Metropolitan Magazine November 2020

METROPOLITAN

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FASHION ISSUE: NOVEMBER 2020

LUXURY MAGAZINE

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NICOLE MILLER Photographs by Lilly Gabriel $20.00 USD

Fashion | Luxury | Profiles | Features | Shopping | Travel | Art | Design | Auto | Food | Health

CONTENTS FASHION ISSUE: NOVEMBER 2020 FASHION

16 THE SECRET TO COUTURE CONFIDENCE 22 KRISTINA VIIRPA 26 AKIKO TOKUOKA 30 MARGARET HARPER 32 ROSE MCGOWAN 36 MIE IWATSUKI 40 CHARLIZE COTTON

COVER

50 NICOLE MILLER

PROFILE 58 60 61 62 63

ANGELO DAVID ANN LIGUORI LEESA ROWLAND STEPHEN F THOMAS J. HENRY

ENTERTAINMENT 64 70 78 80 82

23 Hot Summer Cool Suits

DREAM LOVERS CHRIS FRANTZ A TALE OF TWO DOWNTOWNS ONKAR SHARMA JONI MITCHELL

CONTENTS 77

FASHION ISSUE: NOVEMBER 2020 TASTE

84 OTTOMANELLI & SONS 86 TASTE OF HOPE

JETSET

88 THE BAKER HOUSE 1650 94 CLASSIQUES MODERNES 100 RENAISSANCE PROPERTIES 102 A PICTURESQUE FALL 2020 106 DEANA CONCILIO-LENZ

ARTFORM

110 GABRIELA GIL 112 MICKALENE THOMAS

SOCIAL

118 DR. SAMUEL WAXMAN 120 NEW YORK SOCIAL SCENE

METROPOLITAN

LUXURY MAGAZINE

Publisher Chase Backer Editor-in-Chief Adam Kluger Assistant Editor Willy Nichter

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

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Copy Editor Sean Buttimer Director of Marketing-NYC Jaime Backer Special Projects Editor Norah Bradford Lifestyle Editor Elizabeth Langevin Cover Editor

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Fashion | Luxury | Profiles | Features | Shopping | Travel | Art | Design | Auto | Food | Health

Adam Kluger Features Contributor Jadan Horyn Luxury Editor Stephanie L. Howitt Editor at Large | Art, Culture & Fashion Rachel Vancelette

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Fashion Photographer Matt Licari Profiles Editor Alexandra Appino-Tabone Social Editor

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JULY 2020

Clara Morgan Food Editor Andrea Correale Nutrition Editor Lindsay Brustein Rosen, M.S., R.D., CDN. Gold Coast Writer Monica Randall Digital Media Director Nancy Molina

In The Name of Love

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Fashion | Luxury | Profiles | Features | Shopping | Travel | Art | Design | Auto | Food | Health

Contributors Rachel Vancelette, D.D. Rice, Paul Prince, Peter Elston, Johnny Angel, Harry White, Victoria Crosby Contributing Photographers Matt Licari, Rene Bernal, tama66, pixel2013, MichaelGaida, Benno Klandt, Michael Paniccia, Jay Mathews, Filip Shobot, Chris Carroll, Lenny Stucker, Patrick McMullan, MA , Tom Fitzgerald and Pam Deutchman, Sandy Ramirez, Jan Klier, Mitchel Gray, Paul Prince, Kristiina Wilson

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PUBLISHER’S NOTE

“The way to secure liberty is to place it in the people’s hands, that is, to give them the power at all times to defend it in the legislature and in the courts of justice.” - President John Adams America has voted in a new President this month and with that, a chance to reinvent itself once again in a world that is fraught with new dangers and challenges.

While we wear our masks and social distance, Americans and New Yorkers look for a return to normalcy after an extended time of turmoil during a raging pandemic. Hope springs eternal in the world’s greatest city.

Our Fashion issue is always a celebration of American culture, talent and vision. Fashion icon Nícole Miller offers us insight into her new collection which reflects current times. I was honored to meet with Nícole at her garment center showroom for a personal tour and conversation with a legendary American designer who sees a strong connection between the America of the ‘60’s and the America of today.

Our celebrated fashion issue which has featured supermodels Tyra Banks and Carol Alt, now presents a rising star in model Charlize Cotton, proudly outfitted in Nícole Miller’s latest looks. Along with glimpse into the collective genius of other fashion leaders.

So proud also of the amazing work of my wonderfully talented daughters Jillian and Jaime and the entire fashion team for once again delivering an inspirational and transcendent fashion issue Enjoy!

Chase Backer Publisher, Metropolitan/25A

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EDITOR’S NOTE

“If you are going through Hell...keep going.”

- Winston Churchill It’s turning cold in NYC and the city is holding strong and fast. We know that regardless of who is leading the Country that New Yorkers must continue to lead the way in showing strength, courage, compassion and ingenuity during these most challenging of times. In the face of great odds, suffering and fear we must stand together, albeit socially-distanced and with masks, to face this global health challenge together as New Yorkers and citizens of the world. We must lead with our intelligence and decency, love and concern for each other. There is no other way.

At Metropolitan and 25A we are thankful for the opportunity to throw the spotlight on those that make the world a better place. From heroes like Sir Gary Kong who has donated health supplies to New York and around the world with the Global Hero Foundation to New York’s frontline workers and everyday heroes who wear their masks and go out of their way to show their compassion for those less fortunate and those who are unprotected. We are New York City a shining beacon of hope—and hope, love and courage shall help us to prevail.

Enjoy the latest Fashion issue of our magazine with Fashion Icon Nícole Miller, budding supermodel Charlize Cotton and other fashion luminaries.

Featured are celebrity stylist Ty-Ron Mayes, designers Rebecca Minkoff, Tiffany de Lisio, jewelers Robin Koffler and Heather Stein and many more. The fashion team led by Chase, Jillian and Jaime Backer, Jadan Horyn and Kian Stave have created something very special this month.

Talking Heads Drummer Chris Frantz talks about the good old days at CBGB’s. Actress/Activist Rose McGowan offers her ethereal soulfulness, Mie Iwatsuki shares the secrets of a muse, Akiko delights with dance and photographer Brian Hamill reveals what it’s like to hang out with John Lennon and Yoko Ono in New York City- just imagine!

Enjoy and thank you!

Adam Kluger Editor in Chief, Metropolitan Magazine/25A

“White Tulip”

By Robin Koffler

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The Secret to Couture Confidence Hollywood stars always look fab in couture on red carpet events. And one of their styling tricks is a reliable body-contouring shapewear.

Concept & Creative Direction: Marane Plaza Photography: Miguel Alamohan Styling: Marane Plaza & Mades Torre Makeup: Kate Munar Hair: Keigh Dones Models: Vanessa Giordano and Daiane Vittoni of Certeza ModelsCouture: Don Cristobal Shapewear: Adam & Eve

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artform

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Kristina Viirpalu HISTORIC ESTONIAN EMBROIDERY & KNITTING TECHNIQUES

BY W. A. MULLER

K

V’s couture creations pay a deep homage to historic Estonian embroidery and knitting techniques. Romantic patterns, styles and ornaments are playfully mixed with contemporary sources of inspiration to meet the needs of a modern woman.

The highlights of the brand are the exuberantly intricate hand-knitted dresses created by the masters of this unique craft. These exquisite gowns and detailed couture pieces are inspired by the Haapsalu shawl, a preferred accessory of the Estonian upper class ladies of the 19th century. The shawl was knitted so fine it could be pulled through a wedding ring.

This delicate and fragile technique remains a living source of inspiration for our designer.

