AVENUE SEPTEMBER 2013
TWENTY-FIVE
SEXIEST
NEW YORKERS
PLUS
Zac Posen, Manolo Blahnik, James Mischka, Mark Badgley and more Fashion designer Charlotte Ronson
RONSON
RISING Charlotte Ronson:
from growing up in New York始s coolest clan to creating her own fashion empire
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AVENUE
SEPTEMBER 2013
VOL. 37 NO.9
FEATURES
54
54
Park Avenue Prodigy
Charlotte Ronson reveals her uptown upbringing, her rise to success and the ways in which her family keeps her grounded.
by suzanne weinstock klein photographs by lyall aston
64
25 Sexiest New Yorkers
With their swagger and sultry looks, the New Yorkers who rank on our sexy list have that extra “it” factor.
introduction by charlotte ross
68
Playing hooky in all of our favorite fall fashion threads.
photographs by sam yocum
82 76
this page (clockwise
from top) Figue’s Stephanie von Watzdorf shot by Jessica Nash; Models shot by Sam Yocum, styled by Rory McDonough and hair and makeup by Asia Geiger with assistance by Takashi Ashizawa; Charlotte Ronson wears a crepe de chine dress and cashmere/silk cardigan by Chanel. Shoes by Tabitha Simmons. Shot by Lyall Aston, styled by Chiara de Rege with assistance by Justin Rose and hair and makeup by David Tibolla.
FALL FORWARD
Cardinal Couturier
Winning the hearts of celebrities and socials fixtures alike, Zac Posen is poised to be the next enduring dressmaker.
by haley friedlich
82
Hippie Shake
With her NoLIta store opening this month, Stephanie von Watzdorf makes her mark as the new purveyor of gypset-style.
by helena gautier
84
Global Glamour
International fashionistas go to Misha Nonoo for the clean lines and impeccable tailoring of her contemporary brand.
by suzanne weinstock-klein
86
BUILDING NEW YORK
With a portfolio that ranges from DC to San Francisco, developer Don Peebles is honing in on New York’s skyline.
by haley friedlich
COLUMNS 28
CHRONICLES
The Hamptons’ most talked-about benefits.
by debbie bancroft
34
objects of desire
Head-to-toe glamour suitable for NYFW’s front row.
by casey brooks
68
36
cocktail on the avenue
A martini at The Mark with Henri Barguirdjian of Graff Diamonds
by daisy prince 8 | AVENUE MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2013
Sole N E W Y O R K B O U T I Q U E , 8 2 4 M A D I S O N AV E N U E , N E W Y O R K , N Y, ( 2 1 2 ) 4 3 9 - 4 2 2 0 M I A M I B O U T I Q U E , 9 7 0 0 C O L L I N S AV E N U E , B A L H A R B O U R , F L , ( 3 0 5 ) 8 6 5 - 8 7 6 5
ABU DHABI
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PORTO CERVO
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K U WA I T ROME
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LONDON
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MIAMI
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www•degrisogono•com
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MOSCOW
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COMING IN OCTOBER
Diana Taylor For our annual Power issue, Diana Taylor, the (unofficial) First Lady of New York and former New York state superintendent of banks, graces our cover. As Michael Bloomberg’s mayoral term comes to a close, his other half opens up about her philanthropic endeavors, tenure as managing director of Wolfensohn & Co. and what’s next for the dynamic duo.
Who Made the List? AVENUE’s annual A-List is chock-full of familiar (and emerging) faces from around town. Covering the full spectrum of society, politics, business, media and fashion, it’s the ultimate who’s-who of Manhattan’s elite.
All-star Brokers From Litchfield to the Hamptons and all throughout Manhattan, these movers and shakers are at the top of their real estate game.
Postcard from . . . Daniel Boulud The French culinary mastermind and restaurateur takes us away to Brazil.
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10 | AVENUE MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2013
AVENUE
SEPTEMBER 2013
40
VOL. 37 NO. 9
PoSTCARdS FRom . . .
Dispatch from Mark Badgley and James Mischka’s Lake Placid hideaway.
introduction by haley friedlich
42
UnREAL ESTATE
Mickey and Paola Schulhof are trading out their apartment at 770 Park Avenue for $19.9 million.
by michael gross
120
jEwELRy box
The Diamond District’s shining star: William Goldberg.
by haley friedlich
122
THE ESCAPE
Jenny Ljungberg, c/o Hotels’ visionary behind the Hamptons’ revamped Maidstone, escapes to Tibet.
by haley friedlich
124
SoCiAL SAFARi
The South Fork’s chicest galas and posh private parties.
by r. couri hay
128
woRLd ACCoRding To . . .
A look at footwear guru Manolo Blahnik’s Manhattan.
introduction by charlotte ross
dEPARTmEnTS 19
on THE AvEnUE
32
ARTS CALEndAR
The best parties of the month in the city and out east. What’s on view at museums, galleries and auction houses.
on the cover
Charlotte Ronson shot at Gallow Green at The McKittrick Hotel, home of Sleep No More. Kaleidoscope Floral Lace Combo Sheath Dress and Pebble Floral Backpack by Charlotte Ronson. Carmen platform wedges by Charlotte Olympia. Stacking Rings by Ann Dexter-Jones Design.
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TopazFlowers0813AVE_HP.indd 1 • SEPTEMBER 2013 14 | AVENUE MAGAZINE
7/22/13 4:02 PM
letter from the editor
CARLOS RUIZ
Dear Readers, A LONG TIME AGO, I lived in the same Parisian boardinghouse as Samantha Ronson. I was jet-lagged and overwhelmed, and she was the first person I met there, someone who immediately offered me a cigarette and helped to heave my bulging suitcase up many flights of stairs. Samantha was always a gracious, kind girl and definitely the coolest of the girls we lived with that year. I can also attest that Samantha’s twin sister, Charlotte, our cover girl this month, has the same great attributes as her sister. Creative and the epitome of NYLON cool, Charlotte has emerged as a talented fashion designer, as the following pages will attest. September in New York is my favorite month. We had a great time in the Hamptons this summer, and want to say thank you for all the help and support we had from our friends out there. But now it’s time to get the New York season rolling. Though I’ve been out of school for a few years now, I still think of September as the start of the year. For our fall fashion shoot, I was inspired by all the glamorous mothers at school pick-up. As a mother myself, I am well aware that looking as perfectly put together as the model we featured picking up her children is more fantasy than reality. But what are magazines for, if not for having a little fun? Just think, that’s how we’d all look if a team of makeup artists, hairdressers and stylists followed us around on our after-school jaunts. Speaking of looking our best, we have a great interview with Zac Posen, the young designer who’s dedicated himself to keeping us New Yorkers looking our most glamorous. We’re all for it! Daisy Prince
NASH JESSICA
LYALL ASTON
OCUM SAM Y
Editor
Left to right: Model wears a wool sleeveless coat and dress by Etro. Black-and-white earrings by Kimberly McDonald. Photographed at Fix Beauty Bar. 847 Lexington Avenue, 212.744.0800; Charlotte Ronson in Dolce & Gabanna at The McKittrick Hotel; Misha Nonoo at her New York studio. 16 | AVENUE MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2013
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On the
AVENUE
Brendan Fallis and Hannah Bronfman arriving at Bill’s Food & Drink to celebrate Jennifer Garner as the new face of MAX MARA’s accessories campaign.
photographed by Billy Farrell
on the avenue Francisco Costa
Andrew Saffir and Richard Johnson
Nacole Snoep, Melissa George and Malcolm Carfrae
LIGHTS OUT Coach hosts ACRIA’s Annual Cocktails at Sunset benefit in East Hampton
T
alk about a summer blowout: Guests found themselves in the dark—with drinks in hand—as the generator blew at ACRIA’s East End soirée. Bob Colacello, Calvin Klein and Ross Bleckner congregated near the bamboo pergola on David Kleinberg’s estate, while guests traded the Coach beach bags gifted at their seats. The evening raised $300,000 for the AIDS Community Research Initiative of America in East Hampton. Kelly Klein and Jill Stuart
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Calvin Klein and Drena De Niro
Ross Bleckner and Bob Colacello
Anne Hearst McInerney and Jay McInerney
Patrick McMullan and Robert Wiesenthal Dalia Oberlander and Amanda Hearst
Donna Karan and Richie Notar
Dylan Jenet
POWER PLAYERS
Bridghampton Polo Club kicks off its 17th season at Two Trees Farms
P
eter Brant’s team White Birch walked away victorious during the season opener at the Hamptons’ worldfamous polo grounds. Gotham Jets and Burgess Yachts greeted guests at the VIP tents, as Donna Karan, Kelly Bensimon and Emily Post took shelter from the 90-degree heat. Christie Brinkley, clad in coral, conducted the coin toss while Anne Hearst McInerney and Jay McInerney looked on, taking in unmatched views of the sport of kings. ANDREW FITZSIMONS/PATRICKMCMULLAN.COM
20 | AVENUE MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2013
Christie Brinkley
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on the avenue
THE HIGH LIFE M Missoni throws a summer music soirée at the top of The Standard hotel
S Eugena Washington Harley Viera Newton
unkissed PYTs and fashion’s downtown set mingled at M Missoni’s rooftop fête, celebrating the brand’s summer mixtape “M Missoni is for MUSIC,” produced by Epic Records. Hosts Hannah Bronfman, Jessica Hart and Atlanta de Cadenet Taylor snacked on mini lobster rolls and Grey Goose-seasoned snow cones while Byrdie Bell and Rachel Roy, shimmied to a performance by Smokey Jones. MATTEO PRANDONI/BFANYC.COM
Smokey Jones
David X Prutting and Jamie McCarthy
Rachel Roy
Erin Heatherton
Atlanta de Cadenet Taylor and Byrdie Bell Karen Elson and Diane von Furstenberg
FASHION’S FINEST DVF throws a fashionable bash in honor of vintage clothing blogger Natalie Joos
T
reats of seared tuna and filet mignon welcomed Manhattan’s “it” girls at the door of DVF’s accessories outpost, as fashion scenesters toasted blogger Natalie Joos. (After a recent ransack of the designer’s vintage printed finery, Joos chronicled her sartorial blast from the past on her blog, Tales of Endearment.) Olivia Sandelman took to the photo booth while Hannah Bronfman and Karen Elson escaped the heat, sipping on watermelon- and mint-infused cocktails.
Elizabeth Gilpin
BILLY FARRELL/BFANYC.COM
Olivia Sandelman and Alexis Dahan
Sarah Sophie Flicker
Lorenzo Martone and Natalie Joos Jacquelyn Jablonski
Martha Hunt 22 | AVENUE MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2013
Erin Fetherston
on the avenue
Michelle Morgan and Darren Criss
Sophie Sumner
Amy Fine Collins and Flora Collins Matt Dillon and Mickey Sumner
SCREEN STAR The Cinema Society and Brooks Brothers toast Kristen Wiig and Girl Most Likely
U
pper East Siders descended upon the Landmark Sunshine Cinema for a laugh and a chance to brush shoulders with the flick’s leading lady—Kristen Wiig. John Demsey, Alina Cho, Cory Kennedy and SNL alum Rachel Dratch were on hand to congratulate producer Celine Rattray and the film’s cast, which includes Matt Dillon and Padma Lakshmi. Cinéastes continued on to the Hotel Americano for the after-party, where Fern Mallis and Amy Fine Collins clinked glasses of Erin Crawford Wines.
Trudie Styler
MATTEO PRANDONI/BFANYC.COM
John Demsey and Alina Cho
Aerin Lauder
Peggy Siegal and Danny Strong
d Jennifer Creel an Kelly Rutherford
Stefano Tonchi and David Maupin
Jon Bon Jovi
MOVIE NIGHT
Nina Griscom an d Leonel Piraino
The Weinstein Company and Peggy Siegal screen Lee Daniels’ The Butler in East Hampton
B
oldface names from the film, fashion and music industries turned out for the summer film fest, held at UA East Hampton Cinema. Aerin Lauder, Billy Norwich and Jane Rosenthal brushed shoulders with Jon Bon Jovi and W’s Stefano Tonchi. Also in attendance were Kelly Rutherford, Jennifer Creel and Danny Strong, the screenwriter of the historical drama, who gave a Q&A after the screening. PATRICK MCMULLAN/PATRICKMCMULLAN.COM
Billy Norwich
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The design concepts for the furnished residences at The Residences at W New York—Downtown including all loose furnishings and certain fixtures and finishes, were entirely conceived by the participating designers. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., W Hotels and their affiliates were not involved in developing the design concepts or selecting such furnishings, fixtures and finishes for the residence and make no representations that they are consistent with the image, quality, design standards and expectations of the W Brand. A Moinian Group project. The Residences at W New York—Downtown are not owned, developed or sold by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. or its affiliates. Moinian Group uses the W trademarks and trade names under a license from Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. This is not an offer to sell or solicitation of offers to buy, nor is any offer or solicitation made where prohibited by law. The statements set forth herein are summary in nature and should not be relied upon. A prospective purchaser should refer to the entire set of documents provided by Moinian Group and should seek competent legal advice in connection therewith. Equal Housing Opportunity. Sponsor: 123 Washington LLC, 530 5th Avenue, Suite 1800 New York, NY 10036. The complete offering terms are in an Offering Plan available from the Sponsor. File No. CD06-0687.
on the avenue
Marcus Wainwright, Jessica and Jerry Seinfeld
David Neville and Cameron Diaz
Hilaria Thomas and Alec Baldwin
Naomi Watts
BABY BOOMERS Jerry and Jessica Seinfeld host the annual Baby Buggy Summer Dinner
Hilary Rhoda
Kelly Ripa and M Consuelo ark
A
constellation of stars gathered at the Seinfelds’ Amagansett estate for cocktails in honor of Jessica’s charity. Stacey Bendet Eisner and Alec and Hilaria Baldwin helped raise funds for the cause, supplying families in need with both new and worn clothing, accessories and services. Cameron Diaz, Naomi Watts and Hilary Rhoda stepped out for the dinner that followed, each taking a place under the cavernous pitched tent. KEVIN MAZUR/GETTY IMAGES
Jean Shafiroff
Daniel Morales and Kathy Reilly Chele Chiavacci, Sharon Bush, Denise De Luca and Dina De Luca Chartouni
Suzan Kremer and Audrey Gruss
Jennifer Gilbert
SUMMER JEWELS AVENUE on the Beach celebrates the 20th anniversary of de Grisogono, to benefit the Southampton Hospital
K
athy Reilly opened the doors of her Hamptons residence for a fundraiser, in partnership with jeweler de Grisogono, to benefit Southampton Hospital. In the final countdown to the hospital’s 55th Annual Summer Party, the intimate get-together drew a charitably-minded crowd that included Sharon Bush and Liliana Cavendish. Chairwoman Jean Shafiroff and Audrey Gruss bonded while raising funds for a good cause.
Liliana Cavendish 26 | AVENUE MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2013
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chronicles
by
DEBBIE BANCROFT
Social Flurry The summer was winding down, but the events were still a whirlwind
T
his report may sound exactly like what you suspect goes on out east; naked bodies cavorting through the woods, shopping orgies, glam highbrow art dinners and chi chi cocktails at manses by the sea. But, gentle reader, I report only monthly, and these particular fab events, my favorites of the summer, have been mercifully and graciously spread across four civilized weeks. You see—no different from your month! The Parrish Art Museum hosted the celebration of the summer; the first at its heralded new Herzog & de Meuron Architectsdesigned home, in Watermill. A record $1 million was raised from 600 supporter-diners and 400 younger (ish) after-dinner dancers. Meanwhile, Josephine Meckseper created a Parrish-inspired installation, Alice Adcock’s intricate drawings beckoned, and pictures from the permanent collection that had languished in storage (some as long as 115 years!) popped from the walls of the proud new museum. Ron Wendt designed the long tables in the minimal style of the museum, with metal planters and grasses that mimicked the surrounding meadows. Olivier Cheng outdid himself with a line of impossibly handsome servers (Guillaume—you’re still my guy) who stood in back of each chair, in unison snipping open our parchment packages to reveal perfectly steamed bass. Perhaps most significant were the artists and collectors alike, many of whom had input into the building and were obviously wowed by the finished product, judging from the kudos they offered to director Terrie Sultan. That crowd included: Beth Rudin DeWoody, Dorothy Lichtenstein, Agnes Gund, David Wassong and Cynthia Clift, Marcia Dunn and Jon Sobel, Chad Leat, Alexandra Stanton, Bryan Hunt, Donald Sultan (yes—Terrie’s big bro), Joe Zucker, Dorothea Rockburne, Lisa and Richard Perry, Amanda and Glenn Fuhrman, Ross Bleckner, 28 | AVENUE MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2013
Nicole Miller and Kim Taipale, Cindy Sherman, Andrea Glimcher, Kyle DeWoody, Priscilla Zoullas and many other folks who have never looked better than they did against this gorgeous backdrop. Art in a broader sense was celebrated at Robert Wilson’s Watermill Center’s 20th Annual Summer Benefit, this year entitled Devil’s Heaven; and, oh, what leeway that gave an already jazzed-up group of 1,400 revelers. You know of course that Bob’s Center is a hub of performance artists this year, attracting 100 artists from two dozen nations. They were a particularly attractive lot this year, which was a good thing, as you got to know them quite well, what with their painted, naked bodies writhing around trees, boulders and other props in the festive art forest that was the highlight of this party. It was art, and therefore, when Nicky Hammond asked, “Ohhh . . . can I buy a tree nymph?” it seemed almost reasonable. I would’ve liked to own the seesaw plank, called Stargazer, on which I trustingly lay, propelled backward by an artist. I guess, giving me a surprisingly peaceful moment gazing at the clouds. But suddenly, a vortex of photogs and scribes moved as one. “Is Marina Abramović that big a deal?” my houseguest wondered. Maybe so, but Lady Gaga was her date. Dressed in her own version of Ralph Lauren-on-the-beach—no makeup, a simple black dress (okay, with cutouts and leather) and a very tasteful nose ring, she made her way to the first forest exhibit, depicting a naked woman submerged in molasses. She, Bob Wilson and Marina took the spoons offered and took a taste—Bob from the side, Marina from her chest, and Gags—well, let’s just say that’s why I use the term “gags.” Guests, including Anh Duong, Hannah Bronfman, Lisa Marie Fernandez, Anne Hearst McInerney and Jay McInerney, Harry Brandt, Rick Owens, Prince Dimitri of Yugoslavia, Jane Holzer, Jill Stewart, Jamee and Peter Gregory and Nanette Lepore, moved from the silent auction tent to the dinner tent, where Alan Cumming MC’ed
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chronicles
Anh Duong at the Watermill Center Summer Benefit
and Gaga continued to own the evening, even bidding more than $100, 000 for, among other items, a stone pillow by her BFF, Marina A. She also announced a collaboration with Bob this November at The Louvre, and toasted Bob for helping make her “ruthless and brave” during her time as a repressed Sacred Heart student. Oh, those Catholic schoolgirls . . . the legend lives on. And when I asked Richard Johnson about the rumor that Hugh Jackman and Gags would be performing, he said, “Oh, I think I started that rumor.” No worries. We were utterly sated with all forms of performance by then.
Priscilla Zoullas at the Parrish Museum’s Midsummer party
Terrie Sultan and Beth Rudin DeWoody at the Parrish Museum’s Midsummer party
Kelly Ripa at the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund Super Saturday
Josephine Meckseper at the Parrish Museum’s Midsummer party
A swarm of fashion “forward gals charged
through the starting gate and shopped till they dropped, raising over $3.5 million in the process.
