![]() This was easy with Armani, whose home Marino did before he tackled the stores more difficult with Karan, who found it hard to articulate her idea of a store with a spirit and a soul. How does Marino work with such different clients? He says that he is "very good at interpretation" and that the idea is always to sit down and talk them through their hopes and dreams. He praises Arnault's vision in understanding the need to project the house forward into the new millennium, rather than gilding its laurels. "Dior was an icon, and I had an image in my head of how it should look," says Marino, who found the faux pillars and faded 1970s modernization a disappointment. Marino admits that when he got the call and thought of his sisters "ogling Vogue" in Dior's glory days, he too was amazed that he should be considered. Patrick's Cathedral in New York, a project of which he is very proud but refers to with his usual glee.įor the French, Dior holds a position not so removed from the reverence accorded to an established church, and eyebrows were naturally raised when Bernard Arnault, Dior's president, compounded the ignominy of choosing a British designer by picking an American architect. It has brought a current commission to re-store St. Mother-of-pearl was crushed into the plasterwork that Marino defines as "Louis XV, but using Dior flowers."Ī deep cultural and historical knowledge is hidden behind the architect's friendly and genial facade. "It starts with the three-centimeter carpet - bouncy luxury," says Marino, patting its deep pile, stroking the red-and-white striped, made-in-France silk and pointing out the gleaming rococo moldings of the evening salon, filled with Galliano's embroidered chinoiserie outfits. ![]() "Dior grew like a medieval town - it had been higgledy-piggledy for 50 years, with no flow and no light," said the architect, who decided to ape Haussmann's 19th-century restructuring of Paris by remodeling the entire building.įilm screens, rotundas, jokey furniture? This is Nike Town meets Dior? Not quite! The new store is done with the in-depth luxury that has been Marino's trademark in the very different stores that the chameleon-architect has done for Giorgio Armani, Donna Karan, Calvin Klein and Valentino. The Avenue Montaigne entrance not only has a froufrou lavender tulle dress by Dior's romantic designer, John Galliano, but also state-of-the art technology, as panels open to show film clips of the Dior universe.Īnd from the rotunda, pathways give vistas onto other areas - an idea, says Marino, based on the famous Etoile, the star-burst formation of roads round Paris's Arc de Triomphe. That harks back to Christian Dior's original concept of making his couture house just like the haut-bourgeois home of his dear mama.īut far from being an homage to the past, Marino has also let the airy light of modern day into the pampered luxury that is the quintessence of French chic. Subtle references to the heritage of the house include a wickerwork mosaic in mother-of-pearl in the mirrored beauty parlor and the pleated silk curtains behind the glass vitrines of closets. It is a triumph of wit and workmanship, symbolized by the attention to detail: the cloven-hoof stools the moonlight-silver panther print, or the naughty black-lace frieze on the padded-silk dressing room of the lingerie boudoir. Thanks for the parting gift Paige, we’ll miss you.But a makeover is hardly the word to describe the extraordinary transformation that the American-in-Paris architect has wrought. But now, I can just scan and view anytime, any place. It was worth it because I ALWAYS learned something valuable. Until now, I had to fight traffic, pay enormous sums for parking and walk unusally long distances (usually in heels) through design centers, trade shows or showrooms to listen to these people speak. Interviews I’d like to watch include: Victoria Hagan, Karin Blake, Bunny Williams, Kelly Wearstler, Jennifer Post, Joanne de Guardiola, Martyn Lawrence Bullard, Peter Marino, Ann Getty, Candace Olson, Nina Seirafi, Suzzane Tucker, Jeff Lewis, Kenneth Brown, Barclay Butera, Windsor Smith and even though he’s not a designer, Mayer Rus. I hope Margaret Russel, the new lady at the helm, decides to keep the feature in every issue and other editors follow suit. It was like I sat in a meeting with Mica Ertegun, Mariette Himes Gomez, Juan Montoya and Thad Hayes during the 3 hours it took to highlight my hair this morning. A Matrix looking “tag” now allows you to snap a shot with your smart phone and watch interviews with the world’s best interior designers. Paige Rense gave us a going away present in the latest issue of Architectural Digest.ĭesigners’ Own Homes- it seems like every other issue covers this topic, but this time there was a little something extra on select designer’s pages.
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