Interior Design or Fashion?
While in Chicago recently I visited the Holly Hunt showroom at the Merchandise Mart and was struck by the beauty of an entire wall that was papered in Gracie hand painted wallpaper. This wallpaper Company has been around since 1898 in NYC and they are still a family run business. I have long admired their paper and it has graced (excuse the pun) the walls of many well known homes and been used by the all the top designers. In perusing their web-site I was struck with the fashion side of this paper. Gracie has garnered a lot of attention with the fashion elite. I have always been fascinated by the overlap of fashion and interiors.
Nylon Magazine 
Ocean Drive Magazine
Hamptons Country Magazine 
Vogue Magazine - dressing room of New York socialite and cosmetics executive, Aerin Lauder
Domino Magazine - model Maggie Rizer 
W Magazine - Fashion Design, Anna SuiTop photo: W Magazine Saks Fifth Ave
It's certainly beautiful but I keep seeing it everywhere too, even the September Vogue, and I can't decide if that makes it somewhat less special now.
ReplyDeleteThese panels are so pretty and given their history, they appear oddly modern in the way that magazine editors are using them now.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Brilliant! The papers work so well in fashion editorials and take on a different feel depending on how they are used. But I can also see Habitually's point -- for me though I'll never tire of them :)
ReplyDeleteHi Habitually Chic
ReplyDeleteThere is definitely a danger that when a product becomes too popular thet it becomes less desirable to Designers. But the supplier benefits because they are now selling mass market. So it is a double edged sword.
Hi Brillaint Asylum
ReplyDeleteYes I agree that this wallpaper is definitely looking very modern now with the current trend of retro revival.
Hi Style Court
ReplyDeleteSo true...good design and art is timeless.
Gorgeous papers...especially I think the first image...love the combination.
ReplyDeleteHi Stephanie
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by and leaving a comment.
I love this paper so much! In Houston, in the George Cameron Nash showroom, they too have a wall papered with Gracie with a gorgeous vignette in front of it. So beautiful. I don't think, though, this company will ever suffer from mass exposure, it is too expensive for the masses and it could never be copied in a significant way that would make it available to the masses. The current "in" phase of the paper will soon die back down again and it will go back quietly to the rarefied world in which has existed for years before. Beautiful post, Patricia.
ReplyDeleteHi Joni
ReplyDeleteI think you are absolutely right. This paper is expensive and as such it has a limited market. Each piece is handpainted and exquisite.
Good Design is Forever!
I agree with the other comments. It can be a bit annoying when something you love becomes extremely popular. You just have to ride out the wave and wait for everything to settle down. Then, you'll be unique again.
ReplyDeleteThis intensive exposure is also one way to use the power of the crowd to make a product more desirable to the elite you can afford it. But I never get tired of seeing exquisite craftsmanship products.
ReplyDeleteWe have to do something in our modern societies because we are losing knowhow. Promoting it everywhere may encourage a group of people to study craftsmanship works. My father built a real stone house three years ago. He got problems finding workmen that still cut the stones on site and there were no young people in the staff. This is alarming. I love technology and the easy accessibility to things that comes with it but we must not lose centuries of knowledge either. So I hope magazines continue to show us hand printing wallpapers and handmade furniture.
So true Peak!
ReplyDeleteHi Kim
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment. I am seeing the same thing. It is becoming increasing difficult to find good trades people. They are like gold and need to be fostered and nurtured. In European countries having a trade is still a very honorable profession and they take it seriously and serve apprenticships.
These wallpapers are stunning. I would like to wrap one around me and wear it like a dress. Now that would be the real nexus between fashion and interior design.
ReplyDeleteHi Maryam
ReplyDeleteClever thought!!