang out there – the axe throwing is relegated to cages and guided by highly trained “Axperts” called Cage Captains. Instagram Backdrops “We elevated the experience, it’s not just a barn or warehouse,” says founder Zac Segal. “I don’t think there’s any other axe throwing place in the world that does it the way we do, with everything - the music, the food, the drinks, the design - together.”
Throughout the stylish space graphic walls designed by different artists in a variety of materials provide perfect Instagram backdrops. “The vibe is like going to a fancy lounge in Manhattan,” says Segal. The Draw Part of the experience is in doing something unique, something that most people haven’t done before. There’s a strong social aspect. “You get excited. You see people being tense, and
Rage Room & Global Expansion In the planning stages is a “rage room,” in which you are invited to break things. It could be plates or glassware, or monitors , computer, or anything that comes to mind . (We can all relate to that!) You choose your weapon, perhaps a sledgehammer, baseball bat, or, yes, an axe, and smash the object. Loud music may be your accompaniment, getting you even more keyed up - or more concisely, more gleefully vengeful. “It definitely matches axe throwing, so I’m not going in different directions. It’s adding one more way to be active, to be social.” Explains Zac. In the future, he’s planning to open additional ‘‘PARTIES CAN HAVE Live Axe locations, in big THEIR OWN SPACE, cities both in the U.S. and OR EVEN THEIR OWN abroad.
FLOOR, IN WHICH TO MINGLE, MUNCH AND IMBIBE NEAR THEIR DEDICATED CAGE FOR THOSE WHO WISH TO THROW.’’
then half an hour later, screaming and yelling and rooting for their friends, getting very competitive,” Segal explains. As it’s a fairly new activity, there are not many people who are really good at it, so everyone is competing at the same level, and you don’t feel intimidated. “Unlike, say, bowling, where there are people who have been playing since they were young.” says Segal. Inner Viking Throwing an axe is a vigorous activity, you’re moving your body, using energy. The cage captains offer encouragement and tips on stance and accuracy. Opened during the pandemic, Live Axe faced some delays due to Covid-related restrictions, but has now been steadily operating since December, with social-distancing and other protocols in place. Axe-throwing is not required, and in fact, a lot of well-dressed folks come by after dinner for drinks. The bar recommends that people wear flat shoes, but they do have some on-hand for
those in heels or sandals who decide spur of the moment to embrace their inner Viking. Popular With All Ages The proprietors have been amazed at the variety of people Live Axe has attracted. A few months ago, a woman held a 35th birthday party there with over 45 guests. Not long after, the birthday girl’s mother celebrated her 76th at the venue with a bunch of female friends, all of similar age. “They had so much fun, these mature ladies,” Segal says. “And they said next time they’re bringing their husbands.” Corporate Events Segal has been surprised at how popular the place has proven for corporate events. “ People are branching out, and it’s fun for everybody,” he says. With different sections on different levels, parties can have their own space, or even their own floor, in which to mingle, munch and imbibe near their dedicated cage for those who wish to throw.
IDF Soldier & Serial Entrepreneur His stint as a solder in the Israeli Defense Force did not inspire the concept for Live Axe. Based in New York for the past six years, Segal realized that our hectic lifestyles, often spent hunched over computers, leave minimal opportunities for social interaction. He wondered what people can do to charge their batteries. “Do I want to do something social, or with activities, because I was sitting all day? Do I want good food and drink? And what if I could do something that combined all three?” A serial entrepreneur, Segal had earlier started a chain of high-end retail stores with locations around the U.S. JustOne Now, he is about to launch an app called JustOne that allows users to give tips to service workers or donate to charity with just one click. The idea is to tip the parking attendant or bellhop a few dollars, even if you don’t have cash with you. “It’s basically the simplest way to send someone gratitude,” he says. P liveaxe.com
DINING
‘‘IT’S ALL ABOUT UNDERSTANDING WHAT THE CHEF IS TRYING TO CREATE, AND THE LAST THING IS PRICE. PEOPLE WANT TO FEEL LIKE THEY ARE GETTING GOOD VALUE.”