KV’s hand embroidered bodies are additionally inspired by the motifs and patterns of various Estonian folk costumes.

Most of KV’s elaborate pieces can be worn in multiple ways for different occasions, giving the wearer a chance to create a personal couture style many times over.

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Akiko Tokuoka Photographer | Robert Maxwell IG: @robertmaxwellphoto Hair and Makeup and Kimono dressing | Saori Morris

Akiko, what’s the secret to rocking a Kimono?

When you wear a kimono, especially in the most traditional way, you will feel that there are so many movement and posture limitations, and it’s not easy to walk, sit or even just raise your hands. But I really like the challenge of performing my art within those limitations, because it opens up a lot of creative possibilities. And since the kimono covers most of the body, I also enjoy trying to figure out how to express sensuality with my face and posture instead of showing off my skin. I think it’s really cool!

You are such an incredible dancer- how would you describe what you do?

Thank you so much! I have learned Japanese traditional dance with Sachiyo Ito for 5 years and now I am integrating Japanese style into Vogue and Street. I enjoy performing my own art in a way that feels beautiful and powerful to me, and integrating my culture into a new style through my body and facial expression to express my connection with the audience, so that we can create a performance together.

How are you handling the current shut down of performance spaces?

The venue where I performed on a regular basis called “BATSU! NYC” has been closed since the pandemic happened.

It was my favorite place to work, and I was so lucky to have the support of my fellow performers there. Since then, I have been asking myself, “Is my job essential?” “Can I be allowed to continue to perform my art?” “When will people decide that they need art and entertainment in their lives again?”

It took quite a long time to find the answer because I really have to look into myself, but I realised that yes, I can do it, because I want to, and I need to. That means facing my trauma and accepting certain things, like taking value in myself instead of looking for it from others, or being grateful for the things I have instead of thinking about the things I lack. Realising that wasn’t easy at all, however, the answer I found is that I am doing this for my own sake and for my “IKIGAI”, which is a Japanese word meaning “reason to live”.

I really appreciate everyone for the love and support! I hope that we can continue to empower each other!

akikotokuoka.com IG | nyc.performanceartist Introduction video | youtube.com/watch?v=NwqPnDkOopU Fashion Issue: November 2020 | 27

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VOICE OF AN ANGEL

Margaret Harper Song: Dora Maar (Original) Lead and Backing Vocals: Margaret Harper Ukulele: Margaret Harper https://soundcloud.com/pleasantstreet/dora-maar https://youtu.be/Fi3exhFh8gQ

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Rose McGowan 32 | MetMagNY.com | 25AMagazine.com

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H a n d m a d e J e w e l r y N YC info@IntimateSea.com

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Mie Iwatsuki INTERVIEW WITH A MUSE

BY ADAM KLUGER PHOTOGRAPHED BY ROBERT MAXWELL

Model/Muse/writer/world traveler. All seem apt descriptions - how would you describe yourself and your many passions including art and literature.

My interests are diverse, but I love to study everything the world has to offer. I have been an art curator and have worked in an auction house and a gallery. I’ve had some amazing opportunities to have worked with many influential artists in the art world, and I am privileged to have been asked to sit for some important masters. I also studied Art History, Chinese, French, and Painting in College. I feel this experience opened up the chance for me to work closely with many important artists. Many such artists, who are well-known abroad but emerging in the West, often could not speak English very well. I helped them to communicate better with art critics. I think certain artists resonate with me more, when I understand their work, and also 36 | MetMagNY.com | 25AMagazine.com

speak their language and understand them and their cultural backgrounds. I like artists not only as just artists but also as human beings. I often end up getting to know their personalities and become friends with them very quickly. Since I had some amazing sitting opportunities with some masters, I’d like to share my story behind the artist’s creation with others. I believe the subject model’s perspective can add another dimension to the appreciation of the work. I only collaborate with artists I respect and believe in, so my idea of writing an art book, “Model’s Voice” is a love letter to all the artists, I hope our collaboration/ piece of art will be remembered and talked about for many centuries to come even after we are all gone. This romantic idea perhaps came from when I visited museums in Europe in my youth, when I encountered such Masters paintings as Ingres, Sargent, Vermeer, and Rembrandt.

I thought I wanted to hear the voice from the subject model, asking about the experience of

sitting for such masters, and I wanted to know the inside story behind the artist’s personalities.

People call me a Muse for the artists, but I think there is something more important a model can offer than to just sit pretty. I believe artists and models together can leave something meaningful in art history.

It seemed that photographer Robert Frank had a profound impact on your life as a mentor/ friend and artist Yes, he has been my mentor, and one of my best friends in life. I met him in Spring 2010, I feel he was part of my life like family. He died last year, and it brought me tremendous grief and I miss him so much, but I believe that he is always watching over me. I learned a lot and also had many blessings from the artist. He photographed me the first day he met me, then he complimented how I photograph so well and suggested that I come back to his studio the following week to take some more photographs. He photographed my portrait in a manner he has never done before, as he is a street photographer and not a portrait photographer, but I can still feel that in this portrait, I am a subject in motion. If Walker Evans’ work was “life in still lives”, his photographs are “life in motion.” and there is a “soul” in every single photograph of his, it’s really amazing to see his actual print from “The Americans” in my hand, I felt that just one photograph of his contained 100 other photographs in them. He usually carried a 35mm Leica in both the studio and outside when we walked around the city, as he snapped many photographs of me and his wife June from daily life.

Some of those ended up in his publications and exhibitions from time to time. It was amazing to be around him really. I had a chance to talk with him not only about his photographs but also his films and about his collaborators as I studied all his films closely. He inspired me and I will never forget the encouragement I got from him. He taught me “if you have feelings and a brain, you will be a good photographer.” I think I now apply that for what I do, as an artist model and a writer/ artist. He was influential to many and has inspired me. He will live profoundly in my heart forever.

Painter Alex Katz also saw you as a muse Alex Katz’s main muse is his wife Ada, but I was one of the privileged models he has used repeatedly. He said he uses models he encounters in real life, that way he can feel more connected to the subject.

When I met him I was working in a gallery, where we held his artist talk. I was so very excited that day as he was my idol in my school days studying painting in college. It was really a true story that

loved and admired his paintings the most among all the masters in the whole of art history, and I often debated that with my roommate/colleague at Christie’s Auction house, Ramsey who admired Cezanne the most. So when he asked me to sit for him, I thought it was a dream come true. Since then, I have sat for the artist for about 10 paintings and 4 drawings. Since I had such admiration for his work and knew a lot about his work, I think he felt a closer connection to me. I attended his exhibition opening at Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac in Paris with the artist where they featured his masterpiece, “Homage to Utamaro” the painting featured 5 models including myself and Christie Turlington as the centerpiece. The painting became his museum retrospective catalog cover. It was a really amazing experience to see those portraits end up in museums. I believe a model’s understanding of the artist’s work is something that connects closely in the gaze between the model and the artist which leads to more collaborations, and eventually, the creation of the masterpieces. It is a really rewarding experience to have watched him paint and witness the way he creates. His brushstrokes are second to none, if you are in front of his painting, you are “in” the painting and “in” the moment. Words cannot describe how amazing his paintings are in person.

seem to work separately. But I cannot live without art or artists, those creative minds!

Any upcoming projects that you are excited about?

I am currently working on my memoir. I have posed for approximately 60 artists already in my career, and some of the artists I worked with repeatedly.