Hannah Bronfman at the Watermill Center Summer Benefit Harry Brant at the Watermill Center Summer Benefit Nicole Miller at the Parrish Museum’s Midsummer party
30 | AVENUE MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2013
Nicole Murphy at the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund Super Saturday
Anne Hearst McInerney and Jay McInerney at the Watermill Center Summer Benefit
Of course one needs something to wear to all these fêtes (unless you’re a Watermill performance artist), so we all headed to the 16th annual Super Saturday mega sample sale to benefit the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. A swarm of fashion-forward gals charged through the starting gate and shopped till they dropped, raising over $3.5 million in the process. There is nothing as fierce as a woman at a sample sale, and even though the cause may be a worthy charity, it becomes an inferno of commerce. Shoppers included Joy Behar, Jonathan Cheban, Isaac Mizrahi, Nicole Murphy, Kathy and Nicky Hilton, Sandra Lee, Kelly Ripa, Ali Wentworth and Fern Mallis. Sometimes (actually, always), it’s nice to tuck in with less than 1,200 dear friends. And so we did, at Lisa and Donald Jackson’s über-chic Blue Haven. Once completely blue, it still retains its blue tile roof, supplemented now, however, with more neighborhood-appropriate gray shingles. Lisa rocked her tiny Marni shorts and a major cross of her own design, and welcomed bestie Vera Wang and other pals, including Tory Burch, Gigi Mortimer, Perri Peltz and many others. She is very popular. ✦
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arts calendar
Feasting the Eyes This month’s selection of art and antiques on view, for sale and on stage auctions BONHAMS NEW YORK Sept. 12: Fine Japanese Works of Art Sept. 25: Fine Furniture and Decorative Arts, Clocks and Silver 580 Madison Avenue 212.644.9001 CHRISTIE'S Sept. 17: South Asian Modern & Contemporary Art; Indian & Southeast Asian Art; Fine Chinese Paintings Sept. 18: Japanese & Korean Art Sept. 19–20: Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art Sept. 25: American Furniture 20 Rockefeller Plaza 212.636.2000 DOYLE NEW YORK Sept. 10: Doyle at Home Sept. 16: Asian Works of Art Sale Sept. 24: Leo Lerman & Gray Foy Collection Sept. 25: Important Estate Jewelry 175 E. 87th Street 212.427.2730 SOTHEBY’S Sept. 24: Important Jewels Sept. 25: Contemporary Art 1334 York Avenue 212.606.7000
EAT/DIE, 1962, Oil on canvas, Private Collection. © 2013 Morgan Art Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
GaLLERiEs ADAM BAUMGOLD Sept. 2013: SETH It’s a Good Life If You Don’t Weaken 60 E. 66th Street 212.861.7338 DAVID ZWIRNER Sept.–Oct.: Philip-Lorca diCorcia, Raymond Pettibon 519 W. 19th Street 212.727.2070 JOAN B. MIRVISS LTD. Sept. 18–Oct. 31: The Influence of China on Japanese Art 39 E. 78th Street 212.799.4021 LUHRING AUGUSTINE Sept. 13–Oct. 19: Josh Smith 531 W. 24th Street 212.206.9100
Philip-Lorca diCorcia, Eddie Anderson; 21 years old; Houston, Texas. Courtesy of the artist and David Zwirner, New York/London
32 | AVENUE MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2013
MARIAN GOODMAN Sept. 17–Oct. 26: William Kentridge
24 W. 57th Street 212.977.7160 PAUL KASMIN Sept. 18–Oct. 19: Polly Borland 511 W. 27th Street 212.563.4474
EXHiBitions THE FRICK COLLECTION Sept. 17–Dec. 8: David d’Angers: Making the Modern Monument 1 E. 70th Street 212.628.4417 GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM Sept. 27–Jan. 5: Robert Motherwell: Early Collages 1071 Fifth Avenue 212.423.3500 METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART Sept. 16–Jan. 5: Interwoven Globe: The Worldwide Textile Trade, 1500–1800
MUSEUM OF MODERN ART Sept. 14–Jan. 6: New Photography 2013 Sept. 21–Jan. 20: Dorothea Rockburne: Drawing Which Makes Itself 11 W. 53rd Street 212.708.9400 THE WHITNEY MUSEUM Sept.19–Feb. 9: T.J. Wilcox: In the Air Sept. 26–Jan. 23: Robert Indiana: Beyond Love 945 Madison Avenue 212.570.3600
PERFORMANCES Anna Ostoya. Lee No. 1. 2013. Courtesy of the artist and Bortolami Gallery, New York. © Anna Ostoya
Sept. 17–Jan.5: Medieval Treasures from Hildesheim 1000 Fifth Avenue 212.535.7710
METROPOLITAN OPERA HOUSE Sept. 23, 26: Eugene Onegin Sept. 24, 28: Cosi fan tutte Sept. 30: Norma 10 Lincoln Center Plaza 212.362.6000
Robert Motherwell: Early Collages, Jeune Fille, 1944, Private collection. © Dedalus Foundation/Licensed by VAGA, New York Photo: Jeffrey Warda © 2013 The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York
AMERICAN CLASSICAL ORCHESTRA Sept. 23: Fiori Musicali 1941 Broadway 212.671.4050 ✦
Great Design Endures For 25 years we’ve created residential interiors that interpret each client’s unique vision with our sophisticated design aesthetic, attention to detail and exceptional quality.
Richard Bailey Interiors, LLC I n t e R I o R D e s I g n a n D D e C o R at I o n
Glen Ridge, NJ | info@RichardBaileyInteriors.com Tel: 973-429-2106 | www.RichardBaileyInteriors.com SEPTEMBER 2013 • AVENUE MAGAZINE | 33
objects of desire
by
CASEY BROOKS
Geometrical Wooden Clutch in crystal and caramel with walnut wood by DEVI KROELL, $2,490. Available at Devi Kroell, NYC, 212.644.4499
Alan Friedman White Gold Plated with Black Rhodium Panther bangle, $50,000. Provided by NEW YORK LOAN COMPANY, NYC, 212.997.5626 or newyorkloan.com
FRONT ROW FASHION
Corduroy and Deerskin Hats by HERMÈS HERMÈS, $475 each. Available at Hermès stores nationwide, 800.441.4488 or hermes.com
With fashion week in full swing, the notorious front row will be lined with the industry’s most influential faces, dressed head-to-toe in fall’s most coveted pieces.
Faith Cord Camel vest with leather trim by ACNE, $1,800. Available at Acne Studios, NYC, 212.334.8345
Mini Shockwave and #Hashtag rings, both in rose gold, both by KHAI KHAI JEWELRY, $945 - $1,085. Availble at khaikhaijewelry. com or at Bloomingdale’s, NYC, 212.705.2000
Suede Leather Boots by EMILIO PUCCI, $2,590. Available at Emilio Pucci, NYC, 212.752.4777.
Ruby Bracelets by SHAMBALLA, price upon request. Available at Wempe Jewelers, NYC, 212.397.9000 Olive Camo Haircalf Miranda Tote by MICHAEL KORS, NYC, $1,695. Available at Michael Kors, 212.452.4685 34 | AVENUE MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2013
cocktail on the avenue
by
DAISY PRINCE
On the Rocks
Talk of diamonds and a martini, straight up with Henri Barguirdjian, president and CEO of Graff US
T
The Mark Restaurant by Jean-Georges 25 East 77th Street New York, NY 10075 212.606.3030 themarkrestaurantnyc.com
36 | AVENUE MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2013
he bar at The Mark hotel is a crush of men in dark suits as I make my way to the bar to meet Henri Barguirdjian, president and CEO of Graff US and one of the world’s leading experts on diamonds. For our meeting, Barguirdjian has managed to cleave his way in between two bankers and is waiting with expectant patience, one elbow resting on the bar’s red cloth. When the bartender takes our order, I order white wine, Barguirdjian, a martini. I’m surprised by his order; I never expect Europeans to order martinis; I think of a martini as strictly an American tipple, but then Barguirdjian has been in the United States a long time, 30 years as of this year, to be exact. Yet however much he likes American drinks, it becomes clear from our conversation that Barguirdjian is a deeply-rooted European. To begin with, he comes from a fifth-generation family of jewelers. His great-grandfather was a jeweler in Armenia and fled that country in the late 1800s, settling in what was then the Empire of Persia (now Iran). The great-grandfather set up a jewelry store and subsequently became a jeweler to the Shah of Iran. Later, in the early 1900s, he took a trip to Paris and fell so in love with the city that he called his wife to tell her to sell all their assets, pack up the house and kids and to move to Paris with him. There, the family business continued to thrive, and years later, as a young man, Barguirdjian joined his family’s company but felt the pull to explore new horizons. Echoing his great-grandfather’s adventurous spirit, Barguirdjian also picked up his life, moved to the U.S. and landed a job working for Harry Winston. As someone with such a breadth of knowledge of the industry, he’s seen a lot of changes in the way business is done in the world of diamonds. “There were much smaller companies; it was very compartmented,” he tells me. “The only companies that have survived today are ones that managed to do what Graff ’s done and built a system from the beginning to the end of the chain. It eliminated a lot of middle men. There were very few stones sold with certificates; people had their own rating systems. When a dealer or important people in the industry would tell you, ‘Well, this is a blue-white diamond,’ you’d take his word for it.” Nowadays, gentlemen’s agreements have become a thing of the past, and the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) certificate has replaced the industry handshake. Barguirdjian agrees that the certificate is essential but worries that perhaps people have become a little too tied to what they see written about a particular stone on a sheet of paper.
cocktail on the avenue
“There is something about the beauty and brilliance and the cut that makes a beautiful diamond that you can’t really describe,” he says. “It’s a little bit like art. You can have two Picassos; they’re both Picassos—[but] one is worth $400,000; the other is worth $50 million. It’s not really something you can explain on a piece of paper. It is knowledge and appreciation of what beauty is all about. We’ve lost a little of this in the jewelry world.” Still, the increased amount of paperwork has by no means diminished Barguirdjian’s love for his job, and when I ask him about his trips to the mines, he is more than happy to dish about his experiences. “In the mines you cannot see much,” he says. “It’s in the sorting room that you see all the rocks coming out. Bear in mind, to find a one-carat diamond, you’re going to move a hundred tons of dirt.” We discuss the importance of carats vs settings, but only when we get on to the cut of the stone does Barguirdjian become truly impassioned. “The cut of the stone is what will determine the beauty of the diamond,” he says. “There is where Graff ’s an absolute fanatic. Where, on average you get a 50 percent yield on the diamond from a 20-carat rock, you will have a 10-carat cut. A lot of people, from a 20-carat rock, are going to get a poorly-cut 12-carat diamond, because they want the maximum yield. But we would rather have an absolutely, perfectly-made 9-carat than a poorly-made 12-carat.” I ask Barguirdjian if there was one turning point that he could point to in his career. It was meeting Laurence Graff, he tells me. “I had a
comfortable job where I was, so I could very well have said, ‘No, it’s too much of a risk and I’m not going to do it.’ But Laurence is such an extraordinary personality in our business; it’s almost impossible to say no to him anyway. And that really changed my life.” For the last 13 years, Barguirdjian has been the head of Graff, US. He set the company up from scratch; there wasn’t even a corporation when he started out; and today the company is world renowned for its extraordinary stones and more recently, its ladies’ watches. I wonder if Barguirdjian has any advice to pass along to the next generation. “Basically, nothing extraordinary,” he says. “This is what I tell my children all the time, and all the kids that come into the jewelry store: ‘So many young people are almost afraid of working hard. You have to work really hard. You’ve got to give it more than 100 percent. But if you keep working hard, and doing what you believe, sooner or later something is going to happen. No one is always lucky or always unlucky. Sure, there is luck, but there are people who have the ability to seize the luck, and those who don’t. Keep your integrity—that’s important. And follow your gut! Whatever you do, do it for a reason.’” Our hour is nearly up and I try to convince Barguirdjian to let me pay for the drinks, explaining that that expenditure is part of the conceit of the story. For a few moments he looks like he is going to allow me to do it until his European conscience gets the best of him. He settles the bill but allows me to take the receipt for posterity, and leaves the bar with his manners and integrity intact. ✦
Dwight-Englewood School. We’re closer than you think.
Goals Start Young. Their Futures Start Here. Dwight-Englewood School Preschool (age 3) - Grade 12 Register for our Fall 2013 Open House Events. Call 201.984.3949 or visit d-e.org/admissions today.
38 | AVENUE MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2013
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Before he became a part of her family, he was a part of ours. Bideawee’s trainers taught him to be well-behaved. Our animal hospitals made sure he was healthy and our matchmakers and volunteers made sure that he was properly socialized so he’s prepared for their life-long journey together. For 110 years, Bideawee has been bringing together pets and people for the journey of a lifetime. Come see the difference our commitment makes by visiting one of our locations, Bideawee.org or calling 866-262-8133.
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postcards from . . .
by
HALEY FRIEDLICH
Dear AVENUE,
It’s an all-American getaway for this duo Fashion world darlings Mark Badgley and James Mischka are well loved for their wearable yet glamorous creations. A favorite among both the social and celebrity sets for more than two decades, Badgley Mischka has proved to be a winner in the evening wear market. Now, as they gear up to open their New York City flagship next April, the Badgley-Mischka duo—who duo are also partners in life—can life be found recharging in the Adirondacks.
America, the beautiful
We are both huge fans of traveling in America America—there are so many gorgeous and inspirational parts of this country. Our favorite destination is Lake Placid, in the Adirondacks, a beautiful five-hour drive with the most amazing views and a fabulous local style. At Lake Placid, you can be totally active or just relax. And you can go anytime; it’s just as gorgeous in July as in the middle of winter.
Summer camp
In the summer, we like to rent a private boat-access-only “camp.” That limitation makes it a real getaway. (And cell phones don’t work there!) Sitting in an Adirondack chair on the dock, watching the loons over the lake, we find that our blood pressure goes down immediately. And we love piloting the boat or a kayak across that beautiful, mirror-smooth water. When the lake ices over, we love the luxury and rustic ambiance of the Lake Placid Lodge.
Natural immersion
Mark is consumed by the Lake Placid Horse Show in the summer. We love to spend the nonshow days on the water or hiking hiking— the surroundings literally take your breath away. There is also a huge focus there on agriculture, and James combs the farmers’ markets and farm stands. (We love the Ausable Valley Grange Farmers’ Market and Snowslip Farm—conveniently located just behind the horse show.)
Adirondack advice
Even if you don’t stay there, the Lodge’s restaurant, Artisans, is a must. Lunch in town is also fun, at the Brown Dog Café & Wine Bar or The Cottage, both perched over Mirror Lake and offering wonderful food. One of our favorite antique stores in the world is Antediluvian Antiques & Curiosities in the middle of town town—Adirondack, with an edge. The local food shopping is great: Fudge and maple candies get our vote every time!
Designer fuel
Travel is one of life’s greatest pleasures, and a way you can keep your outlook fresh and new. While we love our favorite getaways and will return to them again and again, the excitement of the new discovery brings a new point of view that we find crucial in our business. We keep finding new “old” techniques during our travels that we incorporate into every season. ✦
40 | AVENUE MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2013
FIND YOUR DIRECTION At
THE College on Manhattan’s Upper East Side Visit us at www.mmm.edu Call 1.800.MARYMOUNT 221 East 71st Street, NY, NY 10021
unreal estate
by
MICHAEL GROSS
De-accessioning a Park Avenue Masterpiece Don’t feel bad for Mickey and Paola Schulhof. They’re selling on Park, but they’ll always have Paris
M
ickey and Paola Schulhof ’s listing of their tree-line duplex at 770 Park for $19.9 million is best viewed as de-accessioning. Mickey’s parents, Rudolph and Hannelore Schulhof, left Austria before World War II, started a fine-art publishing house in New York and collected hundreds of artworks by 20th century masters, many of which now reside in the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice. Today, their son and Greek-born daughter-in-law (he was chief executive of Sony in the 1990s and is now a private investor; she is a former antiques seller in East Hampton) don’t collect art so much as homes. These include an Eiffel Tower-view apartment in Paris, a compound in East Hampton, an upstate home, a Palm Beach rental (while they shop for their fourth home there) and shares of two more family properties, located in New Hampshire and on Long Island’s Gold Coast. The Schulhofs’ 11 rooms on Park (most of which, including the dining room, have a view of that famous avenue) include a 24-foot marble gallery, an elaborately-paneled library, a kitchen-pantry complex and one of 770 architect Rosario Candela’s signature sweeping staircases, which leads to four bedroom suites. The rooms were renovated in 2008 in the style of a Parisian hotel particulier, albeit one with Candela moldings. Begun just after the 1929 market crash and completed the next year, 770 Park—a 15-story, 39-unit brick and limestone building—was disdained by contemporary architecture critics but embraced by the
42 | AVENUE MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2013
wealthy and socially wired. Over the years, its residents have included descendants of Revolutionary War-era families, the chairmen of the boards of American Waterworks & Electric and Metropolitan Life, the president of Manhattan Soap (and his wife, the former Princess Vlora of Albania), the son of the president of the Central Park Commission and a Park Avenue-ready array of stockbrokers, bankers and race-horse breeders. “This building is like a club,” says Paola Schulhof. “We know everyone.” Her neighbors are Michael Lynne of New Line Cinema; Steve and Daryl Roth, the real-estate-and-theater power couple who own the duplex penthouse formerly occupied by Gianni and Marella Agnelli; Edgar and Ellie Cullman (she designs while he invests his family money); Stuart Feld, the president of Hirschl & Adler; and current board president Marlene Hess, the oil heiress. The provenance of the Schulhofs’ duplex traces back to the 1960s when it was bought for a low-six-figure sum by Dr. William Tripler Seed, a Social Register pediatrician and a favorite of his aunt, Jean Flagler Matthews, granddaughter of Henry Morrison Flagler, the Standard Oil founder and pioneering developer of South Florida. Seed’s wife is the former Barbara Buchanan of Evanston, Illinois, a grandchild of Benjamin Winslow, the Chicago architect and inventor of one of the earliest slide rules. Barbara Seed and one of her 770 neighbors, Lisa Schiff, ran a gift and home accessories boutique, Cache-Cache, on Madison Avenue. Schiff ’s husband David is from a
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Equal Housing Opportunity.
© 2013 Douglas Elliman Real Estate. All material presented herein is intended for information purposes only. While, this information is believed to be correct, it is represented subject to errors, omissions, changes or withdrawal without notice. information, including, but not limited to square footage, room count, number of bedrooms and the school district in property listings are deemed reliable, but should be verified by your own attorney, architect or zoning expert. Equal Housing
© 2013. Douglas Elliman Real Estate.
© 2013 Douglas Elliman Real Estate. All material presented herein is intended for information purposes only. While, this information is believed to be correct, it is represented subject to errors, omissions, changes or withdrawal without notice. information, including, but not limited to square footage, room count, number of bedrooms and the school district in property listings are deemed reliable, but should be verified by your own attorney, architect or zoning expert. Equal Housing
© 2013. Douglas Elliman Real Estate.
SALES | RENTALS | RELOCATION | NEW DEVELOPMENTS | RETAIL | MORTGAGE | PROPERTY MANAGEMENT | TITLE INSURANCE
WHY LIST WITH ELLIMAN? WE ALREADY KNOW WHO’S BUYING YOUR HOME, THAT’S WHY.