Strictly Restaurants
H E L P I N G T O S AV E YO U R FAVO R I T E S C R U M P T I O U S S P O T BY L A U R E N B E N S
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hile the hard-hit hospitality industry continues to struggle amidst the hardships brought on by the unpredictability of the pandemic, Strictly Restaurants is helping to ensure that your favorite steakhouse or spaghetti joint is able to survive so that all they have to worry about is staying scrumptious. From working as a dishwasher to running high-end dining establishments, President and CEO of Strictly Restaurants, Jeff Lavelle, has a background running both the back and front of the house, making him uniquely qualified to help restaurants not just survive, but thrive. In fact, his last full-time client before starting Strictly Restaurants was David Bouley. Jeff’s company offers a full-course menu of
specialized services encompassing all things accounting, consulting and hospitality oriented. Their business operations and management mindset are intended to give restaurant owners peace of mind, especially during these challenging times. By keeping track of daily sales as well as managing payroll, plus profit and loss spreadsheets and everything in between, restaurant staff can focus on customers, not cash flow. Jeff is also passionate about making sure that it is always possible for all employees to receive a paycheck. “A company that is well funded with money in the bank guarantees that everyone on payroll is regularly paid. It also sets owners in the mindset of staying disciplined. The key is that as long as an
employee knows that an employer cares for them, they will always be loyal, and that translates to a successful restaurant. Jeff also has the same philosophy when it comes to running his own tight – but tranquil – ship at Strictly Restaurants. Whether it’s a mom-and-pop or a Michelin star restaurant, Jeff says it’s all about knowing the product and what the expectations are. “I am able to see things from a customer’s perspective. Everyone has to feel comfortable, and that means everything needs to go together, from the music to the design.” Considering that Jeff has the potential to help restaurants get on the right – and tasty – track, Strictly Restaurants is the biggest value on the restaurant saving menu. His company has helped well-known clients include Emmy Squared, and this restaurant whisperer has also worked with Iron Chef Morimoto, Jonathan Waxman, Tim Cushman just to name a few. “We go deep in order to feel like part of the team, we’re not just a vendor,” explains Jeff. “We want to keep helping restaurants of all sizes with our customized services.” With the help of Jeff and his team at Strictly Restaurants, restaurants can spend more of their time focusing on which toppings to use while they find themselves at the top. P strictlyrestaurants.com
Your Greater Philadelphia & Center City Specialist 108 Dovecote Lane Villanova PA 19085
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DINING
‘‘DUE TO ITS VERSATILITY AND RICH HERITAGE, THIS VARIETY IS ESPECIALLY BELOVED IN VENICE WHERE IT IS MOST OFTEN USED THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE MEAL. ’’
La Gioiosa Prosecco
T H E I TA L I A N W I N E T H AT S PA R K L E S L I K E A DIAMOND A N D TA S T E S LIKE BUBBLING PERFECTION BY LAUREN BENS
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oast – or say cin cin - to a tasty holiday season this year with La Gioiosa Prosecco. This famed family founded brand is guaranteed to add a bit of Italian inspired sparkle to your celebrations with each sustainable sip of their sparkling wine. Party like it’s pre-pandemic times, or at least
like the carnival in Venice, where this popular Italian wine is the unparalleled prosecco of choice. Even the most particular prosecco drinkers have been indulging in this Italian favorite since 1974, when the Moretti Polegato family founded the bubbly brand. Meaning “The Joyous”, La Gioiosa is derived from the
ancient name of the region where the wines are farmed and produced – one thing is for sure – your festivities are about to get a lot more jubilant. The winery, which produces a variety of popular Proseccos, including Prosecco Rosé, low-calorie Prosecco and even organically farmed Prosecco, wants to ensure that you not only enjoy their bottles, but that they also remain environmentally friendly. In addition to savoring each sparkling sip, you will be even more satisfied knowing that La Gioiosa takes sustainability seriously. They consistently remain committed to limiting their carbon footprint by utilizing alternative energy sources, such as hydroelectric power generated by the nearby Piave River. The passion of the Moretti Polegato family can be felt – and tasted – in each and every bottle. Featuring a fruity and flowery aroma with fine aromatic and citrine hints, La Gioiosa Prosecco Treviso DOC has a lively taste and pale straw color. Due to its versatility and rich heritage, this variety is especially beloved in Venice where it is most often used throughout the entire meal. Add a bit of the mouth watering aromas of acacia flowers and citrus when you stand under the mistletoe this holiday with the La Gioiosa Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG. This clean and fresh tasting prosecco, which pairs perfectly with seafood and also makes for a wonderful aperitif, is guaranteed to get any party started. These enticing wines are imported exclusively by Ethica Wines, which is known for specializing in Italian wines from regions throughout the country. They are also ethically driven as their name suggests. “These wines reflect the growing interest in Italian culture and wines in America,” says Flavio Geretto, the winery’s international export director. Add some style – and sparkle – to your next intimate dinner party or large celebration with La Gioiosa sparkling wines and turn your holiday season into a wondrous occasion. There’s only one thing left to say: salute! P INSTAGRAM lagioiosa_usa ethicawines.com
DINING FOOD
Kosher.Com
C O N N E C T I N G C O M M U N I T I E S T H R O U G H F O O D , R E C I P E S A N D H I T S H OW S BY LAUREN BENS
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hen it comes to keeping up with all things kosher, regardless of your background, Kosher.com is the ultimate source for all things related to food, lifestyle, and entertainment in the widespread Jewish world. With a guide to great new kosher products, including this year’s new holiday cookie kits and two web series: ‘Breaking Bread’ and “Rosh Chodesh Club,” they are hoping to engage their audience through entertaining I N S TA N T LY A D D F L AVO Rand - delicious A N D dialogue. S M I L E S - T O YO U R H O L I DAY S E Ato SShani O N Seidman, Chief According Marketing Officer of Kosher.com, their growing “WE HAVE BY LAUREN BENS site and popular social media platforms are MILLIONS OF intended to connect people across continents. UNIQUE USERS “We have over 2 million unique usersand a year and OVER ake all of your holiday dishesTHE more Gardens® adds plenty of freshness flavor, use our reach to stay in touch with the kosher OF THE festive thisCOURSE year when you add Dorot making you the soon-to-be most popular host consumer wellholiday as thoseseason. who want to learn Gardens®YEAR AND OVER Fresh Garlic & Herbs, the or hostess as of the Dorot more about it and who we are. We are more 50,000 FOLLOWERS savory seasoning that will instantly make this Gardens® takes away the need to always buy than just the voice for kosher, but also use our ON INSTAGRAM, special season the tastiest one yet. fresh herbs, because these herbs and garlic are voices educatein and fromAlso, others.” EACHwhen WITH Why do extra cooking you THEIR can use alwaystoavailable thelearn freezer. no need to Kosher.com is constantly to reach UNIQUE Dorot Gardens® in all ofOWN your delectable worry about wilting spoiledseeking herbs going bad in new audiences and break down barriers, BACKGROUND dips – don’t worry, we won’t tell! Full of flash your refrigerator. All you have to do is pop the including their two latest Newno topeeling, Kosher. AND onion, KOSHER frozen garlic, ginger, turmeric, and herb frozen cube so there is noshows. chopping, com is ‘Breaking Bread’, starring Danielle cubes that are perfectlyPERCEPTIVE.” proportioned, Dorot no mess, and less prep.