I want to eventually find a publisher to publish a book of the “Model’s Voice” the story between the model and artist and the collaboration and also keep posing for more artists to keep writing. Actually Robert Frank suggested that I keep posing more for my memoir. My book is mainly focused on the works and back-story with

Robert Frank and Alex Katz, but also would like to feature younger, mid-career cutting-edge artists also to make it diverse and interesting. Everybody wants to know more behind the scene stories about the artwork, and that I believe will make the artwork remain in people’s minds longer. I hope from a model’s observation and perspective, the romantic voice will add another perspective to the viewer, I also see this as a tribute to the artists I love and respect. I really wish and believe their soul and spirit will live forever with their creation, so I hope their works of art and our collaboration will be talked about in the museum and be remembered forever in art history.

Jack Kerouac and the Beats also seem to have made an impact on you. What was it about the beats that still captures the imagination The reason why I became interested in the Beats and Kerouac is because I got to know and have become very close friends to some of the actual figures and their collaborators, Robert Frank and David Amram. Robert Frank is known as one of the most influential, great photographers of all time, but his film work is lesser-known. I actually think his films are even more important than his photographs. His best-known film is his first film, “Pull My Daisy.” which he made with Alfred Leslie.

I’ve watched the film many, many times. Kerouac reads the narratives in a very spontaneous manner. Allen Ginsberg, Alice Neel, Gregory Corso are acting in the film, Kerouac also writes in “The Americans.” He was a great collaborator to Robert Frank. Kerouac was a genius at literature and was also influenced by Robert Frank. I also got to know Kerouac’s musical collaborator David Amram, who composed the song for the film, Pull My Daisy.

I just love the song and the idea of the 50’s Beat Generation where artists of all walks come together as friends to create something new spontaneously.

I guess essentially I like the idea of being around all sorts of talents and ideas of collaboration, just like what I do with the artists now as I sit for their creations and write for them. I think back then they had such a community, today all genres of artists Fashion Issue: November 2020 | 37

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By

Carolyn Melillo

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A Star is Born

Charlize Cotton Photography | Andrew Zaeh Contributing Fashion Editor | Ty-Ron Mayes (maxinetall.com) Make-up | Robert Moulton using Make Up For Ever (robertmoultonmakeup.com) Hair | Dominic Santiago using GHD Irons Photo Assistant | Noa Griffel Accessories | Heather Stein

BY KIAN STAVE

Nicole Miller’s youthful, rock n roll inspired collection is splayed out on a massive kitchen counter in an empty East Side townhouse handpicked by power broker Heather Stein on the day of our shoot with Norwegian beauty Charlize Cotton.

Six looks are meticulously paired with accessories while Celebrity stylist Ty-Ron Mayes reminisces, “I dressed Heidi Klum’s first pictures in New York and worked with a baby Adriana Lima. I see the same star quality in Charlize.”

Celebrity photographer Andrew Zaeh concurs, “Charlize has an iconic sixties look that we haven’t seen in a long time.”

Makeup artist Robert Moulton deftly applies false eyelashes to today’s inspiration, in keeping with a premeditated mood board inspired by the model’s physical references, the stuff of time travel. The overall effect is subtle. When his work is done and the first look is decided the room is abuzz.

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At nineteen it’s hard to know if this month’s cover girl is aware of all of her doppelgänger predecessors, those sirens who personified the golden days of fashion photography like Verushka, Jean Shrimpton, and Lauren Hutton, but the artists on location certainly do.

It is said that models are those individuals who simply won the genetic lottery, and if one is in agreement with a set of seasoned pros, we have a big-ticket winner in Charlize.

Charlize Cotton loves modeling, and it shows.

The daughter of a professional model, Siv Cotton, Char, as her friends call her, was first spotted at twelve by photographer and model scout Jim Jordan, her West Coast agent, who also discovered and nurtured the careers of Gigi Hadid and Taylor Hill.

“Charlize has an incredible personality, is street smart and tenacious,” says Jordan.

Despite such qualities she is not too old yet to ignore sage advice from her proud mom, who has encouraged Charlize to be an inspiration to every photographer she works with. But it’s the crew that Charlize takes her own inspiration from, the talented teams she’s encountered behind the scenes who make fantasy come to life.

On the location of our shoot Charlize tells me, “I love my job because of the people I get to meet and create magic with. I love the process and awaiting the results. When I walked the runway for Marc Jacobs 2020 Winter Collection I witnessed every kind model back stage, every shape and size. For me these things are the heart and soul of it, what makes it all so enjoyable.”

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“Charlize Cotton is an extremely beautiful young woman and is a very gifted model. She is highly professional, has a great personality and is an exceptional artist. The qualities she possesses are rare. She stands in front of the camera and all of her bones fall into the right place. She understands how to create an image and will be a supermodel! I did Heidi Klum’s first pictures in New York and worked with a baby Adriana Lima, Bridget Hall, and Tyra Banks. I see the same star quality in Charlize! I can’t wait to see her star take off!”

- Ty-Ron Mayes, Celebrity Stylist/Fashion Influencer

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Nicole Miller PARALLEL TIMES

BY JADAN HORYN PHOTO GRAPHED BY LILLY GABRIEL

S

itting in a stark white showroom with a smattering of Persian rugs, I wonder which racks of clothing are from this season’s collection about to be sent to buyers, and which are from last season, the styles consumers are wearing now.

Nicole’s statuesque assistant is setting up a digital showcase that was scheduled to launch immediately after my interview with famed fashion designer Nicole Miller.

Ms. Miller is diminutive but striking, with sharp features, and crisp straight hair burnt red like autumn maple leaves. She wears the current season’s very hip pinstripe blazer with an accent around the cuffs and trendy side patches, which pairs well with her slightly acid washed dark jeans that taper to an unfinished frayed hem. She sets the ensemble off with funky sneakers - the last of which became a statement on how Coronavirus has impacted her life and aesthetic.

She spots me with keen eyes and joins me on modish chairs while the iconic Nicole Miller logo overlooks our conversation from the wall behind us.

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JH: I see your sneakers, I must say I am surprised.

NM: Well, I’ve never bought so many sneakers in my life and it’s funny, like I said, like one or two pairs all lined up in my room, I have like 20 pairs and I just thought, well, I’ve never worn so many sneakers in my life.

JH: So given the chaos of this year, how has that affected your own style, your life?

NM: The world has gone to comfort, things are designed for comfort.

JH: Do you think that is a continuing trend? Do you think that’s a long-term change to the industry?

focal point. And then I watched the documentary of Laurel Canyon, like right in the middle of it. So it just brought the whole thing more into focus.

NM: We actually set up the digital shoot right here in the showroom to make it look like the Chateau Marmont. It looked so realistic, everyone asked if it was in LA. JH: Was that a choice to go virtual? And do you believe that is the future of fashion week?

NM: I wasn’t interested in doing a show if we couldn’t do it right. Yes, it is the future of fashion week but I still like seeing the clothes in person.

JH: Speaking about your collection, to me it felt evocative of the sixties, very carefree, very timely.

We walked around the showroom, Nicole showed me looks from her current collection. Immediately I noticed the clear differences between last season and next. Through her eyes, I could see the changes that were coming for 2021. I asked if the color palette and styles were reflective of that vision.

NM: Well, I thought we were living in parallel times and I felt a lot of like, you know, the unrest was kind of what was happening at the end of the sixties, early seventies. And so, we had sort of started, you know, where that time period was a

NM: What you are seeing is some upcycling. We got some old army jackets. And I remember I used to always wear those old army jackets. So we definitely cut them up and repurposed them. And then I had some bridal dresses and jewelry. So we

NM: I think it is here to stay. Women can wear long dresses with sneakers. I have some of that in my collection.

had that whole element of upcycling.

JH: To me, I see these army jackets and I can’t help but think of Vietnam.