If you’re considering listing now in order to take advantage of today’s historically small pool of homes for sale, you’ll want to learn more about Douglas Elliman’s breakthrough technological edge too. With a unique application that enables Elliman agents to pinpoint and reach out to buyers searching our website for a home like yours, we can put the power of Elliman to work for you today.
unreal estate The paneled library overlooks Park Avenue
The formal dining room also faces front
In the main parlor: Paris on Park Avenue
A signature staircase by Rosario Candela
significant business family himself. His great-grandfather Jacob Schiff, a German-Jewish Kuhn, Loeb & Co. banker, financed everything from railroads to wars. Lisa and David Schiff, whose son Drew was briefly married to Karenna Gore, still live at 770. The Seeds left after the couple separated, and in 1977 the apartment was sold for about $250,000 to William D. Mayer, a Wall Street trader whose eponymous firm brought options to the American Stock Exchange. Told by phone of the apartment’s asking price, Barbara Seed laughs and says, “I just sat down.” “We got it at the bottom of the turn-down,” admits Mayer’s thenwife Nancy Portnoy; for that reason, she says, there were “no board issues” that she can recall, in what has since been revealed as one of Park Avenue’s most selective cooperatives. “They weren’t as strict as they are now,” Nancy says. The board even let in actors and, heaven forbid, journalists: Yul and Doris Brynner “lived under us,” says Portnoy. “Bob Schieffer from CBS bought from Yul.” Another neighbor was investment banker Felix Rohatyn who, according to William D. Cohan’s The Last Tycoons: The Secret History of Lazard Frères & Co., got into 770 that same year with the help of another Lazard partner, Alan McFarland, who headed the co-op board. “As the story goes,” Cohan wrote, “according to a former partner, two hookers showed up at the same time one night in the lobby of 770 Park, and each of them asked for Felix. Both Felix and McFarland ended up in the lobby to settle the dispute.” Rohatyn has been happily married since 1980. The Mayers divorced, and Nancy Portnoy remained in her “beautiful, majestic apartment” 44 | AVENUE MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2013
until she met her next husband and moved to Long Island’s North Fork. The apartment was listed for $1,800,000 in 1981 and was bought by Richard J. Schwartz, then-president of the garment center giant Jonathan Logan, which his father David Schwartz founded. Schwartz kept the property for seven years before selling it for $3,700,000. “I’d just as soon you didn’t mention the prices,” says the former chairman of the New York State Council on the Arts and a prodigious fundraiser for medical and cultural organizations. “I sound like an idiot for selling it.” “I loved that apartment,” says Robin Pickett, who bought it with her husband, John O. Pickett Jr. A son of Arkansas farmers, Pickett parlayed a degree in business into a fortune, part of which he used to buy his wife a small piece of the New York Islanders hockey team—a minority interest that eventually led to their controlling the team. When the couple moved out of 770 in 1991, another real estate trough, they listed it for $4,200,000—and sold it to the Schulhofs through Robin Pickett’s sister, Hilary Geary, who was working as a broker prior to her marriage to Wall Street legend Wilbur Ross. Through their mother, Pat Wood, a former gossip columnist for The Southampton Press, Robin and Hilary are related to the wealthy and socially prominent Irish-American Murray and McDonnell families, who helped establish the summer colony. The Picketts’ real estate fortunes improved in 2012, when they sold an estate there for $24 million. But back to 770-on-the-Seine. “It feels like a great European apartment,” says the Schulhofs’ broker, Warburg Realty’s Richard Steinberg. “You open the door and you don’t feel like you’re in New York. You feel like you’re in Paris.” So why sell? “Life should not only be [about] collecting as many physical things as possible,” says Mickey Schulhof from his Paris penthouse. “The question became, how do we divide our time? We’re only two people and a dog.” ✦
Art by renowned illustrator Alex nabaum.
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SHOW Preview October 9 – October 13 PARK AVENUE ARMORY Show Design Committee Chairs: Ellie Cullman and Mario Buatta
2013
For full show information, please visit
www. a v e n u e shows .c o m
B EST O F SHOW AVENUE Shows is pleased to present a special Best In Show panel discussion on Saturday, October 11, featuring an all-star line-up of decorators who will unveil their favorite show items. Moderated by author, design consultant, TODAY Show and 1stdibs.com contributor Susanna Salk and featuring Ellie Cullman, Darren Henault, Amanda Nisbet and David Scott, Salk says. “This panel offers the most exciting and educational way to immediately preview and grasp the essence of this great show through the expert eyes of some our greatest tastemakers.”
An Italian Modern Chair by Ico Parisi, Italy, 1950 from Gary Rubinstein Antiques of Miami and Palm Beach, FL
We asked Susanna Salk to give us a sneak-peak preview of a few of her favorite show items:
Harry Benson “Frank & Mia, Capote Ball”, Archival Pigment Photograph, Executed in 1964, Printed 2012. From Holden Luntz Gallery of Palm Beach, FL
“The Italians know how to make modern look cosy.”
“I’m obsessed with the Black and White Ball and I love this angle of Mia and Frank because it feels completely spontaneous. This would look great in an entry hall.” A Black Lacquer Credenza with Sliding Doors, Hollywood Regency. USA, 1950s from Gary Rubinstein Antiques
Coral & diamond necklace by Belperron from Pat Saling of New York, NY
“So glamorous! Like the ultimate jewelry for the room.”
“Coral and diamonds. A lot of them. Need I say more?!...”
Join US FOR THIS exclusive presentation on Saturday, October 12 at 1pm at the show. R e g i ste r to at te n d at www.av e n u e shows.c o m / e v e nts
C O L L E C T
•
D E C O R A T E
•
A D O R N
P u b l i c S ho w H ours
A n excepti onal sele cti on of 17th–21st centur y design
T hursday, Oc to b e r 10 S unday , Oc to b e r 13, 2013
SAVE THE DATE W e d n e s d a y, Oc t o b e r 9 , 2013 6:3 0PM–9:3 0PM
VIP
RSVP required: avenueshows@manhattanmedia.com o r 646.442.1628
Maurice Dufrene piano from Calderwood Gallery. First presented at the 1925 Paris Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes.
For full show hours and information please visit www.avenueshows.com
Exhibitor image: Calderwood Gallery
Opening Night f o r AVENUE Readers
WHAT WE ARE B RIN G IN G We ask e d a few of ou r Octob e r AVENUE S h ow e x h i b ito rs to provide a preview of one of the special items they will bring. French Gilt-Bronze Sedan Carriage Clock with Ivory Panels. Circa 1880
Marc Chagall Marc Chagall, Sposi Anfora, 1954. Three studies known
“Carriage clocks come in many forms, but none rarer than the sedan. Unlike most, this example also has finely executed ivory miniatures and an hour repeat making it a truly exceptional example.” Steven Thompson, Sundial NYC
“Introduced to Egidio Costantini, the master glass maker, by Peggy Guggenheim in 1954, Chagall was fascinated by the mysterious chemistry of glass and fire. Through their collaboration the two artists developed only a few pieces, and it is said that when the painter saw this piece completed, he cried with emotion.” Marc Powell, Sylvia Powell Decorative Arts
Good George III Mahogany Serpentine Commode (English circa 1790-1800) “This is a very stylish commode of superior quality in original condition” Michael Pashby, Michael Pashby Antiques The Royal Blue Diamond, 10.06 Carats “It is a great rarity and almost certainly the only 10 carat blue diamond for sale in the entire world!” Bill Rau, M.S. Rau Antiques
Boisee Avec Trois Vaches, Oil on Canvas “This is a classic example of the artist’s work from the 1870s. The entire composition is beautifully rendered in an ‘Impressionist’ style that helps illustrate why Corot was such an influence on Monet and the other Impressionist artists.” Howard Rehs, Rehs Galleries, Inc.
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in The inside scoop on growing up Ronson and what makes this fashion designer one of the coolest girls on the New York scene by Suzanne Weinstock Klein Lattice Lace Jumpsuit by Charlotte Ronson. Available at Blue & Cream, 1 East 1st Street, 212.533.3088. Dolly pumps in black by Charlotte Olympia. Charlotte Olympia New York, charlotteolympia.com. Midnight Hour Bracelet by Ann Dexter-Jones Design. Anndexterjonescom. Ronson wears her own ring, by Genevieve Jones.
54 | AVENUE MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2013
photographed by Lyall Aston styled by Chiara
de Rege Rose hair and makeup by David Tibolla location Gallow Green at The McKittrick Hotel, home of Sleep No More style assistance by Justin
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Charlotte Ronson walks into her favorite neighborhood café, The Smile, shaking her head. “Ugh, I just got a look at myself in the mirror,” she says with unfounded disappointment. Her trademark tousled waves are pulled back and, aside from faded traces of lipstick and eyeliner from AVENUE’s cover shoot this particular morning, Charlotte Ronson is enviably fresh faced, with dewy olive skin. It’s hard to believe that this modest, soft-spoken woman sipping lemonade is the same Charlotte Ronson endlessly photographed about town—downtown scenester, fashion designer and member of the near-mythological Ronson family. “Charlotte is one of the most humble of my children,” says her mother, Ann Dexter-Jones, adding that humility is particularly notable in an extended family with 10 children. “Sometimes I don’t hear about her accomplishments until I read about them in the news.” Charlotte Ronson, her twin sister Samantha and their older brother Mark are the London-born but New York-bred children of Ann Dexter-Jones and real estate tycoon Laurence Ronson. After splitting with Laurence, Ann married Mick Jones of Foreigner, bringing two step-siblings into the mix and giving the Ronsons two half-siblings: Alexander and Annabelle Dexter-Jones. Laurence Ronson remarried as well and added two more to the brood, for a grand total of 10. Beyond Charlotte’s success in the fashion world, Samantha is a globe-trotting DJ and Mark is a Grammy Award-winning music producer; plus their half- and step-siblings have sprawling lists of accomplishments of their own.
nd I a s d n my frie l l a n ught e a t h r w e e h t s y mo a pha m t h u g B u . thing o r e e h t m m t a o s n s I we make ess the r o t d t o n t d us por ta n flair. m i w y o l l r wante a u off yo t it’s re a e v h i t g e d m wn an o r u o The epically talented y
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and creative clan has evolved this way thanks to a unique upbringing by Ann Dexter-Jones—socialite, jewelry designer and “hostess with the most-ess,” as Charlotte says. The household was defined by two opposing characteristics. It was bohemian, lavish and filled with famous, eccentric creative types constantly coming and going. But the kids were also given a strict English upbringing. The result was children who became imaginative, freespirited adults but still have the discipline and work ethic to stay out of trouble and build empires based on their talents. Telling stories about their mother’s disciplinary approach is something Charlotte and her siblings love, though those tales are a little like war stories. Some of the restrictions, they say, fell into the realm of normalcy. There were early curfews enforced by a requirement that the kids sign in with the doorman, little spending money, no sleepovers and lots of groundings. “When my mother discovered the word ‘grounding’ in America, our life was over,” says Charlotte. “She thought it was the best thing ever.” Then there was the not-so-normal. “When we moved to New York, we’d have to watch after-school specials about kidnappers and molesters; we were petrified and crying hysterically,” Charlotte says. “My mother at one point had us on leashes.” Mark Ronson recalls the entire family being put on lockdown during the L.A. riots “because she thought they were going to spread to New York in the course of seven minutes.” “I guess for America this seemed extreme to some families and their friends,” admits Ann. “I remember sending Charlotte into the corner of a restaurant dining room at five years old, after I had reminded her twice not to touch her cutlery. Poor child! I didn’t realize it was an oval room, as she tried unsuccessfully to find a corner. In their teens I think I was overRonson wears a multi-color protective but I still think children need structure and boundaries. I would do suit print dress by Carolina so again in my next life but maybe without quite as much grounding.” Herrera. 954 Madison Avenue, 212.249.6552. Black Blazer with Obviously there was method in the madness because Zippered Faux Leather Detail by I Heart Ronson. Available at JCPenney, Charlotte has grown up into a remarkably down-tojcp.com. Stendhal Minaudiere red clutch earth woman who travels in the by Reece Hudson. Available at Barneys New York, 660 Madison Avenue, 212.826.8900. Rings by Alison Lou. Available at Fivestory, 18 East 69th Street, 212.288.1338. RP 18kt Gold Overlay ID Bracelet by Ann Dexter-Jones Design. Available at Barneys New York.
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most exclusive circles in the fashion and social worlds without any sign of affectation. And Ann’s tight rein did little to dampen her children’s artistic innovation. Even groundings were an opportunity to encourage creativity. Charlotte loved to draw and sketch, so in order to be un-grounded, she was required to attend art classes and go to museums, usually with her twin sister in tow. Nothing made Ann prouder than watching Charlotte develop her individuality and seeing her young daughter hone her talent for fashion. “At 3 years old she already had an innate sense of color, tottering over to replace items I laid out for her with a different color. I loved to watch her and say nothing,” Ann boasts. “At 6 years old, she said, ‘Mummy, when I grow up I would like to design material and frocks.’ She loved to style her clothes with a stitch or a ribbon to make it more original. Then the outfit all made sense. She has an amazing eye for design.” Charlotte recalls her first styling experiences being in her mother’s closet, where she would sneak in and play dress-up or help Ann pick her outfits to go out in. “I went through a phase when all my friends and I wanted us to dress the same,” Charlotte remembers. “But my mother taught me that it’s really important to make something your own and give off your own flair. She has such great style and only had fun, colorful pieces. I didn’t start wearing black until a couple of years ago because it seemed so serious. It was something you wore to bat mitzvahs and funerals.”
all the f o ic r t mily-cen a f t s from s o t o o m h e p far th round a g d all in n d a She’s by n t e u s o read p always s d is n y a d n effor t r ybo e e h t v childre E s . e s k a y s m a onson were kid lw e a w e n h e R wh —Mark e and s c la p e ether. over th g o t s u CHARLOTTE’S PASSION to bring
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and creativity were more than just admired. She was also told to do something about it by getting involved and figuring out how to make her dreams come true. She explored her interest in fashion with internships at Harper’s Bazaar, Rolling Stone and Cynthia Rowley and, while studying at NYU in 2000, launched her line C. Ronson from her mother’s bathroom. She used the tub to dye and re-work vintage t-shirts into stylishly grungy creations that she shopped from store to store, earning herself a clientele and soon launching a complete line. “I’d go to her apartment, and it looked like a FedEx tornado had gone off because there were towers of FedEx boxes, where she was personally shipping all of her orders to all of these different stores around America,” Mark reminisces. By 2002, she had enough traction to open a now-closed flagship store in Nolita and in 2005 she rebranded her line Charlotte Ronson, reflecting a more mature aesthetic. At 36 years old, nearly 14 years after making her first t-shirts, Charlotte presides over a world that includes women’s wear, shoes and handbags carried in more than a dozen countries, and a separate line for JCPenney, I ‘Heart’ Ronson. Both lines feature easy, wearable dresses and separates designed to transition from day to night, including her signature “ditzy floral” dresses that Charlotte considers a wardrobe staple, especially when paired with a leather jacket. The clothes are flirty with a tongue-in-cheek, girly-girl-meets-tomboy attitude that lets you know these are outfits you’re meant to have fun in. But the contemporary Charlotte Ronson line has grown up into more a more elevated line, while I ‘Heart’ Ronson fills the needs of more trend-driven, fast-fashion customers, much as C. Ronson did.
Sequin and jeweled dress and gold plated earrings with red mosaic by Dolce & Gabbana. Available at select DG boutiques, 1.877.70.DGUSA, dolcegabbana.it
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The success of the brand and its aesthetic ultimately comes back to Charlotte herself, whose personal style screams downtown New York cool kid. “She’s always been my style idol,” says friend and Nylon editor-at-large Dani Stahl. “I love how she wears clothes, very boho-rockchic. Her collection totally captures her style vibe.” Although, beginning with the Fall 2013 collection, Charlotte switched to a presentation format (“I get to talk to people instead of watching on a screen backstage”), her fashion shows have been one of the hottest tickets at New York Fashion Week for years, both for the clothes and the general hipness of the vibe. Samantha lends her musical talents each season, taking Charlotte’s inspirations and translating them into a soundtrack that viewers and bloggers regularly obsess over. And the audience over the years has been a testament to Charlotte’s tremendous support among influencers of all kinds. Show-goers regularly include mainstream celebrities like Paula Patton, LeAnn Rimes and Mandy Moore; edgy girls like Peaches Geldof, Kelly Osbourne and Ellie Goulding; and socialites like Byrdie Bell, Zani Gugelmann and Shoshanna Lonstein Gruss. To sum it up, Charlotte Ronson and her line are simply cool. “Charlotte was born cool,” says best friend Shoshanna, who was a classmate at Manhattan’s elite Nightingale School and collaborates with Charlotte on a capsule swimwear collection under her label Made With Love. “Some people just have that ‘thing,’ and Charlotte has it in spades. She’s got the gorgeous hair and skin, and she throws on clothes, and they look just right, without looking like she tried. I’ve always admired Charlotte’s easy way.” “I never want to look like I tried too hard,” Charlotte says, shrugging off the undeniable fact that her style is aspired to by women all over the world. Today she is wearing short, cuffed denim shorts paired with a chambray button-up featuring cute cut-outs around the neck, and cap-toed oxfords—completely characteristic of her seemingly unstudied mix of feminine and masculine. “Charlotte’s line is a perfect extension of her personal style. It’s a little bit tomboy, a little bit girly, a little bit bohemian, a little bit sexy d and totally cool, just like my best pal Charlotte ing’, an h t ‘ t a h t e Ronson,” Shoshanna says. t have and sh
, us nd skin eople j a p ir e a h m tried. o s S e u l. h o s o e o e g r k c o oking li nstein Gruss t the g as bor n lo o t w g u s e ’ t o t e o h t, wit es. Sh h anna L Charlo d h ig s r a o t p h s s S u j — in ey look e has it h t t . t y lo d a r n w a a y Ch lothes, e’s eas c t t n lo r o a s h C throw CHARLOTTE’S COOLNESS is a genuine dmired a s y a lw a one built on a mysterious, magnetic je ne sais quoi that radiates from I’ve
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within. Although she may seem outwardly aloof, it doesn’t take an observer long to see that beneath the killer hair and epic wardrobe is a rare sincerity and sensitivity. Reserved by nature, she takes her time to get to know people but stands by those close to her. “Loyal,” “kind” and “compassionate” are descriptors that come up repeatedly among friends. Family clearly comes first for Charlotte, who talks about her parents and siblings frequently and warmly. “She’s by far the most familycentric of all the children and always sending around photos from when we were kids,” Mark says. “Everybody is spread out and all over the place and she always makes the effort to bring us together.” Her relationship with Samantha is particularly special. “We’re not the twins where, if you punch me, she’ll feel it, or we would have been punching ourselves growing up,” Charlotte jokes. “But we’re definitely super-duper close and each other’s best friend.” Samantha concurs: “It’s impossible to put into words the bond we share, but I can say you should all be very jealous.” In her free time, Charlotte may attend many a red carpet and will hit a club where her sister is spinning, but she prefers relaxing with friends, scrapbooking and visiting museums to nightclubs and parties. Ever since high school, she has filled books with images that inspire her—ripping pictures out of magazines and creating “inspiration books” around themes that may or may not eventually make their way into a future collection. She also has a soft spot for having a good cry over a heart-wrenching movie. All told, she comes across as an old soul, an attribute that might be related to her status as a (nearly) lifelong New Yorker. While her siblings have moved around, Charlotte never wanted to live anywhere else and opted for NYU after high school instead of Paris where Samantha went to school. “I grew up maybe a little faster than everyone else,” she says. “I got my own apartment. I had to have all these responsibilities much earlier on, but I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.” Introspective and self-aware when it comes to how she has evolved, Charlotte reflects: “I’m more confident and stronger in who I am, and I know what I want. I definitely worry more. I’m not as free. I’ve seen so much of life, good and bad, and not everything works out how you want it to. But building my business, working with people, becoming a grown-up, having a runway show and seeing things that you’ve dreamed about come to life—you can’t ask for anything more.” And there may be nothing cooler than making your dreams come true. ✦ Silk Tie Brocade Cut–Out Dress by Charlotte Ronson. Available in October at Blue & Cream, 1 East 1st Street, 212.533.3088. 18k gold and diamond leaf ring by Anita Ko. Available at Jeffrey New York, 449 West 14th Street, 212.206.1272. Stud earrings by Alison Lou. Available at MatchesFashion.com. 60 | AVENUE MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2013
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Charlotte Ronson and Derek Blasberg
Ali Wise and Charlotte Ronson Alexander Dexter-Jones
e l b I s os s p d m r I o s ’ o w are, “It t n I t u sh p e o t w d n o ou b y y a the y ns r a e c v I be l but l a d l u o sh n .” o s s u n o jeal antha ro cy ll agen e r r —sam a F bill llan Charlotte Ronson and Ann Dexter-Jones
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Charlotte Ronson, Annabelle Dexter-Jones and Samantha Ronson
Charlotte Ronson and John Varvatos
Charlotte Ronson, Fabiola Beracasa and Shoshanna Lonstein Gruss
Charlotte Ronson
Charlotte Ronson and Simon Doonan
Charlotte Ronson and Samantha Ronson Charlotte Ronson and Dani Stahl
Margherita Maccapani Missoni and Charlotte Ronson
Mark Ronson and Ann Dexter Jones
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W het he Th rt es he eN y ew go ex Yo od ude rk lo p er ok ow s p s, e os sop r, c se h on es ss t istic fid ta ha a en bl t tio ce ish ra n , es re or th an ch em d ar as into m, th xic on es a et ex tin hin ies g c g t i om is f n th e-h or s e c it ur ity her e: ’s cr qua ow li d ty t
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Rachel Weisz Carine Roitfeld
Dan Abrams Stephanie Seymour
Jessica Hart Henrik Lundqvist
Padma Lakshmi Dennis Paul
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Our LIST Dan Abrams Kate Allen Mark Birnbaum Hannah Bronfman Ruzwana Bashir Thom Browne Bill Clinton Frederic Fekkai Josh Gruss Bingo Gubelmann Jessica Hart Padma Lakshmi Daniel Loeb Henrik Lundqvist James Marshall Topaz Page-Green Dennis Paul Ariana Rockefeller Carine Roitfeld Stephanie Seymour Dani Stahl Uma Thurman Jamie Tisch Rachel Weisz Brian Williams 66 | AVENUE MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2013
Brian Williams Jamie Tisch
Mark Birnbaum
Thom Browne
Bingo Gubelmann
Daniel Loeb
James Marshall Dani Stahl Bill Clinton
Topaz Page -Green
Ruzwana Bashir
Josh Gruss
Uma Thurman Kate Allen
Hannah Bronfman
Ariana Rockefeller SEPTEMBER 2013 • AVENUE MAGAZINE | 67
A
fter chool
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Activities
The daily school run means expertly juggling coffee, avoiding red lights and trying not to run anyone over with scooters. It calls for Olympic-level stamina and Ghandi-like patience. But the fashionable moms who navigate this urban jungle wouldn’t make any other city their playground.
photographed by Sam Yocum styled by Rory McDonough style assistance by Michelle Tashjian hair and makeup by Asia
Geiger
hair and makeup assistance by
Takashi Ashizawa models Tristen Fitzgerald, Sophie Pogodin and Alex Elliott
See page 118 for credit information 68 | AVENUE MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2013
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Opposite page: Ivory jacket by Céline (Lévy’s own). Black top and black strappy sandals by Reed Krakoff, 831 Madison Avenue, 212.988.0560. Black trousers by Dolce & Gabbana, 825 Madison Avenue, 212.249.4100. Gold watch (Lévy’s own) by Rolex.