Dorot Gardens
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“Dorot Gardens® takes the stress out of holiday cooking while still allowing you to use Renov (@peaslovencarrots) and fresh and delicious herbs infood your blogger meal… just author from a multicultural Jewish without the fuss,” says Laura Morris, Associate background with parents who are from both Marketing Director of Dorot Gardens®. Ashkenazi and Sephardic descent. The show Established in 1992, Dorot Gardens®, which takes viewers on a tasty tour of homes around specializes in developing, producing, and Israel wherefrozen she visits with people of different marketing seasoning products all over cultural backgrounds. Another new the world, is fully owned by Kibbutz show Dorot in debuting during the on the Southern part of Chanukah Israel. Withseason more than Kosher.com is the Rosh Chodesh Club featuring 3,500 acres of field crops, mostly garlic & herbs, Gabe Garcia,iswhich eachthe month’s this kibbutz able tocelebrates keep up with demand Jewish celebrations. This world-renowned for their high-quality products which makeschef from the famous Tierra Sur restaurant intheir any plate more palatable. They also have Oxnard, California, takes viewers on a cookown unique method in which the garlic and along breaksand down components of herbsas arehepicked then immediately restaurant-worthy dishes into something you chopped, packaged and frozen in a unique can recreate in your own kitchen. These fast-freeze process so that they can maintain exciting new shows join thenutritive over 800 shows their taste, freshness, and value. Over now available on Kosher.com. the years, the company has greatly grown and Also, for the Kosher.com is featuring: expanded, andholiday, is now the largest supplier of The Manischewitz Ornament Ready to fresh, frozen seasoning products in Israel. Decorate Pre-Baked Sugar CookieDorot Kit in such In addition to being delicious, shapes as dreidels and menorahs, comes withis Gardens®, which icing and sprinkles, makingnatural this a perfect raw and ‘‘ALLOWING festive family activity; ‘the one sizeand fitscontains all’ vegan YOU TO USE Manishewitz Ugly Sweaterno Chanukah Sugaror preservatives FRESH AND a cookie Cookie Kit includes sweater cutout artificial flavors, also DELICIOUS and decorating supplies. adds to a healthy HERBS INis committeddiet. Kosher.com to not only Dorot YOUR MEAL… educating others about various Jewish Gardens® products JUST WITHOUT cultures, but also learning about the cultural are non-GMO and THE FUSS. ’’ Kosher.com customs of others. even hasdairya gluten-free, special Italian holiday section year and free,this nut-free, featuring products from the Tuscanini brand, soy-free, as well as being certified kosher and a premium kosher food brand with a curated line halal. of products sourced in Italy and new recipes Dorot Gardens® is always picked fresh and that highlighton Jewish traditions from around flash-frozen sight to lock in freshness before the world. being shipped directly to your freezer. With a “We have millions of can unique users two-year shelf life, you make anyover mealthe feel course of the year and over 50,000 followers on as festive as the holidays. Instagram, each with their own unique Find your most scrumptious secret weapon background kosher in the frozenand veggie aisleperceptive,” at your localsays Seidman. supermarket including Kroger, Walmart, With Joe’s, a tagline of ‘let’sAlbertsons, talk food,’ expanding Trader Safeway, Whole communication with their expansiveHarris Foods, Wegmans, Shaw’s, ShopRite, community is crucial to Kosher.com’s mission. Teeter, and Giant. Their new app digitizes andon catalogues Find uniqueeven holiday recipes Dorot old recipes, so you can share your Gardens®’ website that will add convenience, grandmother’s latke recipe through not calories, tocoveted your mouthwatering holiday your social network. P meal. P kosher.com dorotgardens.com
©2021 Imported from Italy by Enovation Brands, Inc., Aventura, FL 33180 PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY Prosecco DOC, Pinot Grigio DOC Delle Venezie
FOOD
Kosher.Com
C O N N E C T I N G C O M M U N I T I E S T H R O U G H F O O D , R E C I P E S A N D H I T S H OW S BY LAUREN BENS
W “WE HAVE MILLIONS OF UNIQUE USERS OVER THE COURSE OF THE YEAR AND OVER 50,000 FOLLOWERS ON INSTAGRAM, EACH WITH THEIR OWN UNIQUE BACKGROUND AND KOSHER PERCEPTIVE.”