NM: It’s the whole parallel feeling I have between the protests of that era and the Black Lives Matter protests of today.

Nicole explained that when she was in college she wore a military jacket and, for her, it was to bring back something that was familiar to explain the current moment. I pressed her on her favorite look from her own collection but she was diplomatically evasive about making a single selection.

Nicole Miller is a rare designer and a rare brand.

One that maintains its presence in the historic garment district of New York. From textiles to design to manufacture, Nicole Miller does it all on-site in the same neighborhood where it’s been done in this country for centuries. An institution within an institution. She gave me a full tour of the parallel past and present.

It was a marvelous sight to see.

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profile

Angelo David Pisacreta RENOWNED HAIR LOSS EXPERT

W

hen people come to Angelo David Salon, they can expect to leave with hair they never thought possible.

As owner and creative director of Angelo David Salon and one of New York City’s leading authorities on fine and thinning hair, Angelo David Pisacreta is not just a hair illusionist, he is the Vera Wang of couture hair.

In 2000, David launched Angelo David Couture Hair Additions™, the world’s finest customized hair solutions that include wigs, hair pieces, extensions, volumizing toppers, clip-on bangs and ponytails.

This in combination with his specialized hair care products and supplements, is a game changer in the hair industry—and for women and men who are dealing with hair loss and thinning hair.

According to the American Hair Loss Association, forty percent of women have visible hair loss by the time they are age 40, and there are few medical solutions offered by family doctors.

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BY CECILLE GRENIER Treating fine and thinning hair has now become the standard in the hair salon and hair care industry. There are many reasons why hair may begin to thin or fall out, and through 25 years of hands-on experience with people from all walks of life, Angelo has seen it all. In recent years, Angelo has seen more and more young women coming into the salon, seeking help for their thinning hair.

Angelo and his team create personalized wigs, toppers, extensions and fillers that help his clients regain their confidence by giving them the hair they used to have, or the hair that they’ve always wanted.

Upon arrival, clients will come in for a private consultation in order to understand their concerns and situation. Clients are able to speak candidly about what they are experiencing and understand all their options. The consultation process can begin before coming to the salon, to accommodate international clients who travel far to meet with Angelo and his team. Once a plan is set, a sample of the client’s hair is taken before their new hair can be created.

The 100% human hair additions are then designed and tailored in order to match the clients’ own hair texture, color, shape and responsiveness.

This way, the hair reacts exactly the same way as their natural hair would, from how it naturally dries when wet, to how it responds to heat and styling. When clients see themselves in the mirror for the first time with their new hair, the reaction is often a very emotional one. Tears of joy are not uncommon, and they tell Angelo how good it feels to feel like themselves again.

“It’s the main reason why I do what I do,” says Angelo, “We don’t just change people’s hair here, we change people’s lives”.

Angelo’s experience with hair loss and hair thinning led him to develop Angelo created Hair Detox® Hair Revival Supplement, a hair and lifestyle supplement that addresses stress and inflammation of the body—two things that trigger hair loss or thinning hair. Hair Detox® is based on the latest science and research on the

nutrients and herbs such as keratin, biotin, vitamin B6 and selenium that address these contributors to thinning hair and hair loss. Hair Detox ® gently detoxifies the body, helps minimize nutritional deficiencies, addresses hormonal imbalances and supports healthy hair growth from within to reveal fuller, thicker hair. Many of Angelo’s clients swear

by Hair Detox® because it works from the inside out to address the root cause of their thinning hair problem.

Angelo is also the creator of The Flex Brush™— the ultimate detangling brush for wet and dry hair that safely detangles hair, massages the scalp, and promotes health and hair growth. The brush’s versatility combined with its flex technology—as recently featured in Good Housekeeping’s Best Beauty Awards 2019 ‘Top-Tested Stylers’—make it the most forgiving hairbrush on the market. The Flex Brush™, bends to follow the contours of your head, massaging your scalp and stimulating the production of natural oils. The brush has vents that allow heat to pass through it, so blow drying won’t damage the brush.

Located on Madison Avenue, Angelo David Salon boasts a team of highly trained staff members, who are dedicated to making each client feel welcome and appreciated. Renowned for Couture Hair Extensions, thinning hair solutions, and Couture Wigs, Angelo David Salon also offers a full range of services and includes seven private VIP Hair Suites. The full-service salon offers—in addition to thinning hair solutions—the best in cut, color, color correction and styling. Angelo’s vast experience with hair, hair health and hair growth led him to realize that hair health issues often begin inside the body, not on the surface.

Angelo David Hair Care products, the Hair Detox® hair revival supplement, and the Angelo David Couture Brush Collection are all available online at www.angelodavid.com.

For more than a decade, Angelo has been a media fixture. In creating his signature looks, Angelo has worked with many celebrities, including Christie Brinkley, Luann De Lesseps, Aviva Drescher, Sonja Morgan, Carrie Preston, Tamara Tunie, Alexa Ray Joel, Coco Rocha, Shoshanna Lonstein, Danielle Savre, Kelly Rutherford, and Alex Cooper. Angelo’s passions include his clients, his talented team and his family, who continually inspire him to create new hair care products and hair pieces that help men and women look and feel their very best.

Follow Angelo David Salon on social media at: Facebook: @AngeloDavidSalon | Instagram & Twitter: @AngeloDavidHair Fashion Issue: November 2020 | 59

past President, USTA; Rick Cerone, former NY Yankees catcher; and actor and comedian Gary Valentine.

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Each golfer was fitted for a Doc Murphy belt, the original and only garment dyed belt. Each participant enjoyed a Dune Jewelry & Co. money clip with sand from the Maidstone Club. Golfers received Chillax’n CBD premium concentrate, ‘Now you can tell pain and anxiety where to go;’ a pull-over and/or jacket from Tharanco Lifestyle/Greg Norman Collection; Brella Rain Jackets, non-restrictive, waterproof outerwear; a mask donated by Redvanly; golf balls donated

by TaylorMade and Volvik; a certificate for New York Steelhead Hudson Valley Fisheries; an Imperial golf hat; a Tick Towel; and a hand sanitizer courtesy of CBD for Life.

Prizes included Dooney & Bourke bags, Peakvision Sunglasses, TaylorMade clubs and bags, Tour Edge drivers; Dunning shirts, Greg Norman shirts and pull-overs and New York Steelhead Hudson Valley Fishery Grilling Kits.

Ann Liguori Foundation CHARITY GOLF CLASSIC

BY ANN GRENIER PHOTO BY NEIL TANDY

Ann Liguori hosted her 22nd Annual Ann Liguori Foundation (ALF) Charity Golf Classic at the Maidstone Club in East Hampton, benefitting cancer research, prevention and care, including the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation, Kids Need More and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

This year’s honoree was Jason Dove, President, Platinum Inc., who accepted the ALF Business Honoree Award.

The day included brunch, golf, cocktails, dinner and entertainment. Notable attendees included Ann Liguori, Scott Vallary, ALF Business Honoree Jason Dove, President, Platinum Inc.; Jim Halpin ALF Board Member, former Business Honoree; Jean Skidgel, ALF Tournament Coordinator; Katrina Adams, former tennis professional and

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Auction items included a six-day golf vacation to Ireland for two people, courtesy of North & West Coast Links Golf Ireland, featuring five nights in luxurious accommodations, (3 nights at Mt. Falcon Estate, and 2 nights at Ballyliffen TownHouse), and golf at Carne Golf Links, Enniscrone Golf Club, Donegal Golf Club, Ballyliffen Golf Club and Castlerock Golf Club.