]
On the Move SEPTEMBER 2013 • AVENUE MAGAZINE | 69
Central Park Strut 70 | AVENUE MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2013
Dueling at Dylan’s Candy Bar SEPTEMBER 2013 • AVENUE MAGAZINE | 71
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Slurping at Serendipity SEPTEMBER 2013 • AVENUE MAGAZINE | 73
Dog Walk in the Park 74 | AVENUE MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2013
Mom’s Night Out SEPTEMBER 2013 • AVENUE MAGAZINE | 75
r u o m a l G r u m o o r m f a l n G w o m r G rown fro G 76 | AVENUE MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2013
Uma Thurman and Zac Posen
by Haley
Friedlich
photographs by Patrick
McMullan
and Billy Farrell
scar Wilde famously once said that “life imitates art far more than art imitates life.” Well, if making a grand entrance is an art form, then Oscar Wilde’s statement is certainly true in the case of Zac Posen. Posen is only 32 years old but has been a notable designer for more than a decade, and has been practicing his art—dressmaking—for as far back as he can remember. Not just any dresses, but dresses made from glamorous, breathtaking, hand-draped swaths of rich color and fabric that just about any celebrity or society swan would happily don for her most crucial red-carpet moment. And as grand as his designs are and have been, Posen’s life has indeed imitated his art; he has become as well known for his designs as he is known for his captivating character. Armed with a rare combination of confidence, creativity and, at times, a little audacity, he has taken his act from the New York catwalk to Paris and back; to a judge’s chair on Project Runway, and into dialogue with some of fashion’s most powerful critics, editors and buyers. It all started when he was just a kid. Posen was not born into the world of galas and champagne that he now designs for—and arguably lives within—but rather was raised in a downtown, artistic New York. “Growing up in New York is respecting and understanding the power of creativity,” Posen says. “I grew up in SoHo; my parents were original loft-dwellers and that was a very creative environment.” He attended St. Ann’s in Brooklyn Heights, where his schoolmates included Lola Schnabel and Girls writer and star Lena Dunham. (Posen was hired to accompany the latter on the N train to and from classes and to babysit her after school.) The girls at St. Ann’s were Posen’s original guinea pigs and often wore his handmade designs. Dunham actually graduated from their alma mater in a Posen creation. And for her first Golden Globe win last year, Dunham—whose Girls character Hannah Horvath is know for her unapologetically unflattering style—stepped out in a Zac Posen confection that was just enough to make her look elegant and poised, but still look like herself.
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Z P How Zac Posen is leaving behind his fast times of the past, keeping his roots in couture and extending his reach far beyond his collection
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Michelle Harper Zac Posen with Crystal Renn
“I’ve taken great inspiration from women I create for and dress,” says Posen, who shows his Spring/ Summer 2014 collection at Center 548 during New York Fashion Week this month. “I think that comes through my personal growth and trajectory—I started out designing for my sister and girl friends, and it became a natural evolution that the people I was working with in my company, or the models I was working with, were part of my community.” Indeed, his mother Susan was the company’s original CEO and remains chairman of the board; his sister Alexandra is creative director. And Posen doesn’t underestimate the power of numbers. “I think great successful processes come from great collaboration.” After high school Posen went on to study womenswear at Central Saint Martins in London, where he caught his first big break in 2000, when Naomi Campbell saw Lola Schnabel wearing Coco Rocha one of his dresses and had to have one of her own. The dress Posen then created for Campbell changed (prominent) hands several times, and word began to spread about the designer. He was just 20 years old. In 2001 he set up an atelier in his parents’ SoHo living room. That same year he was chosen to present a capsule collection in Gen Art’s “Fresh Faces in Fashion 2001.” By 2002 he had his first show in New York—in a former synagogue on the Lower East Side—where he captured the attention of influential editors and retailers. By 2004 he had won the Council of Fashion Designers of America: Swarovski Perry Ellis Award for Womenswear—the highest honor a new designer can achieve. Fashion titans from the largest and most elite apparel groups began cozying up to Posen, and Sean Combs (then still Puff Daddy) made a hefty investment. With that vote (and paycheck) of confidence, Posen set up his studio in TriBeCa, and the boldest-face names in the celebrity and social sets began to step out in Zac Posen gowns. Just as Wilde mused, about life imitating art, Posen’s designs became more glamorous and high profile, and so did his lifestyle. When his company showed signs of struggle and a bit of an identity crisis, so did he. In 2010, after his mother stepped down from the CEO position (a mutual decision chalked up to timing), Posen moved his show from New York to Paris—a move that proved largely unpopular with editors and critics. Combined with his penchant for capes and evening tails, and his über-couture aesthetic, critics called him, in so many words, grandiose. Ultimately the designer brought his act back to New York and refocused his company on the techniques that he had always championed: fine tailoring and eveningwear. Karolina Kurkova
His return was a success; the proof is in the pudding: Today, New York’s most glamorous women recognize Posen’s meticulous craftsmanship and seem to enjoy his candor, positioning him as somewhat of a society darling. “Zac has always understood the importance of making an entrance, and how the right dress on the right woman can go down in history,” Bergdorf Goodman’s Linda Fargo says. “Combine that with his innate grasp of glamour, skillful craftsmanship and ability to flatter the feminine form, and you’ve got something women want.” Just look at the red carpets and gala dance floors out there to see how many of the city’s fashion mavens have stepped out in Zac Posen and stepped out with Zac Posen. Fashion icons like Lauren Santo Domingo and Alina Cho have worn the label to major events. And at last year’s presentations, Hamish Bowles, Leigh Lezark, Dirk Standen, Michelle Harper, Harley Viera-Newton, Alexa Chung, Margherita Maccapani Missoni and Molly Sims all sat in Posen’s front row. Muffie Potter Aston posed for the society shutterbugs in a floor-length red stunner at the Society of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Spring Ball with none other than Posen himself on her arm. Lily Kwong all but stole the show at the Bergdorf Goodman 111th Anniversary Gala; Vogue’s Chloe Malle shone in an elegant runway piece at the TriBeCa Film Festival Chanel dinner. He walked Uma Thurman down the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute gala red carpet this year, as she stunned in a confection of green silk, and most recently the designer was snapped swirling and twirling actress Juliette Lewis, clad in his design, at the CFDA awards. “Zac is not only extremely charming, he is a creative genius,” explains Muffie Potter Aston. An ultimate eveningwear client, Aston is everywhere, from the American Ballet Theatre’s 2013 Opening Night Rita Hayworth Gala, to the Wildlife Conservation Society Gala, back to the aforementioned Memorial Sloan-Kettering gala. “His designs
Zac Posen with Naomi Campbell
Muffie Potter Aston Doutzen Kroes
Lily Kwong
“ZAC HAS ALWAYS UNDERSTOOD THE IMPORTANCE OF MAKING AN ENTRANCE, AND HOW THE RIGHT DRESS ON THE RIGHT WOMAN CAN GO DOWN IN HISTORY.” —Linda Fargo
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Christina Ricci
“HE HAS THE INNATE ABILITY TO BUILD A DRESS THAT ALSO BUILDS A WOMAN’S CONFIDENCE.” —Stephanie Winston Wolkoff
are architecturally sculptured in a way that conforms to a woman’s body in the most stunning of ways,” Aston says. “As beautiful as the gowns are on the outside, Zac’s true brilliance lies beneath the dress. The interior seams, boning, linings and crinolines are all meticulously placed to create the perfect silhouette. To wear his clothes is to wear a piece of art.” The sentiment echoes throughout New York’s best-dressed list. “Zac made me the most beautiful dress for the Met Gala this year,” says Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, president and CEO of SWW Creative. “It was intricate, tailored to perfection and, although black, made the most amazing statement on the carpet. He has the innate ability to build a dress that also builds a woman’s confidence.” Posen explains that for him, it is about far more than dressmaking. It is about history and a sense of duty to carry the proverbial torch. “I think it’s important to embrace this idea of modern American glamour and continue the tradition of great social dressing of America,” Posen says. “There’s a great history and landscape of incredible iconic designers, from Norman Norell to Pauline Trigère, to Carolina Herrera, to Oscar [de la Renta], and Charles James and these people who worked in this repertoire, and dialogue with society. I think that will always exist. It’s exciting to be part of the new redefinition of that.” True as that may be, in the age of multimedia and diffusion lines, it can only be expected that Posen is lush with a diverse portfolio of projects outside the couture sphere. There’s the recently launched ZAC Zac Posen, a contemporary line that sits just below the mainline, and then there’s his From Zac Posen original diffusion line Z Spoke, which retails NYFW Fall 2013 for under $200.
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Posen is also currently developing a line of wedding dresses for David’s Bridal, which will retail in the $850 to $1,350 price range. And his expressive, opinionated and definitive—yet charming—disposition has served him well, as he returns for his second go-round as a judge on Season 12 of Project Runway airing on Lifetime. His advice to aspiring designers? “Do the opposite [of me],” Posen says. “Take your time. Get as much experience as possible under your belt. I was fortunate that I grew up in New York and started having experiences within a working environment in fashion when I was 16. “Learn what your message is and how you want to express Zac Posen with Juliette Lewis it. What is original about that message? What are you offering to a world that has everything in excess? Really do some creative introspective work on you as a new emerging creator.” Still, no matter what projects Posen lends his talents to, one must look no further than his collection for testimony to where his passions so clearly lie. Bergdorf ’s Fargo agrees. “If the old Hollywood studio system were still alive, Zac would have been signed to a lifetime contract,” she says. “Thank goodness we get him for ourselves.” ✦
Uma Thurman
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Gypsyoul S The wonderful world of Stephanie von Watzdorf’s Figue
by Helena
Gautier photographed by Jessica Nash
O
nly in New York can a 300-square-foot space be a transformative oasis. Just steps away from the hustle and bustle of Houston Street in NoLIta, Stephanie von Watzdorf has created a space—which will open at the end of the month—that is designed to make visitors feel like they’ve stumbled into a little jewelry box. Visitors to the store, which opens at the end of the month, can expect intriguing objects that one might find at a Moroccan market or in a European bazaar—think hollow wicker balls, yarn pom poms piled in a bowl and furniture made of rustic wood. Von Watzdorf creates the kind of space that beckons shoppers to plop down and catch their breath before tackling the stylish inventory in front of them. And since that —the shopping—is what it’s really about, expect gorgeous clothes that juxtapose natural threads with glam details like subtle sequins and tassles—pieces that perfectly personify the holy grail of street style: glamorous but effortless. Slightly under a year after founding Figue, and on the heels of a successful Southampton pop-up, von Watzdorf has opened up the brand’s first brick-and-mortar outpost on Elizabeth Street. Small but mighty, Figue, the store—much like Figue, the brand—has a mixture of attractive and interesting that is absolutely fundamental to intriguing and ultimately winning over New Yorkers. Which we all know is the first step in winning over the entire retail world. Von Watzdorf personifies that potent mix of casual elegance and effortless glamour. Reclining on the sofa in her showroom, she begins to tell her story.
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“I am a very curious person; that’s the fundamental thing that drives me in whatever I do,” she says. “For me, creativity comes from everything I see, taste and listen to: sights and sounds of the world, and traveling, which is like food to me; it’s energizing and feeds my soul.” It is through her extensive travels, fascinating family history and impressive business background that the Figue concept was born.
It’s all global gypsy, global awareness and global inspiration. Each collection and piece has a story. All jewelry is one-of-a-kind, found in far-flung places during her travels. The knits are created by hand in La Paz, Bolivia, by a self-sustaining community of women. Each garment is then signed by its maker, producing not only income for the community but also a sense of pride and ownership for the women who made it. The same goes for bags made by women in Marrakesh. Because these pieces are handmade, only a small number can be produced, thus giving the buyer an opportunity to own something truly unique. The collection of clothing is a cheerful array of colorful tunics, flowing dresses, relaxed caftans and embellished military jackets. “I love color, I love mixing different fabrics from different parts of the world,” von Watzdorf says. It is easy to see that each delectable piece has its own unmistakable influence, be it from India, Morocco or Italy. The collection looks wearable, sophisticated and easy at the same time. “There is a sense of comfort and ease that I always want to have with these clothes,” she explains. “Nothing restrained or uncomfortable. The color factor is really important, as well as the seasonless factor. I like to help women think differently, more liberated. Now you can wear color any time of the year.”
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“I remember, as a kid, we had a house in Paris with rehearsals always going on upstairs,” von Watzforf recalls. “There was a huge closet full of costumes from different ballets and various collaborations. I was playing and putting on Picasso’s costumes from the ballet Parade. For a kid it was so magical!” While she spent the winters and school years in New York, every summer she would travel to her grandfather’s island, Isola dei Galli, off the coast of Positano, Italy. It was a breathtaking and wild place shaded by figue trees, which would later serve as an inspiration when she named her line. Each summer her grandfather would bring his whole ballet troupe to the island and rehearse for the upcoming season. “All my cousins would meet up there, and all the dancers and Russians—a tribe of incredibly talented and eccentric people.” At night their friends would pull up by boat to have dinner and party the night away. “It was very bohemian and artistic,” she says. “I would always wait for the next summer.” The success of Figue is not accidental. From a business perspective, von Watzdorf ’s career has been on a long trajectory of success; starting with Giorgio Armani in Milan, then moving on to Ralph Lauren in New York and later becoming head of the design team for Tory Burch from its nascent stages. The experience
For me creativity comes from everything I see, taste and listen to. Sights and sounds of the world—traveling is like food to me; it’s energizing and feeds my soul. The elusive casual chic of a Figue woman is not just about what she is wearing, it is also a state of mind: She possesses both beauty and substance. Von Watzdorf ’s style icons are varied, from the likes of Anita Pallenberg to Gabriella Crespi, an Italian architect, to iconic models such as Kate Moss and Erin Wasson. “A Figue girl has a sense of comfort and ease with herself; she is globally minded and has a little bit of a gypsy spirit to her,” von Watzdorf says. It is no doubt due to her own upbringing that von Watzdorf developed such a bohemian, artistic sense of style. The daughter of a Russian ballerina and a German-French aristocrat, she was greatly influenced by her family. Her father, who “was very effortlessly elegant,” happens to be the main inspiration behind Figue’s iconic tuxedo shirt. “I grew up surrounded by incredibly brilliant, creative people,” she says. Her maternal grandfather, the legendary Léonid Massine of the fabled Ballets Russes, was one of the most important ballet dancers and choreographers of the 20th century. After starting his career in 1915 in Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, Massine went on to choreograph more than 100 ballets with at least 50 of them for that company. Among close collaborators that he also counted among his friends were such greats as Picasso, Braque, Chagall, Miró and Stravinsky.
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that was not only exciting but also valuable. “The vision was very succinct to me as to what Tory wanted to do," von Watzdorf says, "It really solidified how important it is to have a clear message for a brand." Apart from her business skills, von Watzdorf credits the people she loves for her success. “I have amazing support from friends and family,” she says, adding, “I could not have done this without David Wassong, a brother to me, who believed in the Figue concept from the start and is my primary investor in the company.” With plenty of talent and business acumen, both von Watzdorf 's and Figue’s futures look bright. With a fully operational online store and merchandise in select high-end boutiques in St. Barts, Santa Barbara and Harbour Island, Bahamas, von Watzdorf and her business partner Sabina Schlumberger agree that the focus, for now, will be their New York store and grow the concept from there. “This line comes from the heart,” von Watzfdorf says. And with that in mind, we look forward to the new chapter in Figue’s whimsical world and von Watzdorf ’s new adventures. ✦
Available now on Figue.com. The Figue store opens at the end of the month at 268 Elizabeth Street.
SEPTEMBER 2013 • AVENUE MAGAZINE | 83
The
E
mpress
has
onoo’s
NClothes
With clients including Pippa Middleton, Sarah Jessica Parker and Gwyneth Paltrow, designer Misha Nonoo is shaping up to be the sartorial sovereign of New York and London's fashionable set
by Suzanne Weinstock
Klein photographed by Jessica Nash
C
lothing designer Misha Nonoo moved to New York five years ago but wasted no time in becoming a fixture in the city’s fashion and social scenes. Her buzzy fashion line is fabulous, and sometimes royal: She hit everyone’s radar when Pippa Middleton wore her clothes on a 2012 visit to New York. Add to that Nonoo’s friends, her acumen as a hostess and her aristocratic good looks, all of which have served her well. Despite the fact that she is now embedded in the fabric of New York, Nonoo began her journey elsewhere, in Bahrain where her Iraqi father had a number of family businesses. “It was a unique and very idyllic experience I had growing up in this tiny little island in the Arabian Gulf,” she says of the experience. “I went to a British school and was brought up in a very Anglicized way, but was amidst all these very Middle Eastern influences. You go to the souk, a place other people think is so exotic and think nothing of it.” When she was 10, Nonoo says, her family moved fulltime to London where, at 17, she began both her university education and an internship at a luxury lifestyle concierge service. Also on that internship, serendipitously starting on the same day, was a handsome young man named Alexander Gilkes. They were married in an elegant Venice wedding nearly a decade later. “The wedding is almost impossible to describe. Try to picture a fairytale wedding in Venice that goes beyond your imagination,” says Zani Gugelmann,
84 | AVENUE MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2013
who was a guest at the event, joined by a slew of equally impressive names like princesses Eugenie and Beatrice, James Middleton, Matthew Mellon, the groom’s brother and best man Charlie Gilkes (who once dated Pippa Middleton) and the bride’s cousin, Houda Nonoo, the Bahraini ambassador to the United States. Also invited was Lana Del Rey, who performed. Gilkes is the cofounder of virtual art auction house Paddle8, while Nonoo runs an eponymous and fast-growing clothing line. She insists that she exclusively wears her own designs, which she describes as subtle and chic, with a unique essence she ascribes to refined British tailoring. Launched in March 2011, the clothing line experienced quick success that surely had something to do with its A-list supporters, Pippa Middleton among them. A paparazzi shot of Pippa wearing a red dress from the then-fledgling brand, in September 2012, brought it massive attention and was credited with winning it exposure by stars like Sarah Jessica Parker, Blake Lively and Ginnifer Goodwin. “We have had some incredible ambassadors wear the brand,” says Nonoo. “They all embody the essence of the Nonoo woman, which is someone who has confident ease and noble sophistication and appreciates high-quality tailoring and fabrics over trend.” It’s not difficult to see how those words describe Nonoo herself. ✦ Available on nonoony.com or from Bergdorf Goodman, 754 Fifth Avenue.