hen it comes to keeping up with all things kosher, regardless of your background, Kosher.com is the ultimate source for all things related to food, lifestyle, and entertainment in the widespread Jewish world. With a guide to great new kosher products, including this year’s new holiday cookie kits and two web series: ‘Breaking Bread’ and “Rosh Chodesh Club,” they are hoping to engage their audience through entertaining and delicious dialogue. According to Shani Seidman, Chief Marketing Officer of Kosher.com, their growing site and popular social media platforms are intended to connect people across continents. “We have over 2 million unique users a year and use our reach to stay in touch with the kosher consumer as well as those who want to learn more about it and who we are. We are more than just the voice for kosher, but also use our voices to educate and learn from others.” Kosher.com is constantly seeking to reach new audiences and break down barriers, including their two latest shows. New to Kosher. com is ‘Breaking Bread’, starring Danielle
Renov (@peaslovencarrots) food blogger and author from a multicultural Jewish background with parents who are from both Ashkenazi and Sephardic descent. The show takes viewers on a tasty tour of homes around Israel where she visits with people of different cultural backgrounds. Another new show debuting during the Chanukah season on Kosher.com is the Rosh Chodesh Club featuring Gabe Garcia, which celebrates each month’s Jewish celebrations. This world-renowned chef from the famous Tierra Sur restaurant in Oxnard, California, takes viewers on a cookalong as he breaks down components of restaurant-worthy dishes into something you can recreate in your own kitchen. These exciting new shows join the over 800 shows now available on Kosher.com. Also, for the holiday, Kosher.com is featuring: The Manischewitz Ornament Ready to Decorate Pre-Baked Sugar Cookie Kit in such shapes as dreidels and menorahs, comes with icing and sprinkles, making this a perfect festive family activity; ‘the one size fits all’ Manishewitz Ugly Sweater Chanukah Sugar Cookie Kit includes a cookie sweater cutout and decorating supplies. Kosher.com is committed to not only educating others about various Jewish cultures, but also learning about the cultural customs of others. Kosher.com even has a special Italian holiday section this year featuring products from the Tuscanini brand, a premium kosher food brand with a curated line of products sourced in Italy and new recipes that highlight Jewish traditions from around the world. “We have millions of unique users over the course of the year and over 50,000 followers on Instagram, each with their own unique background and kosher perceptive,” says Seidman. With a tagline of ‘let’s talk food,’ expanding communication with their expansive community is crucial to Kosher.com’s mission. Their new app even digitizes and catalogues old recipes, so you can share your grandmother’s coveted latke recipe through your social network. P kosher.com
Please enjoy our wines responsibly. © 2021 Ruffino Import Company, Rutherford, CA
FOOD
A Dutch Masterpiece G E T T I N G YO U R H O L I DAY CHEESE WHEELS TURNING BY LAUREN BENS
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or a masterfully memorable occasion, don’t forget to serve a decadent - and deliciously - decorated A Dutch Masterpiece cheeseboard. With a recent redesign featuring approachable artwork from Dutch painters as well as their most recognizable works, A Dutch Masterpiece is painting a very palatable picture on their wedges and wheels. The brand also launched a new website which is sure to get your cheese wheels turning with new ideas for your own holiday party.