Another auction item was a 3-night stay for two in an elite room with unlimited golf at Casa de Campo in the Dominican Republic; a one-year Dormie Network Membership and Initiation Fee, a three-night stay and unlimited golf at The Abaco Club on Winding Bay, Bahamas, a John Daly LoudBags Inc. Golf Bag and opportunities to play top golf courses on the East End of Long Island.

Sponsors and Donors that participated in the 2020 Ann Liguori Foundation Charity Golf Classic were: Title Sponsor: ABM; Event Sponsors: Doc Murphy, Dune Jewelry & Co., Greg Norman Collection, Platinum, Structure Tone, Tommy & Shounda Foster; Donors: Beneficial Blends, Brella, Casa de Campo, CBD For Life, Dooney & Bourke, Dormie Network, Dunning, Hotel Indigo, Imperial, Linda Hartough, Loudbags, Inc, Movetes, New York Steelhead Hudson Valley Fisheries, North & West Coast Links Golf Ireland, Peakvision, Redvanly, TaylorMade Golf, The Abaco Club, TICKTOWEL, Tour Edge, USAGA, Volvik. annliguorifoundation.org.

Leesa Rowland THE DIVERSE CAREER OF ACTRESS, AUTHOR & ANIMAL ACTIVIST

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BY PETER ELSTON

ost acclaimed actors have interesting backgrounds, but few are as unique and wide-ranging as cult film star and philanthropist Leesa Rowland. The daughter of an artist and college professor, Leesa grew up in Austin, Texas where she studied broadcast journalism and later became a classically trained actress at the world-renowned Stella Adler Studio in Los Angeles. Shortly after graduation, she quickly gained a following after being cast as Victoria in Troma Entertainment’s 1992 cult film classic, Class of Nuke ‘Em High Parts 2 and 3 and appearing in the sequel Return To Nuke ‘Em High, which aired on The Starz Network in 2013.

Daughter as Phyllis Adjani, an eccentric mother who drives her daughter to insanity. Not only did the film win the award for best feature at Orlando’s 7th Annual Freak Show Film Festival that same year, it led to a co-starring role in the critically acclaimed web series Two City Girls, as well as appearances on the Oxygen reality series Jersey Couture in 2012.

In 1994 she acted in Troma’s television USA Network series Troma’s Edge along with Lloyd Kaufman and Debbie Rochon. Then, in 2012, she co-starred in Travis Campbell’s Slaughter

She is also well-known for her work as a philanthropist and animal rights activist. A vegan dedicated to healthy eating, she has been active with the national non-profit organization Last

Beyond her extensive career and credits as a film and television actress, Leesa is the author of the best-selling self-help/motivational book Discovering the It Factor within You: Developing Your Charismatic Personality, which was published in 2015. Leesa is also writing another book set for release in 2021 through Hatherleigh Press and Random House.

Chance for Animals since 1989 and is the president of the New York non-profit group Animal Ashram, which she founded in 2013.

As she continues to develop her work as a philanthropist and involvement with these and other charities while exploring new dramatic roles and writing an as-yet titled sequel to Discovering the It Factor, Leesa recently began adding something else exciting to her sizzle reel: comedienne. A lifelong sitcom fan, she has been taking comedy classes with Richard Kline—the actor best known as Larry on the late-1970s classic Three’s Company co-starring John Ritter, Suzanne Sommers and Don Knotts, which originally ran on ABC from 1977 to 1984—in Los Angeles. She has also been studying improv and sketch comedy in New York at the famed Upright Citizen’s Brigade whose alumni include Amy Poehler, Horatio Sands, Matt Besser, Matt Walsh and Ian McKay. leesarowland.net.

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Stephen F

JADAN HORYN & OLGA SOKOLOVA

BY JADAN HORYN What is the secret to a well-dressed man?

SF: The secret is to know what works for you as an individual. The right balance in a look is very important. I’m talking about the balance between fabric, pattern, fit, and color.

How should men hone their sartorial skills?

Given that most women learn at a young age how to dress, while most men seem to continually make common mistakes (fit, length, collar, sleeve length, etc) I think it’s all about education. Men in general need to be more informed of what works for them as an individual. If you as a client have difficulty, we at Stephen F help you to find your perfect individual style. We want to make sure that each person finds the right fit for him but also make sure that each individual wears the right outfit at the right time.

That’s the service we giving all our clients and that’s one of the main reasons why we have been in the Meatpacking District since we arrived in New York back in 2015 How would you describe the NYC Man? SF: The NYC-man is brave and open, that’s why 62 | MetMagNY.com | 25AMagazine.com

he isn’t afraid of trying new things. This braveness and that he’s trying new things have made him a better-dressed man. He is open to better ideas about how he should dress.

This modern mix of tailored and off the rack is a distinctive mark of your line, do you believe this is the future of men’s fashion? Tailored for some garments and ready to wear for others?

With some form of mix and match?

SF: What we do at Stephen F is ready to wear.

What makes the brand unique is that we are extremely strong in sizes and we do free alterations for all our clients. This makes every single customer looking 110% wearing our clothing.

Limited quantities in certain styles and that we are working with the best mills in the world makes us very interesting and competitive as a brand.

Another thing that I want to highlight is our fit and we understand that all our clients aren’t 20 years old nor have a fashion model body. It’s also important to mention that my family has been in the fashion business as both tailors, furriers, retailers, and in design for more than 50 years.

Where do you see menswear going in 2021?

SF: I’m answering in a bigger perspective and I think all brands no matter if you are a fashion brand or a brand in another branch of industry continually going towards a more e-com and digitally-based approach. For us at Stephen F is all about keeping the old school communication as well by meeting the clients and press in person.

That personal service and feel aren’t possible to give digitally.

Stephen F is not only about selling beautifully designed clothing. It’s also about communicating a feeling, a frame of mind but we do that through our clothing and the story behind a certain collection.

Stephen F cares about the environment and to step up for racial matters or LGBT-questions is something we have been doing involuntarily since the brand was born as a passionate project 10 years ago. The digital tools and the physical meetings in harmony I think are a perfect match for menswear going in 2021 no matter if you want to sell beautiful design clothing or spread an important message.

Thomas J. Henry PERSONAL TRAGEDY INTO CHARITABLE GIVING

BY HARRY BRADS

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ince the beginning of his legal career and the inception of his law firm, Thomas J. Henry has supported national and international charitable causes with the desire of making his own success work to the benefit of his local, national, and global community. With the simple philosophy of “Give what you can, when you can,” Thomas J. Henry has provided financial support, resources, and volunteers to more than 100 unique non-profit events and organizations, touching tens of thousands of lives while also inspiring others to do the same.

Thomas J. Henry’s law firm, Thomas J. Henry Law, PLLC., has pursued the dual objectives of success and giving through a distinctive approach that places client satisfaction and employee growth at the forefront of the decision-making process. For Thomas J. Henry, serving clients goes beyond the courtroom - client service within the firm means ensuring they are receiving proper medical care, are being respected as individuals, and are able to focus on their physical recovery while the firm handles their financial recovery. This kind

of service can only be provided at the scale Thomas J. Henry Law, PLLC. has achieved through fostering a team of attorneys and support staff that shares Thomas J. Henry’s commitment to client satisfaction and success.

The result is a firm that delivers results, developing a track record as a major firm for Personal Injury matters for individuals as well as for class-action matters. Among the record-breaking results most recently achieved by Thomas J. Henry Law, PLLC. was a $50 million verdict (Expenses: $1,126,381 | Attorney’s Fees: $21,000,000 | Net to Client: $27,000,000) awarded for a trucking accident resulting in wrongful death.

