Lusiana Fashion

Showing posts with label Bill Blass. Show all posts

Blass from the Past

"I think it's a great advantage for a bachelor to have a woman decorator."-Bill Blass circa 1972 . In this case Blass had two women- the firm of MAC II- Mica Ertegen and Chessy Rayner. Blass and the pair forged a great decorating friendship and a personal one as well. That Blass referred to them as the Girls - testifies to the type of man he was- can't call him a guy. "The legwork the Girls do is remarkable." There are signs of the Classical Blass we know from his later iconic MAC II rooms: the sable heads as well as the animal skin fabric on the massive banquette. The animal print was a hand stencilled suede. Now that's CHIC- and perhaps proof that the glut of animal prints we have before us today was nonexistent when MAC II redid the apartment in 1972. The Girls were charged with redoing the apartment when Blass purchased the adjacent apartment and opened it to join his existing digs- making for a large open living space with white walls, beautiful dark floors and dynamic paintings. The sable heads that dominate the space are mounted on silver and displayed on acrylic pedestals and tables

a Herb Schiffrin painting, animal print and sable antelope skulls

a Chinese screen over a leather banquette with a Parsons table covered in a Turkish textile.

the Dining Room- a skirted table with banquette covered in a bright yellow Chinese print

The dark brown lacquered Blass bedroom was full of a mix of modern fabric, tables along with orange pillows, animal skins- Sound familiar? What's old is new again as always. Some how the Blass bedroom manages to be rich in content -while some of its predecessors today do not.

"It's more than just a bedroom for me. I read there, have a fire there. I have a few friends in-
I can't explain why but it's the room that really expresses my character...It's the room I live in." Bill Blass

BLASS with his Girls

In my profile I write- "one of my loves is the perfectly edited world of the late Bill Blass-" this apartment reinforces that admiration. His ability to edit and never bore- is unmatched and he couldn't have done it without the Girls.

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the Business

trellis dining roomby Mark Hampton

from AD here

much has been written about the new book MARK HAMPTON AN AMERICAN DECORATOR, all well deserved and well done. I admire this decorator-& in the book's title there are immediate clues as to why.Why?

Mark Hampton- was quintessentially American- He was the BILL BLASS of decorating-Style, Grace, Insight-both men possessed, and their spot on eye produced some of the most memorable rooms and fashion loaded with that Style and Grace. More importantly Mark Hampton loved his work-He was a decorator and proudly so. That is the proper word for every good-make that great practitioner. Some scoff-at DECORATOR-and run from the word- preferring DESIGNER or Interior Designer. The title elevates? All well & good-just remember-Anyone can be One. That phrase from the famously beloved musical- you know it- " ME, A NAME, I CALL MYSELF." It is a good feeling to be a designer-It is a great feeling to be a Decorator. The term HOLDS a wealth of meaning, I think of Elsie de Wolfe as she declared:

"I am going in now for interior decoration. By that I mean supplying objets d'art and giving advice regarding the decoration of their houses to wealthy persons who do not have the time, inclination, nor culture to do such work for themselves. "

It is a good thing, a Great thing. All the drafting, space planning, specifications galore- can not Charm. Can not Make the Room. Mark Hampton did a beautiful job- Making A Room. He said it best:

"We all know that interior decoration is seen by many as a frivolous career, full of ruffles and flourishes and preposterous fashion statements. Yet to transform the bleak and barren into welcoming places where one can live seems to me an important and worthwhile goal in life. Sometimes this transformation can stun the ee, sometimes simply gladden it, but theses are not frivolous pursuits.

In an era when there is increasing despair over the inhumanity of the world, the concerns of decorating, rather than seeming vain and irrelevant, provide for me a wonderful refuge. The work has to do with people and beauty and the timeless activities of domestic life. At least our private worlds can reward us with peace and pleasure."

image from AD here

We all seek beauty- we may see it differently and find it different places. It may be a priceless work in oil on canvas encased in wood and gilt or a pebble smoothed by hundreds of years on the ocean floor, slowly moving to shore.

Decorator. It is a noble profession-one that needs No gloss, No dross.
Being a Good designer is fine,
Being a Great decorator is divine.

de Wolfe's Trellis Room at the Colony Club

image from gutenberg.org

read more about Trellis at my Dog Eared Pages here

read more about Mark Hampton and the book here at the Blue Remembered Hills, in fact there are a number of truly wonderful posts from Blue about Mark Hampton- Explore his blog here.