While their imposing images of Dutch painters might make them stand out in the cheese case, you can now create your own standout cheeseboard at home so that you can be the hit of the holiday season. After all, A Dutch Masterpiece wants to ensure that they help you make mouthwatering new traditions. Their lineup of four premium mature cheeses have won awards for outstanding excellence around the world for their dedication to the art of traditional Dutch cheesemaking and exclusive recipes. The proof
of their prestige, including everything from origin to taste and texture, is also mentioned on the packaging. According to Debbie Seife, Marketing Director, of FrieslandCampina Consumer Dairy, their prized cheeses, named after the world’s most famous painters, are works of art in themselves. “Distinctive in flavor like their artists, our new brand identity and package design frames the distinctive features of each painter, their formative work, and the unique age and tasting notes of each of the awarding winning cheeses in our masterpiece collection.” This collection of cherished cheeses includes the Rembrandt, which is fully ripened for one year. With a firm texture and robust flavor, this extra aged gouda has won the World Championship Cheese Contest in 2004, in addition to receiving gold in the 2016 World Cheese Awards. The almost too ‘gouda’ to be true Vincent variety, a 2013 World Cheese Award winner, is a perfect combination of gouda and parmesan. After being fully ripened for six months, this classic Dutch cheese is full of flavor. Made with 100% goat’s milk for a full-bodied taste and delicate aroma, Frans Hals came out on top at the 2016 World Cheese Awards, while the popular Vermeer, which is ripened for six months, paints a tasty picture of fruity and delicate notes. Add some rich heritage to your holiday - and all year round - with A Dutch Masterpiece, especially when you follow their Facebook and Instagram @ADutchMasterpieceCheese so that you can create your own cheese board vision board. P adutchmasterpiece.com
SOCIAL SAFARI
Christian Dior @ The Brooklyn Museum & Jasper Johns @ The Whitney, Daniel Craig as James Bond, John Legend & Chrissy Teigen Join Casa Cipriani
Casa Cipriani Battery Maritime Building
Lashana Lynch, Daniel Craig & Lea Seydoux
Couri
PHOTO CONTRIBUTIONS BY PATRICK MCMULLAN
Casa Cipriani
BY R.COURI HAY
James Bond No Time To Die
Daniel Craig famously said, “I’d rather slash my wrists than do another Bond film.” After seeing his final outing in No Time To Die it might not have been such a bad idea as this was not a high point in 007’s career. The film co-stars Rami Malek as the ubervillain and Lashana Lynch, Léa Seydoux, and Ana de Armas as the sexy “Bond girls.” Billie Eilish sings the film’s sluggish theme song. After the movies’ producers twisted Craig’s arm with tens of millions of dollars and a piece of the action, he signed on for his fifth and final film in the formidable franchise. Yes, he incontrovertibly dies for love in the end. “It was there before me, and it will be there after me. I’ve had a chance to be part of all of this, and if you can’t get it up for a Bond movie as an actor, what can you get it up for ?” Craig will open in Macbeth on Broadway starting March 29th, 2022. Chrissy Teigen & John Legend
James Bond would feel right at home at NYC’s new and ultra-swanky private club, Casa Cipriani in the Battery Maritime Building at 10 South Street. The club’s lux décor by Thierry Despont was inspired by the legendary 1930’s ocean liner the SS Normandie and features the sexiest live music room in the land. The buildings restoration is rumored to have set back Giuseppe Cipriani and his son Maggio at least $500 million; and I’m not talking lira. Drew Barrymore, John Legend, Chrissy Teigen, Usher, Alicia Keys, Swizz Beatz, and other international types have all been spotted in the bar, dining room, and gym. The initiation fee is approximately 1K, and the yearly dues are $3,500. The 125-year-old Beaux Art ferry building also has a ballroom that seats 800 and 47 hotel rooms starting at $1,000 a night and going up to $9,000 for the presidential suite. The elegant space has killer views of the Brooklyn
Bridge and the Statue of Liberty. Julian Schnabel did a series of enormous paintings for the event space that you can rent - if you’re willing to cough up a suitcase full of cash à la 007. Currently, the club has 1,500 members but will ultimately accommodate 4,000. Casa is already giving Zero Bond and Soho House a run for its Euros. Annabelle’s, the popular London club is due to open its doors in a town house on E 61st in 2022. I can wait if you can. casacipriani.com
Brooklyn Museum Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams
Inside Christian Dior/ Designer Of Dreams
In 1947 Christian Dior changed fashion forever when he introduced “The New Look” which featured a nipped in waist and a flared skirt. Dior credited a remark by fellow couturier and friend Charles James with the inspiration to create this revolutionary new silhouette. Breathtaking and brilliant
signature flags, maps, and new works are splashed across the walls of these two monumental Whitney Museum institutions. The painter Jasper Johns: who just turned 91 is still Mind/Mirror working in his studio in The Whitney Museum of Augusta, Georgia. The American Art founded show will be on view in 1930 by the artist and through February 13th, philanthropist Gertrude 2022. whitney.org