On a broader scope, Thomas J. Henry believes client service extends outside of the firm’s regular legal activities and into the communities in which his clients reside. Thomas J. Henry’s giving campaign has delivered in terms of pure philanthropic generosity at the local, national and international level – from sponsoring arts and culture such as the 2-Day Austin Elevates Event in Austin, Texas to helping get the education system back on its feet in Puerto Rico. The philanthropic

efforts of Thomas J. Henry have to-date had an impact on the lives of people all across the world.

Thomas J. Henry and his firm continue to break the standard Personal Injury law firm mold through their innovative, Hollywood-quality marketing and advertising campaigns, a hands-on approach to recruiting the top legal talent in the nation, and utilizing Thomas J. Henry’s top-tier professional and celebrity connections to benefit clients and communities. However, the foundation of Thomas J. Henry Law, PLLC remains in it’s business model: “a clear commitment to client satisfaction fostered by highly skilled attorneys and a devoted support staff.”

About Thomas J. Henry Law, PLLC: Thomas J. Henry Law, PLLC is one of the largest plaintiffs’ firms in the country. The firm currently houses more than 200 attorneys and 350 supporting staff in six office locations across Texas in San Antonio, Corpus Christi, and Austin. For more information about Thomas J. Henry and Thomas J. Henry Law, PLLC., visit: thomasjhenrylaw.com.

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Dream Lovers JOHN & YOKO IN NYC

BY ADAM KLUGER

Photographer: Brian Hamill remembers John Renowned celebrity photojournalist Brian Hamill delivers his own insider view of this Beatles icon, through intense, intimate photographic portraits and insightful texts. Whether Lennon is dominating the stage, posing on the roof of the Dakota building, or relaxing with Yoko Ono, Hamill’s photography takes this quasi-mythical figure from the world of Rock ‘n’ Roll and shows him as the man he really was. -Amazon “Brian looked at the John Lennon who had become an icon and saw instead a familiar face.

He saw a working-class hero like those that built the City of New York. And so when John Lennon came to live in New York, Brian captured him as a New Yorker, in the joyous images that you will find in this book.” - Pete Hamill There was an assignment for Parade magazine in September of 1972 to photograph

John and Yoko at home. My older brother Pete had known John from 1963 when he had done a piece on the Beatles for the Saturday Evening Post and he was doing immigration columns on him when John was having all those problems with immigration. So, he reached out to John and said my brother has got this assignment and John said, “yeah, tell him to come over,” So the date was arranged and it was October 13th, 1972 and when I went there to 105 Bank street was the address ...I had 30 black and white 8 by 10’s I had made up from the concert on August 30th, 1972 of John and Yoko at Madison Square Garden to give him.

He answered the door alone. The only other person in the apartment was Yoko and I thought ok where the hell is the publicity person but there was none of that so I felt a little more relaxed then and he answered the

door and he said, “Hi Brian, I’m John,” (laugh) as like I didn’t know who he was...and he said, “would you like a cuppa?,” and I declined his offer of tea but he made me relaxed right away and he sounded like a working-class guy from my hood in Park Slope. In those days Park Slope was an Irish American neighborhood it was the end with a lot of tenements, factories, and bars but he reminded me of one of the guys I grew up with he had that kind of workingclass thing.

So, I photographed him in the apartment and after I shot for about 45 minutes I laid the concert stills on him, from August and they were sitting on their bed in the living room/ bedroom and they were going through the stills and the phone rang and Yoko answered it and she said,” hello ok ok hold on I’ll put John on the phone,” and the two of them were listening

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to somebody and I could hear music drifting in through the phone and after he spoke and listened for about two or three minutes he said to whoever it was,” let me call you back because we’re right now in the middle of going through some beautiful photographs taken by Brian Hamill,” in my head I thought he must have said that for my benefit but nevertheless I took it as a nice compliment.

I photographed him three and a half years later at the Dakota - the same thing I went up there I told the doorman I’m here to see John Lennon He called up to the 7th floor.

Same thing John answered the door himself -nobody else was in there, not even Yoko was in there this time in fact he said to me,” Yoko is downstairs she’s busy in her office so I’m all yours.” So, I proceeded to do a lot of pictures of him in his Dakota apartment and we ended up on the roof of the Dakota.

So, in the new book, you’ll see photos I took in both Bank Street and the Dakota. And in the Dakota I was much more relaxed having already met him and how friendly he was and I photographed him and Yoko in the Village.

In the Village, after photographing him in the apartment we walked around the Village and we ended up at Bank Street Pier which was one of his favorite spots in the Village he told me. I took several pictures of them on the pier looking out at the river and one of them is the back cover of the book and I remember him saying,” wow, this river is magical,” and it was. it was a special October 13th and he had been 32 years old four days earlier so he was just like a very special dude. we were walking through the Dakota and there was a jukebox and I said how about some photos in front of the jukebox and he said,” yeah- would you like to hear anything?” and I said yeah and I didn’t want to say play me a john Lennon song so I just said,” do you have any Marvin Gaye?” this is February 25th, 1975 and he said,” yeah of course I love Marvin Gaye,” and he put on What’s Going On - a great album and at one point after the What’s Going On song ended he was singing along with the words he knew the words and this is before you could read what the lyrics were and he seemed to know it so he must have listened

to it... and after that song finished I said to him, “this is the most inventive album of the 70’s so far,” and then I thought to myself what the f*ck did I just say to John Lennon, holy sh*t-- talk about a faux pas because John had 4 or 5 good albums out already but he was cool and there was like a little bit of a pause and then it was like a gift came down from heaven he said, “I agree it’s a great f*ckin album.”

Then we walked into the kitchen. We sat down and I was shooting away with the camera and I was talking at the same time and he said,” hold on I just got an idea for a lyric,” and he picks up a piece of paper and it had a lot of handwriting on it and then he took a few minutes and I didn’t shoot because I didn’t want to interrupt his process and he wrote a few more sentences and I always wondered what song that was, but in the middle of it he said, “I’m fooking hungry, you hungry?”

Fooking he said with a Liverpool accent and I was hungry. When he said to me,” I’m fooking hungry, are you hungry?” I said, “yeah,” and he said “how about a toastie? I said, “a toastie?”

I didn’t know what a toastie was. He said,” Fashion Issue: November 2020 | 67

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you guys call it a grilled crisp or grilled cheese or something,” and I said, “oh yeah, yeah I could eat that,” I said,” yeah sure, I like grilled cheese,” and he whipped up two toasties (laugh) and he added some chips and we sat down and we ate and he scarfed his down he must have been starving.

I asked him how is the roof for photographs and he said,” fooking great” The wind was blowing like crazy and I told him, “John your hair is all over the place,” --even though he had one of those oversized French berets on but his hair was longer than it was on Bank Street and it was blowing like wild -- and we got to the roof and I pulled my snap open cap out of my pocket because I liked the way John wore it and I said, “ I copped your style,” John smiled and chuckled but didn’t say anything --I told him about his hair blowing and he said, “ don’t worry about it do your thing,” he never once looked at a mirror, like when you do movie shoots the actors they look at themselves quite a bit during the shoot but he didn’t do that he was like a working-class guy. He never once pressured me about time --he never did that and neither did Yoko when I photographed the two of them together at Bank Street, they didn’t give me a time limit or anything. Anyway, I said “were you ever influenced by Dylan?” and he said,” no,” and he pointed to his Elvis pin and he said, “no, I’m in awe of Dylan and a lot of his lyrics are fantastic but this is the guy right here who made me want to be a rock and roller,” and he pointed to his Elvis pin. As we were leaving he put his hand on my back and he pointed at my cap and I still had my cap on and my gear and everything and he was funny, he said, “don’t worry about copping my style, Brian, I copped it from Dylan” (laugh) and that was how it ended that was the last time I saw the guy alive, on February 25th, 1975.

