The Keeper’s Work | 02.01.2024
SOURCE
Arjumand’s World…textiles and wallcoverings designed by Idarica Gazzoni Frascara, a collection with rich references. Not your average floral on white ground, the colors and patterns are so well-conceived that they carry their own mysterious narrative. This stripe for instance, whose unconventional earthy color palette and syncopated repeat, reveals the process of a true textile artist - a well-worked-through design that can transport you to a place or feel like a tradition in its own right.
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BUY
I’ve fallen hard for Bath-based artist Rowan MacGregor’s delicate handmade copper creations. I find them incredibly charming, a bit nostalgic, wholly unique, and beautifully patinated, achieving MacGregor’s aim to create works like “bits of buried treasure that have been dug up after hundreds of years underground” while hurtling me further into the British Magpie sentiment I’m beginning to feel in design.
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FILE AWAY
Decorator Remy Renzullo’s collaboration with Carolina Irving & Daughters has yielded a lovely tablewear collection - but that’s not what this is about. I’m directing you to the styled images instead (hover over each object for an in situ pic). Take inspiration because it’s brilliant - layered, quirky, fresh and simultaneously historical. It helps that they were shot at Castle Howard, a sprawling 145-room Yorkshire property Renzullo has been hired to redecorate.
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DEVOUR
My strict no-buy, dry January is over and I’m ready to indulge as Valentine’s day, Lunar New Year, and my birthday approach. I’ll be treating myself to a box from L.A. Burdick, an incredible Boston-based chocolatier that crafts unique seasonal assortments. In honor of The Year of the Dragon, they created the cutest mandarin-chocolate dragons to be included alongside offerings with Lapsang Souchong tea, Gochujang, and Yuzu Marmalade flavors.
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DIVE IN
Even if you’re not interested in fashion, fashion shows with a strong point of view can be powerful, like Maison Margiela’s Spring 2024 Couture show. Set in Paris, beneath the dimly lit Pont Alexandre III, on a full moon, Galliano presented “the underbelly of Paris” - the clothing construction, staging, choreography, makeup & hair - it was drunk, tattered, surreal, possessed - the aftermath of WW1, with the Belle Epoque in the rearview mirror. Even though this is not my particular aesthetic, I am drawn to the fullness of the 360 degree effort. Mesmerizing.
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WEAR
In contrast to the overtness of the Maison Margiela show, Valentino’s 2024 Couture Show exerted drama in a more approachable way by playing heavily with unusual juxtapositions. A exemplary look for me was the combination of this thick ochre-yellow jacket, accessorized with persimmon opera gloves and oversize shiny gold earrings, all contrasted against fluffy pastel chiffon. Like a great interior, the visual interest arises from novel contrasts, and showcases how the transporting effects of fashion can be subtle, too.
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