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We have had some incredible ambassadors wear the brand,” says Nonoo. "They all embody the essence of the Nonoo woman, which is someone who has confident ease and noble sophistication and appreciates high-quality tailoring and fabrics over trend.
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SEPTEMBER 2013 • AVENUE MAGAZINE | 85
city scape
Taking New York Real estate entrepreneur and political activist Don Peebles is moving in on New York
86 | AVENUE MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2013
interview by Haley
Friedlich photograph by Jessica Nash
Exclusive Representation
Premier OceanfrOnT Southampton. First offering of this contemporary home with spectacular first floor ocean views and walls of glass opening to miles of white sand beach ideally positioned along world famous Meadow Lane. An exceptional opportunity to own this high quality custom built residence with amazing details and finishes. Ocean to bay view swimming pool surrounded by sensational terraces for lounging and entertaining. The best of seaside living in Southampton ideally located in a premier location. Co-Exclusive. $29.9m Web# 23508
“First floor Atlantic Ocean and Shinnecock Bay views” Tim Davis Licensed as Timothy G. Davis
Lic. Associate R.E. Broker Regional Brokerage Advisor – East End o: 631.283.7300 ext 211 tgdavis@corcoran.com corcoran.com/tgdavis
THE HAMPTONS
SHELTER ISLAND
Equal Housing Opportunity. The Corcoran Group is a licensed real estate broker. 88 Main Street, Southampton, NY 11968 | 631.283.7300
NORTH FORK
city scape R. DONAHUE “Don” Peebles has been an influential player in the national real estate game for many years. His portfolio includes notable residential high rises, commercial buildings and luxury hotels in Washington, D.C., Las Vegas, Miami and San Francisco. After years of watching the market, he finally found the right opportunity in New York; in February he officially took ownership of 346 Broadway. The landmarked Stanford White-designed building—which currently serves as the city’s Summons Court—will be completely reimagined into top-notch condos, finally giving TriBeCa a piece of pre-war charm that channels its uptown counterparts.
How did you get your start in the real estate business? My mother was a real estate sales agent, then a broker, and I watched her start her real estate company when we lived in Detroit. After that we moved to the District of Columbia and I eventually worked with my mother as an appraiser. After my first year of college, I made a decision to leave and go into the real estate business, initially as a sales agent; that was the beginning of my career, [in] 1979, when I was 19. How did you start developing properties? In the early 1980s I started my own appraising and consulting business and became a member and then chairman of the Real Property Tax Appeals Commission board in DC. Then I got the opportunity to develop a site in the Southeast section of Washington in 1987. The city had targeted that area for economic redevelopment and I was able to structure a deal to build a 100,000-square-foot office building with retail on the ground floor. It was completed in 1989, and in the following five or so years, my company developed about a million square feet of commercial space in downtown Washington. How did you go from developing in DC to a national scale? My wife and I bought a vacation apartment in Miami in 1995; we were there for New Year’s that year and I was reading the Miami Herald. There was an article describing how the city was looking for a developer for the Royal Palm Hotel site. Within a couple of days I went and looked at the site. I decided to bid and won the rights, plus I bought the site next door and began developing the Royal Palm Hotel in June of ’96. In Miami, we also did the residences at the Basque Club. We set a new record in terms of pricing and built the most luxurious and largest units in the marketplace. It’s similar to what the Zeckendorfs did at 15 Central Park West. We built a couple of office buildings in South Beach, and as the market continued to heat up in Miami, we went looking for other opportunities [in] San Francisco and Las Vegas; we actually own a small hotel and casino in Las Vegas. 88 | AVENUE MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2013
And now you have your first project in New York? We had been looking at New York since the mid-2000s when the market was percolating—it was hyperextended around the country, and New York was very, very strong. We’re more of an opportunistic developer; we like to find exciting transformational sites that are undervalued. The market wasn’t conducive for it, but after the recession, we began to spend more time looking at New York, and in 2011 I made the commitment to open up a development and investment office in Manhattan and to target development opportunities. Our first acquisition has been 346 Broadway. It’s a historic landmark, designed by Stanford White, and the original New York Life Insurance headquarters. It’s the most iconic building in TriBeCa because, generally, the buildings in TriBeCa are converted from warehouses. [346 Broadway] is on par with, say, the Dakota or one of the other grand Central Park West or Fifth Avenue or Park Avenue buildings. It has ceiling heights as high as 18 feet, it’s a full square block, all of the exterior is marble and it has tremendous potential. When did you acquire the building and in what phase are you now? We signed the contract to buy in late February; the mayor announced it in March. We’re in the predevelopment phase and anticipate launching sales this coming winter; it’ll get delivered in about two years. Our first priority is to design an appropriate restoration plan that preserves the iconic status of the building and creates the best living experience downtown. We’re going to be the alternative to, say, 56 Leonard; that’s a super-contemporary building, but it’s setting a price point in the marketplace. We’re on Broadway and Leonard, two blocks from there, so we’ll be the prewar alternative. Will it have a prewar or a more modern feel? It’ll feel prewar but in the interior it’ll be more like a Paris flat with all the contemporary conveniences and amenities: an interior courtyard, parking for 150 cars, an indoor pool, golf simulator, screening room, squash
courts. The home interiors will have unique and temporary finishes of exceptional quality. Our goal is to build the best quality product in the marketplace. What will make it the best? I have a really good sense of what a luxury residential homeowner is going to want—the amenities, the level of quality, how the units lay out and the right floor plans. So when you combine that with our development experience in some of the global gateway markets, as well as our own personal living experience around the country, it really makes us unique. Developments will generally reflect the developer’s personality and perspectives. I’m essentially selling to myself. Are you finding any particular challenges developing in New York that are unique to developing here versus other cities? No; you know why? When we started in New York, many of the developers would indicate how difficult New York was, but the most difficult aspect of it is finding the right property; it is a supply-contained market [yet] a very efficient market and very professional. We had a tremendous pool of resources to select from—we met with a significant number of architects who are all extremely talented and experienced. Same thing on the engineering side, and on the general contracting side. It’s a very sophisticated, mature, and efficient industry. Are you concerned with building in TriBeCa post-Hurricane Sandy? No. We’re not in a flood zone and our building actually is on a hill, as Manhattan starts sloping down. And I’m not concerned about the regulation there. I think that the Bloomberg administration has provided a very business-friendly type of environment that is responsive. I know that you’re very politically active. Now that you’re building in New York and keeping an apartment here; do you plan on getting involved in local politics? I’m certainly an interested spectator right now. Throughout my life I’ve been involved in politics, really from the time I was 14. I spent my last two years of high school on Capitol Hill and then was on the finance committees of President Clinton’s first campaign and President Obama’s two campaigns, so I’m certainly, as a business owner and property owner, very concerned about where the direction of the city goes. I’m observing right now [and] am as concerned as any other business owner or person who cares about what New York. ✦
Craig Gillis
Caroline Joy
DUPLEX PH CENTRAL PARK WEST
GOLD COAST TOWNHOUSE
FABULOUS FULL FLOOR PENTHOUSE
West 60s/CPW. Rare opportunity. Grand duplex penthouse with 2 large terraces. Majestic Central Park views. 5,000 +/SF. 7BR suites. 3 fireplaces. Dramatic entertaining expanse. $35M. WEB# 3476114. John Burger 212-906-9274
West 12th Street. Exceptional 6 story single family townhouse with 6BR, 7.5 baths and 8,300 interior SF plus 2000 SF private outdoor space. 7 wood burning fireplaces, elevator, central AC. Triple mint. $28M. WEB# 4059810. Kyle Blackmon 212-588-5648
UWS. Stunning triple mint private floor condo, panoramic city & river views, 6BR, 6.5 baths, 6,600SF, CAC, huge windows, garage, gym, pool. CD# 07- 0536. $19.5M. WEB# 3636120. Lisa Lippman 212-588-5606 Scott Moore 212-588-5608
Mike Lubin
Michael G. Mansur
James Perez
EXPANSIVE 19TH CENTURy TOWNHOUSE
FINEST FIFTH AVENUE PREWAR NINE
VIEWS, VIEWS, VIEWS
UWS. 1893 townhouse poised for singlefamily conversion with historic details throughout. 20 feet wide, 6 stories, North/ South and open West views estimated at over 8,700SF. $7.9M. WEB# 8545053. Julia Hoagland 212-906-9262
East 80s/Fifth Avenue. Lovely sunny estate in good condition. Top floor corner with Central Park views. Soft, modern decor recent renov, currently a 2BR + library + media room. High ceilings. EIK. $7.6M. WEB# 3865412. Marilyn Corradini 212-396-5843
UWS. Rarely available 3BR, 3.5 marble baths in Grand Millenium located in the heart of Lincoln Center. Open city views from every room. Pets & pieds-a-terre welcome. $5.2M. WEB# 8635133. Felise Gross 212-588-5681 Diane Abrams 212-588-5605
Gitu Ramani-Ruff
Laura Sirkin
Roberta Title
CARNEGIE HILL EIGHT ON PARK
TRIPLE MINT 2BR, 2 BATH PLUS TERRACE
EXCEPTIONAL VALUE
East 90s/Park Avenue. Prewar elegance in top Candela building. Gracious foyer opens to South facing LR w/wbfp and lrg FDR. 3BR or 2 + libr. Lrg EIK and 2 staff rms. $4.2M. WEB# 3736248. Mary Rutherfurd 212-906-9211 Leslie Coleman 212-906-9387
UWS. Co-Excl. Stunning 2BR, 2 marble baths, 130SF terr w/partial park views, chef’s WEIK, W/D & CAC. FSB w/DM, Concierge, garage, valet service & gym. $2.249M. WEB# 8537987. Carol A. Raskin 212-452-6215 Mark P. Raskin 212-452-6214
Sutton Area. Elegant corner 2MBR, 2 bath. High floor, S, N, and W exposures. Renovated windows, lrg kitchen. Abundant custom closets. White glove building. $1.3M. WEB# 8579705. Margaret H. Bay 212-906-9308 Frank L. Mazzola 212-452-6205
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.
Edith F. Tuckerman
Allison D. Utsch
profile
Leader of the Pack
In conjuction with Crystal & Company’s 80th anniversary, chairman and CEO Jim Crystal reveals the cornerstones of the insurance brokerage firm’s enduring success What was your father’s vision for Crystal & Company when he founded it 80 years ago? His vision was, “If you have excellence, quality clients will come to you.” That message still holds true throughout our company: better service and a higher-quality experience. We’re constantly trying to raise the bar. How does the company’s rich history influence your business today? We strive to emulate the performance of my father and those who previously worked here on a daily basis. We try never to stray from the ideals of our company.
Reflections on Jim Crystal as an Insurance Industry Icon: “Jim Crystal’s legacy will be the building of a top-notch insurance brokerage firm committed to customer service and fostering strong, long-lasting relationships with clients and markets. The insurance industry is strengthened by firms like Crystal & Company.” —John Q. Doyle, CEO of Global Commercial Insurance, AIG Property Casualty “Jim has built a reputation as a no-nonsense guy who is always prepared. At the same time, he is very creative and thoughtful when it comes to protecting his clients’ interests. He is a strong advocate for his clients and understands their needs. This is how Jim has been able to build a profitable business—by focusing on each client’s individual needs.” —Tom Motamed, Chairman and CEO, CNA Financial Corporation “Despite all his great success and stature, Jim Crystal continues to work tirelessly around the clock to provide his clients— both large and small—with the best service and risk solutions. He pays tedious attention to every detail to assure that they are protected in every way possible.” —Dino E. Robusto, President, Personal Lines and Claims, Chubb & Son
90 | AVENUE MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2013
What have been your top accomplishments from an industry perspective? Our top accomplishments in our industry have been the growth of the company, the spread of our physical geography via our branches and clientele, and our consistent attainment of higher levels of performance within the company. What distinguishes Crystal & Company from other insurance firms? I believe that being extremely proactive for our clients distinguishes us from our peers. Promptness and reaction times are a functional requirement within this company, and our dedication to customer service helps maintain a low turnover ratio. Our clients constantly praise our level of attention, service and performance. What is the key to your company’s lasting success? We have not deviated from our original ideas but have modernized them. As the company grows, we are influenced by younger people within the company, including my three sons;
C R Y S TA L & C O M PA N Y The integrity of independence.
as a result, we don’t get stuck in the mud doing the same thing. Crystal & Company underwent some changes last year—including rebranding its name and logo. What important changes have been implemented and why? Our style of management is very flat, with few executives other than key managers; everyone is accessible to either me or my fellow managers and leaders, and to all employees. We have integrated that philosophy not only in New York but throughout all of our branches. Also, by modernizing the logo and rebranding the name, we feel this has given us a more contemporary brand image without eliminating the past—we have elevated Frank Crystal & Co. to a holding company over all of our subsidiaries. How do you successfully maintain such a large, global company while preserving a close community feeling within the company? We feel it’s very important to be significant not only in the business community but in the philanthropic world. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to have some degree of success must endeavor to give back to the community. What should potential clients know about Crystal & Company? We want our potential clients and insurance companies to know that we will never stray from our brand values, which emphasize customer service and quality. We adhere to the highest moral standards while keeping the financial well-being of our clients the first and foremost priority of our business. ✦
Financial Square ◆ 32 Old Slip ◆ New York, NY 10005 ◆ 212.344.2444 ◆ www.crystalco.com
120 east 71st street | $16,900,000 12 rm, 5 br, 5 ba, 3 hlf ba | Web Id: 0019030 Louise beit | 212.606.7703
22 e 81st st toWnhouse | $15,950,000 21’ wide, 6 stories, 7,500± sf | Web Id: 0018951 Fred Williams | 212.606.7737
857 FiFth avenue | $13,500,000 9 rm, 4 br, 5 ba, 1 hlf ba | Web Id: 0018727 Louise beit | 212.606.7703
LOcaL ExpERtISE. ExtRaORdInaRY RESuLtS. Our agents are skilled professionals with local knowledge and a dedication to high-quality service for every client. they take great pleasure in discovering the aspects that make each home unique.
gracious toWnhouse | $10,000,000 10 rm, 6 br, 4 ba, 1 hlf ba | Web Id: 0018995 p. O’connor, 606.7709 | m. pellegrino, 400.8731
8 union square south | $8,400,000 7 rm, 3 br, 3 ba, 1 hlf ba | Web Id: 0018890 kevin b. brown | 212.606.7748
117 east 24th street | $6,500,000 6 rm, 3 br, 3 ba | Web Id: 0018969 Stanley ponte | 212.606.4109
233 east 17th street, Ph | $5,480,000 4 rm, 3 br, 3 ba, 1 hlf ba | Web Id: 0019014 S. ponte, 212.606.4109 | R. gianopulos, 212.606.7622
263 W 93 st toWnhouse | $4,670,000 11 rm, 6 br, 6 ba | Web Id: 0018963 S. ponte, 212.606.4109 | V. kaufman, 212.606.7639
10 east end avenue | $2,700,000 8 rm, 4 br, 2 ba | Web Id: 0018856 phyllis gallaway | 212.606.7678
270 West 11th street | $850,000 3 rm, 1 br, 1 ba | Web Id: 0019032 Olivia hoge | 212.606.7738
st. regis residence club | $685,000 4 rm, 2 br, 2 ba, Fractional Sale | Web Id: 0019011 michele Llewelyn | 212.606.7716
PreWar JeWel | $599,000 3 rm, 1 br, 1 ba | Web Id: 0019026 R. cavallaro, 606.7641 | m. perceval, 606.7790
EaSt SIdE manhattan bROkERagE 38 East 61st Street, new York, nY 10065 | 212.606.7660 | sothebyshomes.com/nyc Operated by Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc.
RICK DISTEL | YOUR COUNTRY CONCIERGE
COLEBROOK, CT. Magnificent Addison Mizner estate. 10,000 sf Spanish Mediterranean Revival on 23 acres. Masterfully restored. Five bedroom suites. Pool, tennis and specimen trees. $3,495,000.
WASHINGTON, CT. Glamorous renovation of c.1900 Barn. Beyond compare. Three bedroom suites, two-story great room, two fireplaces, kitchen with Carrara marble. Pool and pool house on 5 bucolic acres. $2,495,000.
WOODBURY, CT. Coveted Owl Ridge Contemporary. Custom built five bedroom home with generous public rooms, pool and spa, sweeping distant views. $1,950,000.
WASHINGTON, CT. Immaculate Cape offering four bedroom suites, spacious master with dual dressing rooms. Five acres with pool and cabana. Privacy. $1,624,000.
WASHINGTON, CT. Museum quality restoration of one of the oldest homes on the Washington Green. Five bedrooms. Original detail. Beautiful. $1,200,000.
WASHINGTON, CT. Prominent commercial compound in historic village center. Masterfully restored. 1,400 sf office building and 500 sf retail building. Great frontage. $995,000.
RICK DISTEL | Top Producer | c 646.417.2720 | o 860.868.6933 rick.distel@sothebysrealty.com | facebook.com/rick.distel WASHINGTON DEPOT BROKERAGE | litchfieldhillsSIR.com Each Office Is Independently Owned and Operated.
WOOLDON MANOR A SOUTHAMPTON ICON The house features 10 En-Suite bedrooms, pool, pool house, tennis court, greenhouse, and over 12,800 sq. ft. of living space. The house is sited on 5.25+/- acres with 475+/- ft. of ocean frontage. Additional building parcels are available upon request. CO-ExCLUSIvE. $48,000,000. WEB: 0056237. www.wooldonmanor.com
WATERFRONT JEWEL, SHELTER ISLAND 23,000+/- sq. ft. Traditional on 7.6+/- waterfront acres. Featuring 10 bedrooms, 9 bathrooms, pool, tennis, deep water dock, facing west. Private access via seaplane. CO-ExCLUSIvE. $28,500,000. WEB: 0056072 www.waterfrontcrownjewel.com
JOHN F. MCHUGH, Global Real Estate Advisor, Associate Broker t. 631.227.4937 | c. 631.764.5723 | john.mchugh@sothebyshomes.com SOUTHAMPTON BROKERAGE 50 Nugent St. | Southampton, NY 11968 | 631.283.0600 For more information on these visit http://www.sothebyshomes.com/hamptons/agents/John.Mchugh Operated by Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc.
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We define our neighborhoods as much as they define us.