He was a good dude when we were taking photos in the Village people stopped him but he never got mobbed people stopped him to say hello and just chat with him and he and Yoko both were nice completely nice, more than nice.

They were very humane and I can tell because I got a good street guy radar and I can tell when somebody is bullsh*tting trying to be nice and they never did that they never made themselves seem more important than the person asking the question so I liked them--I liked both of them. I liked her a lot too she was nice.

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DRUMMER

Chris Frantz TALKING HEADS ARE READY TO MAKE SOME NEW MUSIC ...IS DAVID BYRNE?

BY ADAM KLUGER Chris, how have you and Tina been handling the pandemic?

We’ve just been observing the laws of Dr. Fauci.

We’ve been self-isolating. we really haven’t been going out the way we used to. We stay home and fortunately we live in a very nice in a wooded area with lots of space to walk around.

What made you want to write your terrific new book about the band, Remain In Love (St. Martin’s Press)?

When I sat down to write the book I thought well, what makes my story different from any other person in a rock and roll band and I thought that would be Tina (laugh) because we’ve worked together lived together- we’ve lived together since 1973 and we’ve been married since 1977 and we worked together in the band since 1975.

I thought my unique angle --what makes my story unique is that I’ve been married to Tina and worked with her as I was her drummer and she was my bass player for so many years and still is. We’ve celebrated 43 years of marriage last June and we are still going strong. Fortunately for me, it worked out very well... so I thought I’ll make Tina the heroine of my story which in truth, in fact, she has been.

CBGBs and the music scene of the mid-’70’s are a big part of the book Without CBGBs there probably wouldn’t have been any Talking Heads, not as we know it. I think you could say the same about Patti Smith and Television and Blondie. CBGBs was like the incubator in which all these bands developed and matured and honed their stagecraft. Then it became their springboard out into the rest of the world. When we moved to New York, in the autumn of 1974, I had this idea that first of all, I wanted to start a band along with David and hopefully Tina, too. Tina hadn’t yet agreed to join the band...she was still thinking about

painting and concentrating on that. My idea was that maybe we could find a place that was like the cavern club had been for the Beatles or the Star Club in Hamburg Germany where they could perform and get their act together and learn the art of performance and there wouldn’t be so many people watching that if they made a false move that they would be forever tagged with or forever known as a lousy band...(laugh). The great thing about CBGBs is that some nights there would be well, in our early days there would be only 10 or 20 people in the audience and so if you messed up or did a lousy show, not very people would know about it. One smart thing that Hilly Kristal, the owner of CBGB’s, did was that if ever you had done a show there --if your band had ever played at CBGB’s - then you never had to pay the cost of admission again-- the cost of admission was not a lot. On a highly rated night for a band like Patti Smith, the cost of admission was 5 dollars --so it wasn’t a lot of money or anything but what it meant was that all the bands could come down to CBGB’s and hang out --and if the bartender liked your band you might even get a free couple of beers.

I love the story about how Talking Heads once tried to recruit a female lead singer David and I went over to CBGBs to see this band called the Snake and the Snatch (laugh) or maybe it was the Angel and the Snake.

Their name changed a few times before they became Blondie. I saw this girl, and I thought holy mackerel! Not only is she an outstanding performer but she’s one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen. Maybe she would be interested in singing in our band? Because it wasn’t pre-determined that David would be the singer, we were still in a very fluid state at that time. So, after their show, I saw Debbie standing by the bar and I walked up to her and I said, “Hi my name is Chris Frantz and this is David Byrne and we’re starting a band and we would love it if

you could sing with our band,” Well,” she smiled, “I’ve already got a band but you can buy me a drink.” So I did buy her a drink and it was the beginning of a lovely friendship with Debbie Harry that has lasted 40-something years!

How has the relationship with David Byrne been over the years? How is it now?

Well, it hasn’t been a wonderful relationship since he decided to leave the band and go solo...it has not been wonderful...but we did have that moment in 2002 when we reunited and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Let’s put it this way. When you get a call from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame that you are going to be inducted, no matter what you think of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the people who run it and all that --that’s a fun call to get!

What was it like behind the scenes? Was there any tension?

I wouldn’t say there was tension...there was a little bit of apprehension, at least on my part, but once we all got together in the little rehearsal room where we rehearsed for a few days beforehand --everything was very copacetic --there was no real bad feeling at all...I think everybody felt very good and pleased to be back together again--it was also very nice to also be recognized at the same time as our old friends the Ramones --both of us were inducted that year and both of us in our first year of eligibility--so it was kind of a big deal for the downtown music scene..and that’s why we invited Hilly Krystal to come up on stage... when you get inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, it’s not just an honor for the band but for every single person that worked with the band through the years, like the management, the lawyers, the accountants, the road crew, the agents the promotion folks at the record company the executives at the record company, Fashion Issue: November 2020 | 71

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everybody that worked on your records and helped to make them a success.

One of the most interesting parts of the book is the band’s collaborative process and I think it started with the song Psycho Killer We who are in bands or make paintings or write books, we’re people who have a need for creative expression--and some of us like me for example, I’m pretty good at painting and drawing and stuff like that and I can do that all by myself but I’ve never written a song by myself. Any songs I’ve been part of I’ve always written it along with someone else, be it David or Tina and David or Tina and David and Jerry altogether- I’m a firm believer that collaboration can take a song which is a good song and with the extra input of added people can become a great song.

Talk about Tina Weymouth as a Bass Player.

One reason I invited Tina to join the band, I knew that she shared a musical aesthetic with David and I, but also I could tell by dancing with her at college dances at RISD that this woman really feels the music. And I thought she’s got a great sense of rhythm and she’s really feeling this song. I knew that she could play the guitar. She played an acoustic guitar that her father gave her when she was young and she had also played classical music on the flute and had also done English hand bell ringing which not too many people have done. So, I thought Tina could do something great as an addition to our band. It wasn’t determined whether it would be bass or not. I didn’t know what it would be but as it turned out it happened to be the bass because that’s what she felt that we needed.

And what was interesting about Tina’s playing was that she didn’t rely on a tired vocabulary of Chuck Berry licks and 12 bar blues licks. She came from a more classical point of view and therefore the parts that she came up with were highly unusual for a rock and roll band and also highly memorable. You hear one of the bass parts and you know what song it is.

Psycho Killer is a good example. But there is also Take Me to The River.

You had to do some work to recruit Jerry Harrison to join the band?

Talking Heads was originally just a trio and we had been thinking for some time that we needed to add an additional member to enhance the sound...we needed a fourth person and preferably someone who could play keyboards and guitar. I called Jerry up and after the experience of the breakup of the Modern Lovers he was not keen to just jump into any old band right away in fact, he had enrolled in a master’s program at Harvard for architecture. Jerry said.”I’m intrigued but before we speak any further I

think I should hear you play live.” I had to book a gig in Cambridge Massachusetts so that Jerry could hear us play live. I think it is the only time a band has ever auditioned for a keyboard player. We had to play a place called The Club and it wasn’t a fabulous place or anything but it was an opportunity for Jerry to hear us and after Jerry heard us he was more intrigued and we ended up sort of jamming together and it was very clear from the first jam session with Jerry that he was more musically advanced than the rest of us in terms of his technical ability but it was also that he had a musical aesthetic that jibed well with our own.

How would you describe that musical aesthetic?