Joe Gallagher, Zack Weiner & Eric Weiner
missed presentation runs through February 20th, 2022. brooklynmuseum.org
Elizabeth Taylor Wears Dior
are the first words that come to mind after seeing the Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams show at the Brooklyn Museum. This exhibition is the perfect counter weight to the Mets more grounded show In America: A Lexicon of Fashion. The posh show explores the nearly eight-decade history of the House of Dior with over 200 haute couture garments as well as photographs, videos, sketches, and accessories. After Dior’s untimely demise at 52 his 21-year-old assistant Yves St. Laurent took over the house followed by Marc Bohan, Gianfranco Ferré, the irreplaceable John Galliano, Raf Simons and finally todays chief designer Maria Grazia Chiuri. Clothes from all of them are on display and trace the houses evolution. The show features dresses worn by everyone from Grace Kelly and Marlene Dietrich to Elizabeth Taylor and Jennifer Lawrence. This not to be
Jasper Johns “Flag” Painting
Vanderbilt Whitney houses the foremost collection of American art from the twentiethand twenty-first centuries. Mrs. Whitney, an early and ardent supporter of modern American art, nurtured groundbreaking artists at a time when audiences were still preoccupied with the Old Masters. From her vision arose the Whitney Museum of American Art, which has been championing the most innovative art of the United States for ninety years. Gertrude would certainly approve of the museum’s ambitious and current Jasper Johns retrospective which is a single exhibition in two venues including the Whitney and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Over 500 works including his
At Home Metropolitan Opera In the golden days of yore, the opening night of The Metropolitan Opera heralded the beginning of the new social season; in 2021 there is more competition including the gala opening nights of the New York Philharmonic and Carnegie Hall. The Met has been dark for nearly two years so the premiere of Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up in My Bones— the first opera by a Black composer ever performed by the Met was a reason to dress up and rejoice. The guest list has changed dramatically from the high society queens comprised of Astor’s, Camille A. Brown
Rockefellers; Mellon’s, and Whitney’s dressed up in gowns by Dior, Channel, Balenciaga, Madame Grès, and Charles James. Instead, the night drew “The New Mix” including Laverne Cox, Drew Barrymore, Spike Lee, Camille A. Brown, Don Lemon, Ricky Ian Gordon, Marisa Tomei and Marco Calvani, Grace Gummer and Mark Ronson, and Charles M. Blow the subject of the opera. The night raised over $3.3 million. A revolving list of classic and new works will be performed through June 2022. metopera.org This Machine Greens & Lynchpin Zack Weiner & Joe Gallagher
Zack Weiner, the former NYC Council candidate has transitioned into filmmaking. Weiner , whose father Eric Weiner is the co-creator of the TV show Dora the Explorer and partner Joe Gallagher have produced the first fully funded bitcoin movie, This Machine
Greens. The film was made in response to Elon Musk’s statement that “ bitcoin is bad for the environment. “ One of Weiner’s co-producers Enrique Posner is known for his work with world-renowned filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar on Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! starring Antonio Banderas. The film premiered at Atelier Condo. The producing duo also screened a second film Lynchpin, at Lincoln Center, about Bitcoin’s entrance into the world of basketball sponsorships. Evan Mobley of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Johnny Juzang of the UCLA Bruins, and young rising hoop star Mikey Williams, the first high school basketball player to ever sign a multimillion-dollar shoe deal with Puma, all appear in the documentary. The film follows the tense negotiations between the Compton Magic coach, Jay-Z, PUMA and Adidas. After the screening experts from Swan Bitcoin explained why Bitcoin wants to take over basketball. bitcoinmovieclub.com Please join me on a Social Safari of NYC’s top events on the following pages.
SOCIAL SAFARI
Party People A S O C I A L S A FA R I O F N E W YO R K ’ S T O P E V E N T S
BY R. COURI HAY Melanie Hamrick and Guest
The Event
NYC BALLET FASHION GALA The Story
The stars were out for the Ninth Edition of New York City’s Fall Fashion Gala at Lincoln Center. Although the benefit raised over $2.5 million, the new ballets and costumes by choreographers Sidra Bell and Andrea Miller and designers Christopher John Rogers and Esteban Cortázar disappointed. Luckily for the audience the night opened with a stunning performance of Jerome Robbins’ classic Glass Pieces. The brilliant work was choreographed in 1983 and set to an inspiring score by Philip Glass; the jewel Esteban Cortázar showed the dancers’ bodies and movements to great advantage and saved the night. The evening’s co-chairs included Sarah Jessica Parker (who was stuck on the set of the “Sex and the City” reboot and failed to appear), Dove Cameron and Michael Bloomberg. A highlight of the evening was the Ruinart reception, arguably the finest blanc de blanc champagne extant. nycballet.org
R. Couri Hay and Janna Bullock