110 Fifth Avenue 212.633.1000
26 Astor Place 212.584.6100
730 Fifth Avenue 212.242.9900
239 East 79th Street 212.929.1400
337 West Broadway 212.924.4200
530 LaGuardia Place 212.557.5300
88 Greenwich Street 212.269.8888
45 Horatio Street 212.604.0300
33 Irving Place 212.557.6500
57 East 64th strEEt - th
8 BR, 7 BATH
WEB ID: 477984
$48.0 M
70 grEEnE strEEt - ph*
5 BR, 5 BATH
WEB ID: 672744
$12.5 M
170 East 77th strEEt
5 BR, 5 BATH
WEB ID: 477572
$5.95 M
845 unitEd nations plaza
6 BR, 8 BATH
WEB ID: 244140
$13.0 M
126 wEst 87th strEEt - th
6 BR, 4.5 BATH
WEB ID: 938668 $7.9 M
160 cEntral park south
2 BR, 2.5 BATH
WEB ID: 861407
$5.0 M
TOWN Residential, LLC is a licensed real estate broker and proud member of REBNY. TOWN Residential, LLC is a partnership with Buttonwood Residential Brokerage, LLC and Thor Equities, LLC. *Sponsor: 70 Greene Street LLC. The complete offering terms are in an offering plan available from the sponsor. File number: CD100079
profile
Risk/Reward Meet Robert A. Kanter, a highly successful trader, risk manager and the principal of Wainscott Advisors
What is unique about your firm and what distinguishes you from others in your field? Wainscott Advisors is a one-man firm, except for computer and clerical staff. All advice is individualized, explained on a one-to-one basis and paid for by the hour. What experience do you bring to the table? I have over 50 years of trading and risk management experience as an on-floor specialist broker in securities [L.W. Herman and Co.], managing partner of a stock and options trading firm [ARBCO], president of a specialist firm [Kanter, Blau and Woods] and the founder, CEO and risk manager of ETG [Electronic Trading Group], a brokerdealer with over 300 customers and traders. What is your investment philosophy? First, determine your risk tolerance and reward objectives within the framework of your financial circumstances. Second, make a judgment call as to the direction of the markets you plan to invest in, with consideration of world economic conditions as they presently exist, and how they may exist in the future. Third, research the available vehicles in which to participate. Last, construct a portfolio and analyze it with respect to liquidity, volatility and, in each respect, how a particular position might fare in the portfolio as a whole. Can you share anything newsworthy about yourself professionally? I was the subject of a Barron’s feature article. I was the founder and initial president of the Chicago Board of Options Exchange Market Maker Association and was on the Exchange’s board of directors and executive committee, which affected the first legislation against front running. In 1987 I was asked by Senator William Proxmire’s Senate Banking Committee to head a hearing on market manipulation. Professionally, however, I am most proud of the fact that I have never had a losing year. What are people asking for these days? People want and need higher yields—however, they make the mistake of not analyzing other factors such as liquidity, interest rates and the credit risk of those higher yields. I must continually explain the concept of total return. Most investors are more interested in dividend yield or their rate of interest, without proper assessment of potential appreciation or depreciation of the instrument. Unrealized profit or loss, combined with dividends or interest, determines the total return—which is what matters most.
What are the most important things one should consider when contemplating any investment? Within the context of one’s entire portfolio, what is your expectation of gain versus loss and the probability thereof? When you factor the expected gain by the probability of that gain, the result should be at least one-and-one-half times the amount you are willing to lose. In the current economy, what’s the best advice you can give your clients? Be careful not to be in “crowded rooms,” i.e., being in an asset class that everyone else is in and believing that you can get out the door first in the event of fire. What is the most exciting part of your job? The most exciting part of my job is knowing when to liquidate a profitable position, and protecting a client from an unnecessary and/ or substantial loss. If you were not an investment advisor, what would you be? And why? A jazz pianist. On my 60th birthday I gave a private concert at Weill Recital Hall. Discovering a great chord is as satisfying as a good trade. ✦
WAInsCott AdvIsors Website: www.wainscottadvisors.net ◆ Email: wainscottadv@aol.com ◆ Phone: 631.481.9322 96 | AVENUE MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2013
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MINT PREWAR 6 / 90S ON FIFTh Excl. Stunning 2BR + den. Wbfp, open loft-like gourmet kit, 3 bath. 70% financing. $2.395M. Web#8601758. Eloise Johnson 212.381.3224
V i r t u a l ly s ta g e d
SPECTACULAR DUPLEX 3BR PLUS GARDEN / ChELSEA Excl. This amazing apt features a gourmet kitchen, floor-ceiling windows, hard oak floors, top-of-the-line finishes and private outdoor space. F/T DM with gym. $3.895M. Web#3792356 Eric Rosen 212.317.7854
LARGE 3-4BR CONDO / 80S WEST Excl. Renov. Bright, with FDR, eat-in kit, balcony in F/S boutique condo with gym. $4.5M. Web#8563054. Anna Kahn 212.381.2214
50’ MANSION / PARk SLOPE Excl. Exquisite architectural elegance of days gone by, grand rooms and original details. $15M. Web#3539390. J. Lew/M. Wisotsky 718.613.2046/47
V i r t u a l ly s ta g e d
COMPLETELY RENOV 2BR / 80S EAST Excl. Generous space, dining alcove, new open kit, 2 marble & granite baths. $1.725M. Web#8635986. Dorothy Somekh 212.381.2265
In the City
ALThEA MANOR / DARIEN, CT Meticulously renovated 7,300SF+ home offering incredible old and new world detail and Grandeur. 2 acres of terraced lawn with pool, guest suite, EIK, office, exercise, sun and play rooms. $2.965M. Web#99028805 Becky Munro 203.656.6511
In the Country
At the Shore
Find Yours at halstead.com
halstead Property, LLC We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. We encourage and support an affirmative advertising and marketing program in which there are no barriers to obtaining housing because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin. 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.
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The East End’s ‘Legal Bridge’ Builder The Adam Miller Group combines the experience of a large law firm with local expertise and a casual culture to eliminate the unknowns associated with East End real estate
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ttorney Adam Miller left his position at a big Manhattan law firm in 2003 to move to the East End in order to bridge the gap between his personal and professional life, seeking to carve a niche in the real estate law industry while leaving behind the hustle and bustle of the city. In doing so, Miller, who launched his own firm in 2007, has become one of the East End’s premier real estate authorities and a “legal bridge” for his clients, eliminating the guesswork and unknowns associated with local real estate transactions. Serving as a trusted advisor to hundreds of New York City residents with homes—and businesses with commercial properties—on the East End, The Adam Miller Group combines the resources and work ethic of a large Manhattan firm with an intimate understanding of local laws, regulations and attitudes. “I had vision of how I wanted to practice—intense professionalism but sincerely casual,” Miller says. “When you’re in a large firm you’re one of 1,000. It’s impersonal. I decided that there was real beauty in practicing law, but doing so in jeans and a button-down shirt.” It didn’t take long for Miller to settle into the East End’s thriving real estate industry, which required a keen understanding of the local legal system and key players. (To do so, Miller served as counsel to the East Hampton Zoning Board of Appeals and as general counsel to the largest brokerage association on the East End.) Miller quickly developed a growing client base that required an increasing range of services, which now incorporates all aspects of residential and commercial real estate transactions, including acquisitions, financing, sales, zoning, leasing and beyond. The firm is a reflection of the East End, which is influenced by
New York City and also has its own way of doing things. As such, Miller utilizes his Manhattan legal networks while calling upon local regulatory experts. “My relationship with other people is key, especially when you’re talking about environmental or regulatory issues,” says Miller. “You have to understand the market and where trends are. “One of the things I learned being part of a large firm is to know when to call on others for resources and information,” he continues. “That adds value and is exactly what clients need. You can be a real estate expert, but you need to have other experts to call on. I’ve modeled this firm around that concept and developed resources to make these deals work.” That approach has been extremely effective, as evidenced by the map on the firm’s website dotted with hundreds of deals The Miller Group has executed throughout the East End and beyond. “The evolution has been incredible,” says Miller, whose firm, which in 2008 opened a second office in Suffolk County to service a growing banking business, has acted as counsel on more than $1 billion of real estate transactions. Aside from legal expertise and local real estate knowledge, the firm’s success all comes back to the “legal bridge” concept, says Miller. “I wanted people rely on me as their bridge from the city, where so many of my clients reside, to bridge the gap of Hamptons real estate that has so many unknowns,” Miller says. “The bridge is a strong symbol and one which can be relied upon.” It’s been a successful formula for Miller, his firm and his clients. “Fresh air is not only outside our window,” he says, “it’s the way we approach our business.” ✦
The AdAm miller Group, p.C. 2462 Main Street ◆ Suite 7 ◆ Bridgehampton, N.Y., 11932 ◆ 631.537.1155 ◆ www.adammillergroup.com
98 | AVENUE MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2013
Elegant Candela Duplex
Grand Apt in Highly-Serviced River House
Grand 9 w Views on Park Ave in Carnegie Hill
It’s All About the Terrace
Facing sunny S over E 72nd. Entertaining rms w hi ceils + 3BR,3bths.Enormouskit&bkfstarea+lndry&staffrmw bth.$8.25M.Web#8625191.K.Henckels212-452-4402
435 East 52nd St. Elegant & gracious, 9 into 8 rms with direct views of the East River, in move-in condition. $6.95M. Web #3636001. C.Eland 212-452-4384
Hi flr crnr apt with city & Reservoir views. Prewar detail, WBFP,3BRs+library,4bths;2maid’srms.Hugerms,hi ceils.$6.5M.Web#3479229.J.Wenig212-585-4522
Amazingappx70'terr,LR,study,MBR,kit,1.5bths,2enormouswalk-inclsts.Whiteglove5thAveFSbldg,gym,gar. 50%fin.2.2M.Web#8756637.C.Kurtin212-452-4406
3BR, 3 Bth Condo at The Manhattan House
Mint Prwr 5BR Drmn Condo - Lincoln Cntr
145 CPW - San Remo Terraced 2BR Gem
3BR, 3 Bth Prwr Co-op with Views on WEA
LR,sepdinareaor4thBR,kitwchef'sapplis,MBRwWIC, dressingarea&wndwdbth.W/D.5-starFSbldgwgym, spa.$3.995M.Web#8593902.J.Boulan917-940-6685
Rm to Grow! 5BR, 5.5 bth 3660 sf, beaut cond, amazing loc,pvtelevator,W/D,storage.$7.495M.Web#3859131. B.Tavakolian212-434-7062/C.Taub212-452-4387
One-of-a-kind hi flr, corner 5 rms w 3 expos & terraces. Stunning views & light. Prime full service prewar co-op. $4.795M. Web #4044838. C.Harding 212-452-4367
Sun-flooded, hi flr w Hudson River & City views. Boffi kit, dining opens to loft-like, corner LR. W/D. Drmn, gym. $3.495M. Web #8695643. C.Taub 212-452-4387
Mint 3600 SF Loft in Prime Tribeca
Stanford White Mansion Penthouse Duplex
Four Exposure Full Floor Penthouse
Gramercy Park Beauty
Outdrspc,2BRs+mediarm,kitwbestapplis,tonsofclsts, beautfinishes,establishedcondowdrmn,gym.$5.95M. Web #4063958. C.Van Amburg 646-613-2683
Lower Park Ave. Unusual & contemporary renovation. Appx3000sfinteriorw3BRs&3bths&1500sfexterior space. $4.5M. Web #8798917. J.Perlin 212-452-4373
Double LR, huge kitchen, 4BR/4 bth, river views, 1000 sf pvtroof.W30s.Starpotential!$4.4M.Web#8624296. P.Browne 347-234-8709/J.Rowe 646-327-8792
Split2BR/2bthwden,office&openeastviews.Updtdkit & lots of storage. FS co-op. $1.995M. Web #8575439. L.Jaffee 646-613-2739/S.Sumser 646-613-2741
The Right Broker Makes All the Difference. Over the past 30 years, Stribling brokers have successfully represented the world’s most discerning clients, offering an exceptional level of service, integrity and sophistication coupled with an in-depth understanding of the ever-changing real estate market. Stribling professionals embrace a wide range of tastes and styles, ensuring that each client is matched with the broker who can best assist them in buying or selling their home. STRIBLING.COM · UPTOWN 212 570 2440 CHELSEA 212 243 4000 TRIBECA 212 941 8420 BROOKLYN 718 208 1900 · EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY
real estate
Properties of the Month A selection of deluxe residences
The Corcoran Group
Bishops pond Southampton Village
EAST END ELEGANCE
AIRy hAmpToNS pARADISE
Beautifully appointed, traditional residence includes cathedral ceiling living room with fireplace, media room, library with fireplace, dining room and a fabulous oversized kitchen suitable for the best of chefs. The property’s most important feature is its first-floor master suite with fireplace, adjoining bath/dressing room. Traditional features include a bluestone terrace with covered porch, outdoor dining area with fireplace and a separate pool house adjacent to the Gunite pool, with raised jacuzzi, all sited on 1.4 very private acres. Web# 42589. Exclusive. $6,875,500. Contact Tim Davis at 631.283.7300 (x211)
Bishops Pond, the most sought after new neighborhood in the Hamptons, offers extraordinary new villas and townhomes featuring state-of-the-art amenities and five-star concierge services. It boasts a pond-side pool, clubhouse, fitness center and tennis court plus Hampton-style open, airy model homes designed by Mabley Handler. It is the vision of Long Island’s top builder, The Beechwood Organization, and the culmination of 30+ years of craftsmanship by founder Michael Dubb, who with son, Steven Dubb, and development partner George Benedict, present the crown jewel of their Premier Portfolio. Contact The Beechwood organization Sales Office at 631.283.2077
Douglas Elliman Real Estate
Sotheby’s International Real Estate
WEST SIDE WoNDER
A SouThAmpToN ICoN
Incredibly bright four-bedroom, 3.5 bath, 4,200-square-feet condo duplex has a townhouse feel and soaring ceilings. A complete renovation restored original details, including terrazzo floors, lighting fixtures, fireplaces, wood flooring, etc. Features a grand entry hall, living room with a fireplace, formal dining room, eat-in kitchen, grand open staircase, chef’s kitchen, upstairs living quarters and oversized laundry room. The Apthorp building, 390 West End Avenue, Unit 2F. Contact Fredrik Eklund at 212.727.6158 and John Gomes at 212.727.6178
Woodlon Manor features 10 en-suite bedrooms, pool, pool house, tennis court, greenhouse and over 12,800-square-feet of living space. The house is sited on 5.25 acres with 475 feet of ocean frontage. Additional building parcels are available upon request. Co-Exclusive. Asking price: $48,000,000. Contact John mchugh at 631.764.5723
100 | AVENUE MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2013
YOUR NEW WAY HOME.
SM
520 West 19th Street, 3C $3,695,000 Chelsea. 3 BR/3 BA loft condo features an open floor plan and expansive living room. Modern kitchen with marble countertops, Sub-Zero refrigerator, and Gaggenau gas stove. Bedroom wing offers a south-facing, private retreat. King-sized master has 5 closets and en suite marble bath. WEB ID: 181678 | Mark Griffith 917.825.1449, Cindy Scholz 914.837.9339
50 East 89th Street, 27C $1,500,000 Carnegie Hill. Light-drenched massive Junior 4 with great use of space for living and entertaining. Enjoy open city views through floor-to-ceiling windows. Renovated open kitchen is well-equipped with top-of-the-line SS appliances, granite counters. Modern baths create a spa-like ambiance. WEB ID: 846681 | Cyla Klein 917.502.4486
270 Water Street, 4R $1,050,000 Financial District. Rarely available historic South Street Seaport loft with original timber columns, original beams, exposed brick and wide plank hardwood floors. Recently remodeled as 1 BR/1 BA plus home office, features W + S views, top-of-the-line appliances including W/D, Miele dishwasher, and Viking stove. The co-op offers private storage. WEB ID: 425109 | David Barker 347.756.8556, Masha Sales 917.685.3667
200 Chambers Street $10,100/month Tribeca. Experience 1,560 square feet of luxury. This corner 2 BR/2 BA apartment boasts a spacious layout with stunning unobstructed views from every room. The exquisite chef ’s kitchen is equipped with Sub Zero, Viking and Bosch appliances, and Lava Stone counter tops. Full-service building with landscaped roof deck, gym and indoor lap pool. WEB ID: 843280 | Martha Bilis 201.424.6034
225 Central Park West $10,000/month Upper West Side. Come home to this corner prewar 2 BR/2.5 BA home and enjoy serene park views to the east and city views to the south. Generous living room and dining space, open windowed kitchen with granite counters and SS appliances including a Subzero refrigerator, kingsized bedrooms with marble en-suite baths, built-ins and a W/D. WEB ID: 905238 | Jimmi Circosta 917.273.4723
340 East 23rd Street $9,500/month Gramercy. This 2 BR/2 BA with private balcony is a modern oasis with two ethanol fireplaces and floor-to-ceiling windows. The kitchen is equipped with wine fridge, garbage disposal, Sub-Zero refrigerator, Miele oven/cook top and Fisher Paykel dishwasher. Master bathroom includes a deep soaking tub, separate shower stall. In-unit Bosch W/D. WEB ID: 799929 | Brian Morgan 646.872.9700
Equal Housing Opportunity. Citi Habitats is a licensed real estate broker. Owned and operated by NRT LLC. All square footage is approximate.
250 Park Avenue South, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10003
view more sales & rentals at citihabitats.com
luxury
Bentley Motors’ “Vrrroom Room” at The St. Regis Hotel boasts an in-suite Champagne bar, custom creations direct from Crewe and sweeping views of Central Park
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alk about a power couple—iconic luxury automobile brand Bentley Motors Limited has teamed up with classic New York sophisticate The St. Regis Hotel to create a unique suite dripping in elegance and bespoke style. The stunning suite is one of a kind and is the latest edition to the historic hotel’s collection of designer suites, which also includes the Dior and Tiffany suites. Much like Bentley’s sleek rides, this St. Regis suite offers no shortage of bells and whistles. An in-suite Champagne bar, legendary St. Regis butler service, and complimentary access, within a 10-block radius, to the first 2013 Bentley Mulsanne to hit the U.S. are just a few of the perks available when Bentley’s in the bedroom. If that’s not enough to rev your engine, catch this: The expansive 1,700-square-foot suite is located on the 15th floor of the hotel and boasts unparalleled views up Fifth Avenue to Central Park. How about that for suite dreams . . . Entering the Bentley Suite through a set of double doors, guests will immediately see elements of both brands throughout the swanky suite’s design: a blend of neutral tones set against rich wood finishes reflects the juxtaposition of Old World elegance and modern sleekness that defines both Bentley automobiles and The St. Regis’ decor. A black leather tile floor pairs perfectly with a linen-colored perforated diamond leather wall, stitched with one of the 42 custom Bentley leathers, while a metallic silver mirror, inspired by a carbon fiber wheel rim, sits above an accent table evocative of the dashboard of a Bentley.