& at the essential reading blog Mrs Blandings here.

classic Blass

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yet more proof that Bill Blass was a fashion original.
classic wax seal becomes a signature button.
fitting, No?

"I remember one of the first times I went to Paris

as a young man-

to see the shows for Maurice Rentner.

here were all those slightly fussy European ladies

in their frills and furbelows,

in strolled Gloria Vanderbilt and C.Z. Guest

in flannel trousers and cashmere turtlenecks.

they were a breath of fresh air.that sporty brashness,

the ease, the naturalness

and elegant comfort of the American attitude-

that's what it's all about."

BLASS Fall 1991 Collection- mine is a double breasted navy cashmere & to me those buttons are priceless.

image from Bill Blass An American Designer
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decorations by MAC II

a MAC II holiday vignette

The elegant interiors of Mica Ertegun and Chessy Rayner-known as MAC II are associated with the New York apartment of the late Bill Blass. Today Mica Ertegun carries on the work, having lost her beautiful and talented business partner Chessy Rayner to cancer over 10 years ago.

Rayner was quoted as saying "We like to mix things up... Our rooms don't have a period look, and not everything has to be a million bucks. What the rooms typically do portray is a simpler, cooler way of looking. They're not too frilly or busy...The less you have, the better good things look. " "Not everything had to be a million dollars,"If you have good taste, you can find good things anywhere." Mica Ertegun. These two started their business in 1967-working out of a large closet in Mica Ertegun's house. In an 1997 interview for her upcoming book Chessy Rayner said"I'm not very sure about it. Rich hippie." She shook her head. "I've done it. I've lived through it. I don't want to do it again." Nor is Mrs. Rayner about to welcome another "hot new thing." "To not mix is sad," she said. "I find that putting Louis the Hooey with, say, abstract art usually works. They do fine together. They soften each other." (William Norwich 1997 here)

Blass, Chessy Rayner and Mica Ertegun in the day

The team was early on referred to as the girls.The "girls" had taste, style and Bill Blass liked the girls-the girls starting working with Bill Blass.

In the 1968 House and Garden MAC II created this holiday look for the foyer in a NY client's home. Red walls modern and still great looking are the small textiles.The text suggests the look would be right for Christmases to come. Other than the woven baskets- today's design climate might dictate pair of rustic indian cachpot or a simple pair of twig baskets-but the results are startlingly fresh 41 years later. There is a slight Indian vibe to the fabric of the bench , pillows and curtain.
Along with the holiday touches- the use of a mirror mimicking a window and the addition of tied back curtains with a bordered edge are ideas easily made successful today. It looks like a carved French bench is placed against the mirror and two tall pillows added to carve out a seating area in the space. Think about this at home.

Moving on to 1969- again MAC II comes across with an entirely up to date series of decorations-I started a 36" wreath in this spirit last year and if I get back to it -I will definitely share the results.

The dining table set with masses of shiny ornaments the central shape formed like a parterre.Other great table setting ideas- the blue chemist bottles-to hold wine for toasting, simple pewter plates, individual salt cellars, but nix the cigarettes. I bring out hurricane globes every year and use them some way. They are timeless pieces for the holiday or any day. I used clementines in them on a client's dining room mantle last week. I plan to use a pair on my own breakfast room table filled with cranberries. Whether a part of the indoor decorations, a dozen hurricane globes and pillar candles are placed outside on my porch Christmas Eve night and Christmas night.

MAC II sets another table with topiary here. This time the table is a beautiful Italian Renaissance antique. The topiary shapes decorate a MAC II decorated library below. The bright navy and red paisley motif fabric is another touch MAC II used 40 years ago. If you think this pattern looks new today-it does, but again it always will-

Paisley document 1800

from the Textile Blog here

Jaipur 2009 Michael Smith here

the continuing influences of India in the designers' work Chessy Rayner-1st image, Mica Ertegen 2nd image

here-an interview with Mica Ertegun from AD, great visuals and advice from the designer.
here New York magazine Playing Chessy.

images from HG old issues as noted, Blass and the "girls" from Mr Peacock here, Chessy Rayner from ID here ,
Mica Ertegen room from the book American Designer's Houses by Dominic Bradbury.
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