Lido Pimienta
Gonzalo Garcia, Kristen Segin and guest
Jennifer Farrell
Cynthia Rowley, Kit Keenan
Mazdack Rassi, Diane Kruger, Hugh Dancy, Claire Danes, Zanna Roberts Rassi, Laverne Cox, Georgina Bloomberg and Deborah Roberts.
Georgina Pazcoguin and Phil Chan
SOCIAL SAFARI
Carolina Herrera and Martha Stewart
The Event
MUSEUM OF FIT COUTURE COUNCIL
Yazmín Colón de Cortizo and honoree Wes Gordon
The Story
Designer Wes Gordon, the Creative Director of Carolina Herrera, was honored at The Museum of FIT’s (MFIT) Couture Council Luncheon at Cipriani South Street. The benefit, attended by the city’s most fashionable ladies raised nearly $700,000. MFIT Director and Chief Curator Dr. Valerie Steele introduced Wes Gordon who accepted his award saying to Carolina Herrera, “To the queen of New York, he empress of elegance, I dedicate this award to you. I have only been the caretaker of the magical house you have built.” Among those applauding was Patricia Lansing, Fern Mallis, Indre Rockefeller, Stacey Bendet Eisner, Nicole Miller, Ramy Brook, Gillian Hearst, designers Victor De Souza, B. Michael, John Paul Jang and Young Emperors, and Ramona Singer. This year’s presenting sponsor was Nordstrom, and the event was co-chaired by Jeffery Fowler and Emilie Rubinfeld. fitnyc.edu
Left: Mili Pineiro Right: Shanina Shaik
Mark Gilbertson, Krista Corl, Gillian Hearst
Daiane Sodre
Caterina Age Stewart
Julie Macklowe
Dr. Valerie Steele and Dr. Joyce F. Brown
Nicole Miller
SOCIAL SAFARI
Amelia Gray Hamlin & Justine Skye
The Event
CHRISTIAN COWAN FASHION SHOW The Story
Young British Designer Christian Cowan, 25, is giving The Blondes some competition in dressing the club crowd. Christian has been designing for the likes of Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus, Cardi B., Remy Ma, Paris Hilton, and my personal favorite Kylie Jenner from the get-go. The edgy designer says his new collection was inspired by NYC after dark and the Club Kids of the late 80’s lead by the tragic nightlife genius Michael Alig, as well as Amanda Lepore, Lady Bunny and Kenny Kenny. The Avant-garde designer partnered with Yahoo to incorporate QR code technology into his clothes. “I thought it would be a fun nod to the fact that we’ve been spending the past year-and-a-half doing digital things. So, I incorporated QR codes in some prints. I don’t want to ruin it, but you can scan garments and things happen.” The guest list included Gigi Gorgeous, Julia Michaels and Nikita Dragun. All the outfits can be ordered at christiancowan.com
Bretman Rock & Joshua Walsh
ALOK Vaid-Menon & Liza Koshy
Aquaria
Saweetie
Tinkerbell, Tinashe & Belle
Winnie Harlow
Victor Cruz
Linux
Gage Gomez
SOCIAL SAFARI
Joan Smalls
The Event
Shelley Carr, Elizabeth Fuller & Jill Roosevelt
CENTRAL PARK CONSERVANCY 40TH ANNIVERSARY LUNCHEON The Story
The Women’s Committee of the Central Park Conservancy hosted their annual Luncheon in support of the city’s beloved 843-acre backyard. The event was held at four locations in Central Park including the Bethesda Terrace and raised $400,000. The benefit co-chairs included Hana Warner Bitton, Julie Richardson, Barbara Scott, and Julia Power Weld. Looking good were Gillian Hearst, Elyse Newhouse, Desire Rogers, Judy Hart Angelo, Shelley Carr, Kate Davis, Ainsley Earhardt, Sharon Jacob, Lyne Renee, Margo Nederlander and Evan Yurman. Jeweler David Yurman created a Tree of Life amulet, engraved with Central Park Conservancy which will be sold online and, in their stores, to benefit their organization through December 31, 2021. davidyurman.com “What many people don’t realize is that Central Park is sustained largely through private funding, which we through events like this,” said the Women’s Committee President, Yesim Phillip. centralparknyc.org
Darice Fadeyi, Kathleen Tait, Barbara H. Scott & Tiffany Gardner
Tattin Lyon, Kay Nordeman, Helena Khazanova Gautier, Katherine Birch & Krista Corl
Holli Cutting, Blair Clarke, Kate Davis, Angela Clofine & Andrea Ranawat
Claudia Severin, Tara Krolick, Hana Bitton, Gretchen Englander, Lauren Starr & Lara Metz
Virginia Apple, Lucinda Bhavsar, Meg Braff & Shannon McLean
Table setting on the Bethesda Terrace
SOCIAL SAFARI
Lilah Ramzi & Zach Weiss
The Event
Betsy Smith & Michael Bloomberg
CENTRAL PARK CONSERVANCY 40TH ANNIVERSARY GALA The Story
Michael Bloomberg and Diana Taylor lead the perfumed pack to the Conservatory Garden in Central Park to celebrate the organization’s 40th anniversary. The festive evening included dinner and dancing to commemorate the transformation and restoration of the park. The event, which was supported by City National Bank, raised $2.8M to keep the park in pristine condition. The celebration highlighted the Conservancy’s capstone project to re-envision the Lasker rink and pool at the Harlem Meer. The night honored Judy & Russ Carson, Kate & Andrew Davis, Alice Gottesman, Kitty Patterson, and Tom Kempner. Cutting the rug were: Hilary Geary Ross & Wilbur Ross, Martha Stewart, Peter Marino, Christine & Stephen Schwarzman, Fiona & Eric Rudin, Patti Harris, Anne & Bill Harrison, Tracey & Craig Huff, Sharon & Bill Jacob, Didi & Oscar Schafer, Suzy Welch and Betsy Smith, the President of the Central Park Conservancy. centralparknyc.org
Joe Coffey, Kelly Coffey, Dusty Philip, Yesim Philip, Gillian Miniter, Amelia Ogunlesi & Sylvester Miniter