In the living room, an ultra-luxe tufted leather sofa and wing chairs complement the menswear-inspired herringbone draperies which frame breathtaking floor-to-ceiling views. The dining room boasts a dramatic state-of-the-art media wall crowned with four Breitling clocks, marking the time in key international cities. Bold black trim sets off original photography from the Bentley brothers, a collection of images taken from Bentley Motors’ archives to depict the brand’s heritage, while a striking crystal chandelier suggestive of Bentley headlights completes the stately space. The bedroom features a bespoke sleigh bed fashioned in the classic Bentley burled-wood, rich slate silk-covered walls and custom-designed bedside tables inspired by the brand’s latest model, an SUV soon to hit the U.S. market. “The St. Regis New York has a long and storied history of partnering with brands which offer our guests unparalleled access and experiences,” says General Manager Paul Nash. “Bentley has long stood alone as the world’s premier maker of hand-crafted automobiles. Their impeccable attention to detail and dedication to artisanship makes them the ideal collaborator for this beloved hotel.” All of the leather, wood and metal found throughout the suite has been handcrafted and specially designed for the space, and many pieces are custom creations from Bentley’s factory in Crewe. Combining the modern glamour of a Bentley with the timeless style of The St. Regis New York, the Bentley Suite is yours for just $10,500 per night. ✦
THE ST. REGIS NEW YORK 2 East 55th Street ◆ New York, NY 10022 ◆ 212.753.4500 ◆ www.stregisnewyork.com
www.bondnewyork.com
| $14,000,000 50 E 89th St #PHC Upper East Side | $12,890,000
Web ID: 318598 | Duplex | 7 rooms, 3 bed, 3.5 bath | Features: 1,450 sf terrace, 12ft celings, WB fireplace, 24 hour doorman, parking. Listed by Kianna Choi (t) 212 792 9289 (E) kianna@bondnewyork.com 25 Joralemon #1 Brooklyn Heights | $2,150,000
Web ID: 344930 | 1B 1B Listed by Joseph Tedeschi (T) 917-882-9080 (E) jtedeschi@bondnewyork.com 20 Pine Street #1813 FiDi | $1,995,000
79 Bridge Street 2F DUMBO | $750,000
Web ID: 305807 | 2B 2B Listed by James S. Coleman, (T) 646 723 3067 (E) jcoleman@bondnewyork.com
Web ID: 369983 | 4B 3B Listed by Tiger Koehn (T) 917-653-5257 (E) tiger@bondnewyork.com
CORPORATE HQ 212-582-2009
COLUMBUS CIRCLE 212-582-2009
UPPER EAST SIDE 212-584-4220
GREENWICH VILLAGE 212-672-6350
CHELSEA 212-645-8800
All information regarding real property, for sale, purchase, rental and/or financing is from sources deemed reliable. No warranty or representation is made as to the accuracy thereof and same is submitted subject to errors, omissions, change of price, rentals or other conditions, prior sale, lease or financing or withdrawal without notice. Note: All dimensions and square footage are approximate for the most exact dimensions and square footage please hire your own architect or engineer.
TRIBECA 212-792-9240
Equal Housing Opportunity Licensed real estate broker
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Art, Reinterpreted From showcasing skyscraper-inspired sculptures to Banksy street art, the Keszler Gallery marches to the beat of its own style—and owner’s artistic taste
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s with every artist, every art gallery has its own distinct style. For Stephan Keszler, founder and owner of Southampton’s Keszler Gallery, his offerings mirror his artistic preferences. “I sell what I like,” Keszler says. “All of the pieces we sell I would buy.” Keszler concentrates on a small number of artists with a wide range of styles. An artist’s prominence is not a determining factor in who he showcases: He said he has turned down opportunities to display Warhols or Picassos on consignment in favor of presenting a wider body of an individual artist’s work. “I went my own way,” Keszler says. “The gallery works primarily with artists that we collect and we seek to have the largest selection of their works.” Since the gallery’s inception in Southampton in 2007, those works have included exhibits from world-renowned stars such as Banksy to offbeat innovators like Russell Young and Alexandre Arrechea, working in mediums that span painting, print, sculpture, graffiti and beyond. “Shortly after opening the gallery, featured artists benefitted from the exposure in the Hamptons,” says Keszler. “Artists such as Russell Young enjoyed rapid price increases and his work soon started appearing regularly at Christie’s, Sotheby’s and other auction houses.” Banksy, the eponymously named street artist known for his politically-infused stencil art on public canvasses (read: buildings), was another inspiration and source of gallery growth for Keszler, who first featured Banksy prints in 2008. “People loved his work and were impressed by its smartness and wry humor,” Keszler says. Another Banksy gallery showing was particularly memorable—both for its scale and impact. In 2010, Keszler acquired, transported and restored two three-ton Banksy pieces from the West Bank, displaying them alongside rare Banksy prints in a retrofitted former power plant in Southampton. It turned out to be a massive success and created buzz for the gallery.
“Since then, we’ve had a lot of momentum,” he says. That momentum accelerated in December when Keszler showed the two West Bank pieces at Art Miami along with other original street works from Los Angeles, San Francisco, London and Brighton, England. More than 65,000 art enthusiasts, collectors and dealers from around the world saw the one-of-a-kind Banksy installation in Miami, establishing the Keszler Gallery internationally as a market innovator. “Since [Art Miami], we’ve been contacted by many owners of buildings with Banksy murals,” Keszler says. “We advise them as to what their best options are for restoring, exhibiting and selling the art. “Over two years we developed a market for Banksy street works which is a big achievement if you look at the controversy that followed our first exhibition,” Keszler continues. “We created the market for those [Banksy] street works and that market is still in its infancy compared to Warhol, Basquiat and Haring.” The Keszler Gallery recently moved from Main Street in Southampton into the Annex, creating a gallery out of an abandoned power plant but keeping the original industrial feeling and simplicity of the building. The power plant-turned-art space officially opened in July, providing the perfect venue to showcase Cuban artist Alexandre Arrechea’s massive, reinterpreted skyscraper sculptures, which were relocated from Park Avenue to the Annex’s grounds and gallery. The annex’s 6,000-square-foot exhibition space also allows for the display of Banksy’s street works and other large art. As for the future, Keszler said he will continue to work in collaboration with Art Miami. He also remains committed to featuring innovative artists and seeking out and exhibiting Banksy street works that may otherwise be lost. “It is very hard [acquiring and restoring art], but we love what we do,” Keszler says. “We think those works should be saved and salvaged.“ Kind of like the Keszler Gallery Annex itself. ✦
keszler gallery Office: 116 East 62nd Street, NY ◆ Annex: 200 North Sea Road, Southampton ◆ 212.774.1906 ◆ keszlergallery.com
104 | AVENUE MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2013
Live the life of luxury when you’re in town. Earn premium rental income while you’re away. Studios- 4 bedroom hotel apartments from $500’s-$5Ms. Full hotel services include 2x daily maid service, concierge, bellman, on site dining at Harlow, fitness center and salon. Foreign and corporate buyers are welcome. The Lombardy is one of New York City’s most exclusive addresses.
THE ROCKEFELLER APTS 24 WEST 55TH STREET
New One Bedroom Exclusive: $779,000 Perfect Pied a Terre
15 CPW
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“28 Years of Expert Representation” throughout New York & The Hamptons
The next move is yours...... WaldRealEstate.com Stephen P. Wald 212-750-WALD(9253)
(Interiors by Shields & Company)
On-Site Broker: Stephen P. Wald
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The skilled professionals who can help
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The AGE Defiers
‘Playing through’ the Years In today’s world, there is a great emphasis on staying youthful. we often forget that looking young and feeling young are separate entities that should be combined. we don’t just want to achieve looking young; we want to achieve “living young.” Cutting-edge advancements in sports medicine such as biologics and “partial replacements” have allowed us to “bend the aging curve” and allow athletes of all levels to continue to push their bodies harder as the years go by. driven by the fast-paced, billion dollar world of professional sports, orthopedic surgeons within the field of sports medicine have risen to the challenge by developing techniques to keep those with a physically demanding, highly active lifestyle going stronger and harder. In the past, athletes with a torn aCl, for instance, often had to resort to full joint replacement later in life, while those with torn rotator cuffs were forced to give up their sport and active lifestyles. But current technology allows us to physically preserve youth. arthroscopic surgery today is far less invasive, allowing most surgeries to be done on an outpatient basis with little to no hospital stay, and in private state-of-the-art facilities. we now know that some forms of knee arthritis are treatable with “partial replacements” rather than full joint replacements. such advanced techniques allow us to recommend, for example, reconstruction in the 50-plus-year-old to prevent the progression of arthritis. arthoscopically patching joints can prevent the natural degradation arthritis brings. and that’s a big plus: Keeping your own joints helps you feel younger longer. addressing issues one has today can prevent having to resort to full replacements and prolonged discomfort in the future. other advancements in medicine such as biologics, i.e., PrP (Platelet rich Plasma) injections that were once reserved solely for professional athletes are now available to athletes at all levels, from “weekend warriors” to anyone with a physically demanding lifestyle. these biologics are used for both surgical and nonsurgical injuries, to heal and speed recovery. remember, looking 15 years younger is great, but if your physical performance is hindered, your appearance will not fool anyone, not even yourself. so, if you feel something, do something. whether what’s bothering you is a pesky knee, an irritated shoulder or pain in your hip, addressing any issues you feel today can avoid further pain, discomfort and much more invasive surgeries down the line. As co-chief of Sports Medicine at Mount Sinai Medical Center and chief medical officer/team physician for the Philadelphia 76ers, Dr. Glashow and his associate, Dr. Bryan Hanyspiak, combine the best of cutting-edge academic medicine and rehab for injuries of the knee, shoulder, elbow and hip.
108 | AVENUE MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2013
Sports medicine surgeon Dr. Jonathan Glashow employs cutting-edge technology and less invasive procedures to ensure that his patients ‘live younger.’
“Cutting-edge advancements in sports medicine such as biologics and “partial replacements” have allowed us to “bend the aging curve” and allow athletes of all levels to continue to push their bodies harder as the years go by.”
JONATHAN L. GLASHOW, M.D., P.C. Clinical Associate Professor of Orthopedic Surgery Co-Chief, Division of Sports Medicine Mount Sinai Medical Center & Chief Medical Officer/Team Physician for the Philadelphia 76ers 737 Park Avenue, Suite 1C New York, NY 10021 T: 212.794.5096 F: 212.570.1507
Dr. Debra Wattenberg and Dr. Ilyse Lefkowicz discuss their whole-body approach to dermatology, trends in the industry and the key to younger looking skin: a healthy lifestyle
What’s the first piece of advice you give patients seeking cosmetic enhancements? They must be committed to changing their lifestyle and to maintenance— which takes time. Nowadays, people think that everything can be fixed immediately with one procedure, but there are no magic wands. Anti-aging correction is not just about targeting wrinkles; it’s a multifaceted approach that includes eating right, exercise and sun avoidance, as well as cosmetic procedures and products.
The AGE Defiers
Skin Deep
What’s the most rewarding part of your job? The most rewarding aspect is getting people to feel good about themselves—whether that means finding solutions for the aging patient or the teenager with acne; we help restore their confidence and selfesteem. Helping patients look and feel their best so they can thrive in their personal and professional lives is especially fulfilling.
Have you noticed any trends in terms of what patients are seeking or asking about? People are very concerned about looking “overdone,” and we strive to create a more conservative and natural look; there is nothing “young” about a “frozen,” over-corrected face. We look not just to fill in lines but to evaluate why a patient’s face is changing, and to make corrections by restoring volume and defining bone structure that has been lost with aging. These techniques create a more natural effect so people look their personal best: younger, healthier and more radiant. are people seeking to have cosmetic enhancements done at an earlier age? What are the pros and cons? It’s never too early to begin taking care of your skin, using the correct skincare regimen: proper cleaning, moisturizing and sunscreen. The trend is to start earlier, with care of the skin’s surface, but we feel it’s excessive to perform procedures on very young adults. Early intervention can prevent wrinkles and aging, but if done too early, it can look unnatural.
“We strive to create a more conservative and natural look; there is nothing ‘young’ about a ‘frozen,’ over-corrected face.” —Dr. Debra Wattenberg, MD
Debra Wattenberg, MD Ilyse lefkoWIcz, MD Skincare RX 875 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10065 o: 212.288.3200 nyskinrx.com
What are the most popular procedures available to your patients? Botox and fillers are still the main anti-wrinkle treatments, but procedures to improve texture, tone and color are becoming more popular. Fraxel [laser], to resurface and eliminate wrinkles and brown spots, remains at the forefront. Chemical peels are still very popular. Also, Sculptra, a three-dimensional volumizer, has made a huge difference; it helps to restore the natural contours of the face providing a liquid facelift! What age-defying procedures do you offer? Technology has made a huge difference in our field and allows us to offer treatments that provide both cosmetic and medical benefits at the same time. We feel fortunate to offer multiple devices in our practice that target the individual’s needs including wrinkles, discolorations, scars, acne and unwanted hair. In addition, photodynamic therapy not only rejuvenates the skin but also eliminates precancerous cells simultaneously. Many of our procedures can reverse sun damage on both the superficial and cellular levels. What is the core message that your practice strives to instill in patients? The process of looking better really means living a healthy lifestyle and improving the whole body, rather than simply addressing a wrinkle here or a line there. We always perform a full-body exam, to make sure patients don’t have skin cancer or other skin issues. We listen to our patients, address their concerns and create a personalized treatment plan to make them look and feel their best. SEPTEMBER 2013 • AVENUE MAGAZINE | 109
The AGE Defiers
The Man Behind the Men
Author of Sixty, Sexy and Successful, psychotherapist Dr. Robert Schwalbe provides a nonjudgmental environment for men facing the challenges of aging and the stresses of living in and around Manhattan
“One can almost feel the feeling of relief as a man unloads his deep concerns that he’s had bottled up, often for a lifetime, and begins to explore his behavior in an attempt to understand it and alter it.”
RobeRt Schwalbe, PhD. 19 East 80th Street New York, NY, 10075 212.737.1467 www.therapyformenyc.com robert@therapyformeny.com
110 | AVENUE MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2013
“PsychotheraPy works!” robert schwalbe, PhD, confidently declares, though with a caveat: “providing a man is motivated to change.” Because Dr. schwalbe’s psychotherapy practice on the Upper east side of Manhattan is exclusively male, it is unique. “as a therapist, I understand how uncomfortable a man can be when exploring his vulnerabilities and fears or discussing the intimacies of his life with a female,” the doctor says. “My practice specializes in therapy for men and provides a nonjudgmental environment where a man feels safe, understood and supported.” he adds his belief that men react very differently than women do to personal situations and often can relate better to another man when grappling with problems. “Many men suffer from a variety of problems that block their ability to experience life to its fullest,” Dr. schwalbe explains. “these issues can be far reaching and may include social and sexual anxiety, relationship and business conflicts, loneliness, anger and the feeling that one just wants to withdraw from others.” these problems affect the many baby boomers Dr. schwalbe has in his practice, so much so that he wrote a book about them called Sixty, Sexy and Successful: A Guide for the Aging Male Baby Boomer (Greenwood, Prager 2008). he says there are more baby boomers around today than ever before and that these men, who are in their 50’s and 60’s, may have difficulties accepting the challenges of aging. the sixth decade, he says, is the point at which some men struggle with feelings of emptiness and a loss of enthusiasm and vitality for life. Psychotherapy can help, he says, by exploring the psychological difficulties that hold a man back from dealing with these issues. sexual behaviors are another concern that many men, both younger and older, have and wish to talk about but feel inhibited doing so with a female therapist, Dr. schwalbe says. “one can almost feel the feeling of relief as a man unloads his deep concerns that he’s had bottled up, often for a lifetime, and begins to explore his behavior in an attempt to understand it and alter it,” the doctor says. yet another focus of his practice are men who took a major financial hit during the recent financial crisis and may link their self-worth to their net worth. “these are men who had to face the challenge of changing their lives, often drastically,” he says. Dr. schwalbe himself knows a lot about change, having left a business career to go back to school, at New york University, at the age of 40 to obtain his master’s and doctoral degrees. his doctoral thesis focused on the impact on grandparents who are raising their grandchildren. through this research study, he says, he developed an innate understanding of seniors, their challenges and joys. he has spoken on radio programs, appeared on television and lectured extensively on the issues men face as they age. working and living in and around New york has its own unique challenges, he says, because, “the New york vibe can be exceptionally stressful, and the drive to succeed can cause major anxiety concerns that can overtake a man and dictate his behavior. “I am deeply concerned,” Dr. schwalbe continues, “with the motivations of young men who are too focused to be on top of their game and don’t see the impact this can have on their families and personal relationships . . . often to the extent that their behavior can be damaging to themselves and others.” Dr. schwalbe feels strongly that, “the years going forward for a man can be the most miserable or most rewarding. Good use of psychotherapy can help secure a very positive and productive outcome.”
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Pearls of Good Will Yvel, one of the world’s leading pearl designers, cultivates award-winning jewelry as well as better lives for immigrants in Israel
S
imilar to the bond of its husband and wife co-founders, Orna and Isaac Levy, Yvel Jewelry was built upon an unlikely partnership that has blossomed beyond expectation. Orna and Isaac, who met in Israel in the 1980s, came from opposite ends of the economic spectrum—and world. While Orna, an Israeli native, was a descendant of the illustrious Moussaieff jewelry family, Isaac was the son of an Argentine immigrant who lost his life savings in a flawed business transaction shortly after arriving in Israel. Despite their differences, the couple quickly fell in love, got married and, through their shared passion for pearls, created a world-renowned jewelry brand that gives back to its community and country. Now the jewelry industry’s gold standard, the Yvel brand started from humble beginnings. While living in a small apartment that doubled as the couple’s office, Orna taught Isaac how to string a strand of pearls. Soon after, the couple spent all of its meager savings to purchase pearls, selling its first necklace for $11 and officially launching Yvel in 1986. Nearly three decades later, Yvel has developed into an industry leader known for its sophisticated, fashion-forward designs featuring pearls and exotic gemstones in a
variety of colors—with top-end pieces selling for millions of dollars. Further, Yvel jewelry is now sold in more than 650 retail stores across the globe, and the company has won several prestigious awards, including three consecutive Best in Pearl Design titles at the Town & Country Couture Design Awards. “We’ve come a long way since my wife taught me how to string pearls,” Isaac says. “Orna and I are surrounded by truly talented artisans in the Yvel Design Center in Jerusalem who help us translate our passion into organic and wearable pieces of art, with a little help from nature.” Additionally, Yvel now boasts more than 100 employees, many of whom are Jewish immigrants navigating the challenges of assimilating into Israeli culture, similar to Isaac’s journey. “My father, shortly after we arrived in Jerusalem, invested all of our family’s money into a sausage factory,” explains Isaac. “Three weeks later, the partner took off with all the money and our family was left with nothing. I struggled as a young immigrant; it wasn’t until I learned Hebrew and other ways to integrate into the Israeli way of life that I found comfort in my new home.” In an effort to ease that transition for others, the couple established a philanthropic program to assist immigrants new to Israel,
Orna and Isaac Levy
focusing on the most vulnerable demographic: the Ethiopian Jewish community. Now in its third year, the Megemaria school, which is housed within the Yvel Design Center in Jerusalem, teaches the art of making jewelry, offers Hebrew instruction and instills life skills that enable Ethiopian immigrants to adapt to Israeli culture. “It is like a family here,” says Fantanesh Gavre Madhen, a 2012 Megemaria graduate. “I now feel like my place is in Israel is not just in cleaning [services]—I am equal.” “We feel like proud parents,” says Orna. “We are eternally grateful to all Yvel supporters worldwide who have helped us make this dream into a reality. I am regularly delighted by the remarkable loyalty of our customers, and we are thankful for each and every one of them.” ✦ Yvel jewelry will be on display at the AVENUE Antiques, Art & Design Show at the Park Avenue Armory from October 10-13.
left: Students at the Megemaria School in Jerusalem. Above: Jewelry from Yvel’s Satin Sea collection.