Marissa Brown, Christine Schwarzman, Lara Meiland-Shaw & Nathalie Kaplan
Amandine Friedheim, Alexia Leuschen, Care Mangriotis, Barbara Scott & Lara Meiland-Shaw
Fe Fendi & Alessandro Fendi
Noel Momsen, Kate Davis, Suzie Aijala, Angela, Clofine & Lucinda Bhavsar
The Event Tent
SOCIAL SAFARI
Micheal Kors & Naomi Watts
The Event
Nicky Hilton Rothschild
GOD’S LOVE WE DELIVER GOLDEN HEART AWARDS The Story
Blaine Trump, one of the world’s leading CEO’s of good works, along with Neil Patrick Harris & David Burtka, Michael Kors, Iman, Aerin Lauder, Sarah Paulson, Judith Light, Lizzie & Jonathan Tisch and others of that ilk and stripe co-chaired the annual God’s Love We Deliver 15th annual Golden Heart Awards - always one of the season’s top events. The benefit honored Billy Porter and Don Demon and featured stellar performances by Cyndi Lauper and Dionne Warwick. In the mix were Rachel Brosnahan, Naomi Watts, Rose Byrne, Rachel Zegler, Nicky Hilton Rothschild, Jane Krakowski, Ariana DeBose, Tommy Dorfman, Sara Ramirez, Huma Abedin, Tiny Leung, Liam Kelly and Kyla Ramsey. In celebration of Michael Kors’ 40th anniversary in the business, Anna Wintour surprised him with a tribute and special performance by Broadway Inspirational Voices. God’s Love is the leading provider of medically tailored meals for individuals living with severe illness. glwd.org
Zachary Peraldo & Elizabeth Kjorlien
Jessica Wang, Sai De Silva & Joanna Hillman
Don Lemon & Luann de Lesseps
Saweetie
Tommy Dorfman & Rachel Brosnahan
Jane Krakowski
Asya Branch
Jordan Roth
Kyla Ramsey
SOCIAL SAFARI
Zac Waksal
Paige Spiranac
The Event
HERB KARLITZ CITY HARVEST BENEFIT The Story
Golfing icons Paige Spiranac and Gary Player were among the players at City Harvest’s golf and tennis tournament at the Alpine Country Club. The event featured 35 celebrity chefs including Geoffrey Zakarian, Alfred Portale and Marcus Samuelsson, who won the day’s best-dressed award for his soccer jersey tennis outfit. Twenty-three teams of VIPs including, six-time Stanley Cup Champion Mark Messier and former Yankee pitcher CC Sabathia competed. Spiranac’s team won the trophy. The benefit, founded by master marketer and chef guru Herb Karlitz, raised enough money to feed 100,000 families in NY for one day. Player entertained the crowd with an Elvis Presley story and imitation, “Elvis asked me to give him a golf lesson and I told him to use his hips more to turn through the ball.” Elvis told Player, “I’ve got hips and I know how to use them.” Sponsors included Lacoste, SIK Putters, Porsche Englewood, Forever Cheese and Mandarin Oriental, NY. cityharvest.org
Simon Kim, Marcus Samuelsson and Tennis Co-Chair Kerry Heffernan
Chef Cesare Cassella
Julie Karlitz. Gary Player. Herb Karlitz. Jenna Karlitz. James Throssell
Pizza oven-maker-to-the-stars Nobile Attie
PGA Tour Player Parker McLachlin and Celebrity Chef Geoffrey Zakaian
SOCIAL SAFARI
Maggie Gyllenhaal & Jake Gyllenhaal
Tilda Swinton The Event
59th NY FILM FESTIVAL FILM AT LINCOLN CENTER The Story
The stars came out for the 59th edition of the New York Film Festival which was founded by Richard Roud and Amos Vogel. An annual bellwether of the state of cinema that has shaped film culture since 1963, the festival continues an enduring tradition of introducing audiences to bold and remarkable works from celebrated filmmakers as well as fresh new talent. The Festival showed 32 films over two weeks including Joel Coen’s boldly inventive visualization of The Scottish Play The Tragedy of Macbeth, which echoed the forbidding visual designs of Sir Laurence Olivier’s classic 1940s Shakespeare adaptations, Pedro Almodóvar’s Parallel Mothers, as well as new films by Celine Sciamma, Jane Campion, Jonas Carpignano, Nadav Lapid and Radu Jude. Corporate supporters included HBO, Netflix, Vanity Fair, Hearst, Citi, Campari, Variety, Radeberger Pilsner and Turner Classic Movies. Welcome back to the movies. filmlinc.org
Penelope Cruz
Dakota Johnson
Milena Smit
Molly Ringwald
Katie Holmes
SOCIAL SAFARI
Left to Right: Misty Copeland, Ariana Rockefeller, Olivia Palermo, Di Mondo
The Event
AMERICAN BALLET @ DAVID H. KOCH THEATER The Story
The nights when ballet gods Rudolf Nureyev, Margot Fonteyn, Mikhail Baryshnikov, and Alicia Alonzo ruled the Metropolitan Opera House are gone. Luckily, the memories of their unparalleled performances live on in documentaries and the memories of those of us lucky enough to have witnessed them. Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant founded the American Ballet Theatre in 1939 and I’m sure they were applauding the return of the company for its first in-person gala since 2019 at the David H. Koch Theater. The night featured the World Premiere of Jessica Lang’s Zig Zag, set to songs recorded by Tony Bennett, including the duet “It’s De-Lovely” with Lady Gaga, with costumes by Wes Gordon and scenery by Derek McLane. The evening honored ABT Trustee Jenna Segal and raised nearly $2 million. In the glamorous mix was ABT Principal dancer Misty Copeland who glowed with a secret; she’s pregnant. Misty said, “You can start late, look different, be uncertain, and still succeed.” abt.org
Ali Wentworth, Karen Pittman and Brooke Shields
Diane Kruger
Amy Fine Collins & Hamish Bowles Liev Schreiber and Sasha Schreiber
AND FINALLY...
Cartoon Corner By Anthony Haden-Guest
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