Yvel ◆ 212.755.0688 ◆ www.yvel.com 112 | AVENUE MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2013
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CENTRAL PARK STRUT: On woman: Camel jacket with fur collar and pumps by Carolina Herrera. 954 www.paddedwagon.com Madison Avenue, 212.249.6552. Dark denim jeans by Hudson Jeans. Available at Scoop NYC, 1275 Third Avenue, 203.535.5577. Gold earrings by Jennifer Miller. 972 Lexington Avenue, 212.734.8199 On boy: Orange puffer vest by Ralph Lauren Childrenswear. 878 Madison Avenue, 212.606.3376. Camel sweater by Marie Chantal. Mariechantal.com. Dark denim jeans by Hudson Jeans. Hudsonjeans.com On girl: Gray tweed jacket by Il Gufo. 962 Madison Avenue, 212.510.8707. White denim jeans by Hudson Jeans. DUELING AT DYLAN’S CANDY BAR:
Dylan’s Candy 1011Y Third Avenue, 646.735.0078, D O U readership, G KUN T Zcontact A ESusan RIA L PHOTO GR A Bar, PH 5 1 6 . 7dylanscandybar.com 69.0513 a privileged please Feinman, On woman: Shearling vest by J. Mendel. Available at Barneys New York. sfeinman@manhattanmedia.com
660 Madison Avenue, 212.826.8900. Cashmere sweater by Salvatore Ferragamo. 655 Fifth Avenue, 212.759.3822. Leather pleated skirt and leggings by Ralph Lauren Collection. 888 Madison Avenue, 212.606.2100. Shoes by Bottega Veneta. 849 Madison Avenue, 212.434.8000. Allegra diamond earrings and watch by de Grisogono. 824 Madison Avenue, 212.439.4220. Bag by Eponymous. Eponymousnewyork.com Necklace by Hervé Van Der Straeten. Vanderstraeten.fr/en On boy: Jacket and gray polo by Diesel Kids. 416 West Broadway, 212.343.3863. Boots by Il Gufo. 962 Madison Avenue, 212.510.8707 On girl: Black and white dress with tulle skirt by Il Gufo. Ballet flats (worn throughout) available at Magic Windows. 1186 Madison Avenue, 212.289.0028 SLURPING AT SERENDIPITY: Serendipity 3, 225 East 60th Street, 212.838.3531, serendipity3.com On woman: Checked jacket and orange top by Marni. Saks Fifth Avenue, 611 Fifth Avenue, 212.753.400. Allegra diamond earrings by de Grisogono. 824 Madison Avenue, 212.439.4220. Diamond ring (worn throughout) by Pat Saling Ltd. 608 Fifth Avenue, 212.582.3355 On boy: Blue sweater and checkered shirt by Baby CZ. 1300 Madison Avenue, 212.288.8030 On girl: Cardigan, blouse and skirt by Baby CZ.
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DOG WALK IN THE PARK: On woman: Cabot dress by Erdem. Neimanmarcus.com. Beige pumps by Manolo Blahnik. 31 West 54th Street, 212.582.3007 On boy: Plaid sport jacket and white button-down by Bonpoint. 1269 Madison Avenue, 212.722.7720. Jeans by Diesel Kids. 416 West Broadway, 212.343.3863 On girl: Navy dress by Il Gufo. 962 Madison Avenue, 212.510.8707 Lily the dog: Grooming by Ali McLennan at D Pet Hotels Chelsea. 646.478.7877 MOM’S NIGHT OUT: Photographed at Renee and Richard Steinberg’s apartment
28 YEARS EXPERIENCE THOUSANDS OF STOCK IMAGES
118 | AVENUE MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2013
www.dougkuntz.com
On woman: Tiered gown by Lanvin. Available at Barneys New York. 660 Madison Avenue, 212.826.8900. 25-carat gold-filleddoug@dougkuntz.com clutch by Mariana Basso. Marianabasso.com. Earrings and gold cocktail ring available at AH Jewels. AHjewels.com. Animal cuff by David Webb. 942 Madison Avenue, 212.421.3030 On kids: Pajamas available at Spring Flowers. 907 Madison Avenue, 212.717.8182
jewelry box
by
HALEY FRIEDLICH
A Cut above the Rest Eve Goldberg learned the diamond business from her father and, with the help of her family, is producing jewelry that proves it
N
ew York’s Diamond District is not a destination for the uninitiated; many find it confusing, aren’t sure who to trust and opt to shop in the glossy store fronts of Madison and Fifth Avenues. But there is a whole other world of fine jewelry within the Diamond District; one that is just as wonderous as its uptown counterparts. The main street that runs through the area is called William Goldberg Way after the late jeweler—and nothing assures integrity quite like having a block named in your honor. I go to meet with Goldberg’s daughter, Eve, who now runs the business alongside her brother Saul. Once I arrive in the elevator landing, I find myself locked outside a curious fortress, but once I am buzzed through another set of barriers, it all makes sense. The Goldbergs maintain an elegant oasis; they have spared no detail in creating a well-appointed atmosphere. Even better is how the jewelry is selected for buyers and presented by one of William Goldberg’s family members, who still run the business with as much zeal and love as their father, grandfather or father-in-law did for all those years. Eve is tall, slender and the kind of woman who can wear diamonds with absolutely anything without looking overdressed. She has a coif of curly hair and brings a pleasant energy into the room as soon as she enters it. She recalls how her dad began in the diamond business over 60 years ago—selling loose stones. He got into dealing bigger stones and became a site holder. Eventually, in 1980, he bought and then sold the Premier Rose—a 137-carat, “D” flawless pearshaped diamond for $10 million—a record—breaking sale. It was the most ever paid for a diamond at the time, and, factoring in inflation, that record may still hold today. While the business continued to sell wholesale 120 | AVENUE MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2013
Clockwise from top to major brands, in recent years left: Flower Drop William Goldberg has sharply Earrings with White and Pink Diamonds, set in Pink switched its focus to finished Gold; Ashoka® Eternity Band and Ashoka® Sideways Band jewelry. “We did loose diamonds set in Platinum; Fancy Yellow primarily and then we did our Radiant Swirls Necklace totaling more than 117 carats set first show in the early ’90s in in Platinum and Yellow Gold; Ashoka® Anastasia Ring set in Basel,” explains Eve. “Our clients Platinum; Ashoka® Premiere Diamond Watch with 44 came and started saying to us, Ashoka® Diamonds Set in ‘Why don’t you just make our lives Platinum; Flower Bypass Ring featuring Fancy easier? Make the jewelry, and then Yellow, Pink and Blue Green Diamonds set we’ll buy it from you.’ So we did.” in Platinum Then came the Ashoka—a rare cut of diamond that her father and brother came across and decided to try reproducing. Pictured, the Ashoka looks like it could be a relative of the Emerald cut, but its unique angles make the stone look deeper and more dynamic. Whenever buyers come in and try on both cuts, they tend to choose the Ashoka, Eve tells me. “We sold them right away [after my father and brother initially produced them]. So we started doing the research and development and we decided to patent it and trademark the cut,” says Eve. “My father loved the stone but never believed we could make a real business out of it because it’s very difficult to find the rock to cut these stones [an extra-long diamond is required.]” The Ashoka remains very rare and, Eve explained, the house cannot manufacture it in high volume. This keeps the Ashoka exclusive, but also keeps the Goldbergs constantly busy trying to satisfy their clients, like Reese Witherspoon who got an Ashoka diamond engagement ring and Angelina Jolie was given a pair of Ashoka earrings from Brad Pitt. “You know that if you’re going to come up to our office, you’re dealing with a family member. We’ve all been trained by the best in this industry; my father had a stellar reputation,” says Eve. “He would cut and recut stones until they were perfect, until he’d lose money on them just because he wanted to make sure it was the most beautiful diamond. We’re all about quality.” ✦
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the escape
by
HALEY FRIEDLICH
TO TIBET!
Jenny Ljungberg is constantly delivered inspiration, c/o the world
Jenny Ljungberg’s Swedish roots are omnipresent in the Maidstone—the much-loved Hamptons outpost of her family’s c/o Hotels. Ljungberg, the visionary behind the revamped Maidstone, garners much of her inspiration from traveling. A determined globetrotter, Ljungberg has a particularly strong affinity for the peace, serenity and beauty that she finds in Tibet.
I live and breathe travel. My husband lives in L.A., my best friend in Brussels, my daughter´s godmother in Chennai [India]. My favorite bookstore is in Aspen, my knitting store of choice is in Minturn, Colorado, my own home is in New York, my favorite castle is in Häringe Slott, Sweden, and my constant vacation spot is the Hamptons.
I travel extensively all over the world for both business and pleasure and always find myself wanting to return to Tibet. The views of the Himalayas are breathtaking, the serenity seductive, the culture both exotic and contagious, the constant chanting of the monks admirable and the kindness of the people extraordinary. And the colorful Buddhas carved out of the mountains are part of the world´s wonders in my own mind.
I travel throughout the country to see all of the Buddha carvings. I visit the monasteries, hike the mountains with the yaks [an indigenous animal similar to a buffalo] and see all of the prayer flags and pay reverence to a holistic kindness rarely seen anywhere else. 122 | AVENUE MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2013
I found this absolutely fabulous little gem called Shambhala [Tibetan translation: “the most beautiful place in the world”], which is housed in one of the many nooks of Lhasa. It was created by an American that fell in love with China and Tibet and started buying up real estate that was falling apart, and renovating it into impeccable shape. Every single detail is absolutely exquisite. We enjoyed the rooftop as much as the breakfast nook, the fully stocked bar, the variety of books on Tibet, the fabrics in the bedrooms and the artwork that was painted on doors.
The yak meat and the butter tea are a musttry . . . not necessarily the most gastronomic experience but certainly memorable ones!
I bought an ancient Buddha from a homeless person in Katmandu that I put in my daughter’s room to bring her peace and serenity—and some borrowed spirituality until she defines her own. ✦
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social safari
by
R. COURI HAY
Hamptons Happenings Sand Castles, Queens, Hearts, Violins, Wines & Emus BLYTHE DANNER’S DREAM “I would love to drop dead on stage,” Blythe Danner recently confided. “I would like to do a nice play, and then on the curtain call I would like to drop dead.” Luckily her dream didn’t come true during her SRO run in Noël Coward’s musical comedy Tonight at 8:30 at Guild Hall. As to how she spends her time off the boards, Gwyneth Paltrow’s’s mother confessed, “I love to go on the beach with my grandkids and get in the water and build sand castles,” adding, “My daughter is a great cook . . . I’m her sous chef, when I’m allowed in the kitchen. I’m kidding; she’s always happy to have a sous chef.” guildhall.org YOKO’S QUEEN AT LONGHOUSE Richard Meier, who designed the billion-dollar Getty Museum in L.A. was honored at Jack Lenor Larsen’s LongHouse Benefit, as was Chinese dissident Ai Weiwei, whose Golden Zodiac Heads were exhibited. I asked Meier what it would cost to design a private house. “First, I’d say you were crazy; it’s a lot of work and it’s expensive,” he said. “It’s going to be much better than you can imagine, but it’s a leap of faith, so I try to discourage people. I would love to do another museum because it’s a place where ideas are shared.” Larsen explained Yoko Ono’s all-white chess set. “If you don’t know whose queen is whose, you have to trust your opponent.” He added: “In the ’60s Yoko was selling opportunities to drive a nail into a piece of sculpture for six shillings and John Lennon came along and said, ‘Miss Ono, if I give you an imaginary six shillings, can I drive an imaginary nail?’ And that was the beginning of their romance.” I knew you’d want to know. Guests at the benefit included Frank Stella, Edward Albee, Albee Alice Aycock, Jack Youngerman and Robert Wilson,, who said, “It’s ok to get lost looking at art or at the opera. The medium is the message, meaning there is no message. It is something that we experience.” longhouse.org
Blythe Danner @ Lincoln Center
Richard and Ana Meier @ LongHouse White Night Benefit
Daleela Farina and Navin Thukkaram @ Southampton Hospital Summer Party
Nicole Sexton, Lauren Bush Lauren and David Lauren @ Alzheimer’s Kick-Off
FORWARD TO THE FUTURE “I sleep better knowing that the hospital is here for me and my family,” said Donna Karan at Southampton Hospital’s Summer Party. Jean Shafiroff chaired the benefit, which raised $1.7 million for the Jenny and John Paulson Emergency Department and the Audrey and Martin Gruss Heart and Stroke Center. Audrey was the event’s honorary chair and, along with her husband,
124 | AVENUE MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2013
Jay McInerney and Nicole Miller @ Cape Advisors Watchcase Condos in Sag Harbor
Jamee Gregory and Audrey Gruss @ Southampton Hospital Summer Party
Southampton Mayor Mark Epley and Marta White @ Village Latch Inn
Le Cirque
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social safari gave $5 million to create the center. Chuck Scarborough announced the winning numbers of of the $10,000 Judith Murat diamond earrings and the $25,000 raffle ticket. Guests enjoying the music by society bandleader Alex Donner and the lavish buffet by Robbins Wolfe Eventeurs included Howard Lorber, Laura Lofaro Freeman, Kathy and Rick Hilton, Serena and Gillian Miniter, Yaz Hernandez, Gayle and Dr. Howard Sobel, Michelle Javian, Rand and Jessie Araskog, Maria and Joe DeCristofaro, Jamee and Peter Gregory and Lucia Hwong Gordon. Also attending was Navin Thukkaram, chief operating officer of Qwiki, which was just sold to Yahoo! for a reported $50 million. Sponsors included Allen & Company, Barclays, Douglas Elliman and Sequin. southamptonhospital.org
Eleanor Howe, Leah Rumbough, Michel Piranesi, and Kiera and Siena Rumbough modeling jewelry by Sintessi @ Alzheimer’s Kick-Off
CAMPING WITH THE PERLMANS Violinist Itzhak Perlman conducted the Perlman Music Program’s students at their benefit on Shelter Island. Asked how much he practiced, he said, “I don’t practice very often; I practice half an hour or an hour. I know some of my colleagues have to practice every day like clockwork. I never did that. Practicing, with me, is always because of fear. I fear that it’s not going to be good, so I’d better practice.” As to his wife Toby’s’s music camp, he said, “Ninety-eight percent of the kids that go to our program have a life in music. That is the important thing to us.” Bravo! perlmanmusicprogram.org UNCONDITIONAL LOVE Sandra McConnell hosted the Southampton Animal Shelter benefit, which honored Jill Rappaport and Pamela Reid, at her waterfront home. Guests included Susan Allen, Jonathan McCann, Leesa Rowland, Larry Wohl and Kim Renk.. On another day, Marta and Martin White hosted a salute to the SASF at their Village Latch Inn, where Southampton’s mayor, Mark Epley, said he supports the responsible development of this historic property, which is for sale by Corcoran’s Esther Paster for a cool $23 million. southamptonanimalshelter.com THE JUICE Jay McInerney revealed, “I’m 500 pages into my new novel . . . it’s about sex, love and infidelity.” Then the author of the wine book The Juice laughed. He was hosting a cocktail party with his wife Anne Hearst at their home, Ashgrove Farm, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Alzheimer’s Association Rita Hayworth Gala, which will be underwritten by Rolex on Oct. 22. Princess Yasmin Aga Khan thanked Michel Piranesi for the Sintessi jewelry on display and the donation of a ruby ring to the gala’s auction. Guests included Lauren Bush Lauren and David Lauren, Sharon Bush, Tatiana and Campion Platt and Nicole Miller. Christopher Robbins provided the treats; he also orchestrated a dinner with the McInerneys’ “pets,” where Randy Harris, Karen and Richard LeFrak, Hilary and Wilbur Ross, Ann and Keith Barish, Alison Mazzola and George Farias watched a parade of the estate’s emus, llamas, lambs, roosters and miniature horses graze happily on the great lawn. Jay joked, “Anne is competing with her grandfather [William Randolph Hearst] by trying to build the largest private zoo in America in our backyard, and at some point she decided to add me to her menagerie. It’s the only way, really.” alz.org ✦ 126 | AVENUE MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2013
Jennine Gourin and Howard Lorber @ Southampton Hospital Summer Party
Princess Yasmin Aga Khan, Anne Hearst McInerney and Robin Meltzer @ Alzheimer’s Kick-Off
Michelle-Marie and Jon Heinemann @ Southampton Hospital Summer Party
Sandra McConnell @ Southampton Animal Shelter Gala
Chuck Scarborough and Jill Rappaport @ Southampton Animal Shelter Gala
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the world according to . . .
MANOLO BLAHNIK AVENUE’s back-page column asks New York notables our version of the questionnaire made famous by Marcel Proust
MICHAEL ROBERTS
I
WHAT’S YOUR EARLIEST NEW YORK MEMORY? Arriving at the Temple of Dendur in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. WHAT’S THE FIRST THING YOU DO WHEN YOU ARRIVE IN NEW YORK CITY? I used to go to HMV, but that is closed now, so I am very sad about that, as there are not many places to find old films. BEST MEAL YOU’VE HAD IN THE CITY? Pea soup at La Grenouille. It is by far my favorite place in New York.
WHICH WOMEN WHO HAVE WORN YOUR SHOES ARE YOU PROUDEST OF? Ms. Anna Wintour, Ms. Diana Vreeland, Ms. Jackie Kennedy Onassis and Ms. Carolina Herrera. IF YOU WEREN’T A SHOE DESIGNER, WHAT WOULD YOU BE? A sculptor or a stone mason.
AT WHAT ADDRESS WOULD YOU LIKE TO LIVE IN NEW YORK? Midtown; when I stay in New York, I always stay at the St. Regis. WHAT NEWSPAPER COLUMN DO YOU READ FIRST IN THE MORNING? The culture section in the New York Times, especially the film reviews. WHERE DO YOU FIND INSPIRATION FOR YOUR DESIGNS IN NEW YORK? I love going to the MoMA. IF YOUR APARTMENT WAS ON FIRE, WHICH THREE THINGS WOULD YOU RESCUE? My dog, a picture of my mother and a 16th century statue of the Virgin Mary, which I adore. 128 | AVENUE MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2013
WHAT’S YOUR BIGGEST EXTRAVAGANCE? A rare book. WHOM DO YOU MOST ADMIRE? Gore Vidal. WHICH SHOPS DO YOU RELY ON WHEN YOU’RE IN TOWN? I love Ralph Lauren. WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE NEW YORK SOUND? Any sound coming from Carnegie Hall.
WAS THERE A NEW YORK MILESTONE THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING FOR YOU? Being featured in Vogue by Ms. Wintour and featured in Candice Bushnell’s book, which obviously led to the Sex and the City series. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SHOE THAT YOU’VE DESIGNED? The Tortura shoe, which I did in 2000. It was a mule, in red silk chiffon, with coral decoration. IF YOU WERE INVISIBLE FOR A DAY, WHERE IN NEW YORK WOULD YOU GO AND WHAT WOULD YOU DO? I would stroll all over Manhattan and sneak into the most beautifully decorated apartments and see their works of art. Then I would go to St. Patrick’s Cathedral for a prayer. Then maybe I would cross over to Brooklyn to explore some more. WHAT KEEPS YOU AWAKE AT NIGHT? My insomnia, from which I have suffered all of my life, and nasty people. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP? Too late for me, my dear . . . I already did. ✦
TORTURA SHOE ILLUSTRATION BY MANOLO BLAHNIK
f ever there was an ultimate, time-honored staple favored by Manhattan’s well-heeled set, it is Manolo Blahnik’s classic footwear. His designs have graced the feet of über-stylish women like Diana Vreeland, Bianca Jagger, Kate Moss and Blahnik’s friend, Paloma Picasso. Princess Diana once famously paired her Bermuda shorts with “Manolos.” And season after season, models debuting the spring collections at New York Fashion Week sashay down runways in his foolproof strappy sandals. Here, the London-based designer breaks from work on his new collection and upcoming book to reveal his mainstays in—and memories of—New York City.
HouSe By THe Sea: flyIng poInT Road Water Mill. You’ve always talked about that great beach house you’d buy near Southampton, perhaps on Flying Point Rd near enough to the village but far from the crowds. Hopefully the views would also include blazing sunsets across Mecox Bay. Of course, since you are an early bird, sunrise beach walks are right up your alley. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could just plop your furniture in without having to do any renovations or better yet, buy the designer’s offering already there? Certainly you imagine the languorous lunches and intimate moonlit dinners you’ll enjoy, all prepared in the new state-of-the-art kitchen. And naturally you would expect room for expansion down the road. You say you already own that big estate off the water with pool and tennis. Well wouldn’t this serve as a great beach bungalow during the day and a perfect guest house for the overflow at night. Imagine the bonfires on the beach with food being prepared right inside. You had better hurry though as there aren’t many three bedroom beach houses at this price hanging around at the moment. In fact, maybe you should call today. Exclusive. $8.5M WEB# 23416
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