It was an artistic aesthetic. It didn’t have to do with popular music so much. It was more like with Talking Heads, our whole goal, our whole aim was yes we would have liked to make some nice money so we wouldn’t have to worry about the rent and we would love to sell some records but what was most important to us was going down in musical history as being something that was good. And I think Jerry shared that feeling with us. The artistry of the band was more important to us than the financial success of the band and we liked a lot of the same things.

We loved the Velvet Underground and we loved the Stooges and we loved the garage bands of the 60’S and so we had a lot in common with Jerry. I got an email from him just last week about how much he enjoyed my book and he felt that it was very honest and thoughtful.

That early Saturday Night Live performance-- was that a mainstream moment for the band?

Yeah, that was a big step for us and the other one, believe it or not, was Dick Clark’s American Bandstand.

We did those very close together. Saturday Night Live, American Bandstand, and all of a sudden Talking Heads became more or less a household name.

People started recognizing us. It’s amazing. If you are on TV whether it is for something good or something bad people notice...a lot of people watch TV. What are your favorite Talking Heads songs? I love Take Me to The River there are so many... the early albums were so brilliant. ‘77 is my favorite and you have Fear of Music, More Songs About Buildings and Food, even Little Creatures was an amazing album -- what are some of your all-time favorite songs?

I guess my all-time favorites would be Psycho Killer, Thank You for Sending Me an Angel, I love that one ...um I love Once in a Lifetime, I love Memories Can’t Wait, I Zimbra, Burning Down The House, it’s always fun to play and never fails to ignite the audience. On Little Creatures I loved the song Stay Up Late.

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for some reason, at the last minute, after all of us had approved the credits...he went and changed them... you know he went to the printer and he changed them and without consulting with us or anything so that was a shock, you know?

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There are a couple of instances in the book where you, I think very kindly, describe what you see as the facts of the matter as to David thinking more about himself and less about the other band members and it seems to me that that was a source of great tension throughout what was a very successful period of creating incredible music together.

Yeah, well you could call it Machiavellian or you could call it whatever you want...bad character, but he certainly exhibited it...we always thought, well we are doing so well and everything is going so great, David is going to be happy and everything is going to be fine but he was never happy. He was just not a happy person. There are moments of great excitement and success and reward, financial reward, artistic reward, critical acclaim but David just...that never satisfied him.

He’s insatiable when it comes to getting credit ...taking credit... well how shall I say this? Selfaggrandizement. He just can’t seem to help himself and I notice that nowadays he has a whole different personality than he used to have when he worked with us. Hopefully, that’s more fun for his collaborators (laugh) than we had.

Am I making sense?

Yeah, I would say don’t stop making sense ...as a Talking Heads fan, I’ve watched David Byrne’s career over the years and he has done a variety of cool things from My Life In The Bush of Ghosts, The Catherine Wheel, and Rei Momo and now he’s getting incredible reviews with American Utopia, but just from a musical standpoint I don’t think he will ever, or has ever touched the greatness that he achieved as part of Talking Heads. I think many Talking Heads fans might agree with that...that while David has had a very varied and prolific career it hasn’t been as exceptional as the music he created in the early albums and concerts with you, Tina and Jerry.

There are so many different things that you and Tina did as an integral part of Talking Heads but I don’t know if you ever got full credit.

Yeah, well that’s one reason I wrote this book was to try to explain to people that Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club was very much a shared experience. It wasn’t just like the David Byrne Show and people have asked me, “Do you resent 74 | MetMagNY.com | 25AMagazine.com

that?” and it’s not so much that I resent it being unaccredited for things that I did. It’s just that you know that in the future when people look back on the band Talking Heads and the read an album cover or something like that they want to know well who wrote that song and they look at the album cover and it says that song was written by David Byrne and Brian Eno. Ok fine, but really that song was written by David Byrne, Brian Eno, Chris Frantz, Jerry Harrison, and Tina Weymouth. David,

Well, I’m not going to be critical of David’s solo albums or anything like that, but yes, I agree with you. (laugh) And it’s very sad because the first time I interviewed David and I’ve interviewed him twice and the first time at CBGBs for the twentieth anniversary I was talking with him backstage and he had hurt his back and I

told him I hurt my back playing basketball and I said “I’m with CNN can we do a quick interview?, “ he said, “Let’s go downstairs to the basement.” We talked about CBGB’s and Hilly and I asked David, “what are the chances of the Talking Heads getting back together again?” and he looked at me he gave me, I guess it was a cold stare and he said, “that’s kind of like asking someone who has been divorced when are you getting back together again with your ex-wife..you know... snowball’s chance in hell.” It was like a kick in the stomach because I felt this is not the David Byrne that I always looked up to and admired artistically and creatively. It just made no sense to me and I thought something really bad must have gone down whether it was lawyers or money with the other members of the band. Why do you think this relationship, and it’s so sad for us Talking Heads fans, has soured irrevocably and you have never been able to just bury the hatchet and move on and create together again with David?

Well, I can tell you that the other three members of the band, Jerry, Tina, and I would be happy to bury the hatchet and do something fun, especially for our fans but David just doesn’t see it that way and he wants to be a solo artist. He doesn’t want to be a band member. I think that’s really what it boils down to.

He likes to be the boss, it sounds like of his own career?

Yeah, he likes to be the boss sometimes at the expense of other people’s well-being.

So, it’s ego really, like with most bands that break up there is a clash of ego-- and money is also typically a part of it?

Yes. All of that. And there’s something in David’s brain too that ...he just doesn’t operate the way Tina and I do or Jerry does.

Did you recognize that early on that he might be on the spectrum with Aspergers or something like that? Has that ever been a conversation?

There was always something about David that was difficult to understand or challenging as a friend and so we dealt with that from the very beginning of our relationship. There was a time when David seemed to need us ...he really needed the rest of the band to get over...but when there came a point in time when he felt he no longer needed us that’s when he quit the band.

How did that feel when you found out that David had quit the band?

It felt terrible. It felt f*cking terrible but we saw it coming for a long time but we somehow managed to keep it together for like what 10 albums or so?

Why was Remain in Light such a great Talking Heads album?

It’s so good and so inventive and so different from what anyone else was doing at the time...and what’s especially great is that it still sounds hip today. I think you could say that about almost any Talking Heads song...but the songs from Remain In Light are kind of definitive.

With YouTube, you can see a lot of old Talking Heads footage, and still, even to this day Talking Heads fans are online asking can these guys ever get back together...if you were to talk to David now and say “listen I wrote this book I said it the way I saw it but we are open to being friends and collaborating again”... what do you think you would have to say to David to make that work? Would you want to?

Do you consider David Byrne a friend?

I would like to but I’m afraid that’s not really the case.

According to Remain In Love, David crossed the line a bunch of times with you, Tina and Jerry. How would you get together with David again? Would you send him a tape of your music and say we need lyrics? How could you possibly collaborate with David again in the future?

That would be a good way...I was thinking of sending him a galley of the book but what David said to me was, “no, I’m not going to read the book because when people will ask me what I thought of it I would have to answer but if I haven’t read the book I can just say oh I’m sorry I have no idea I haven’t read it.” So, I didn’t send him a copy because he didn’t want to read it anyway so that’s how it has been with David for a while. We don’t really speak to each other socially, unfortunately.

We do have email correspondence because we have a business together still with licensing to films and television.

Are you and Tina still making music or are you mostly in family mode right now?

Well we are always in family mode because we

have families (laugh) but yeah we still do music together. We were supposed to have some Tom Tom Club shows in April but that didn’t happen because of the virus. I don’t know when live performances are going to come back but Tina and I have been talking about doing some electronic music together just she and I. Why was Tom Tom Club such a huge success?

It was a total surprise to many Talking Heads fans, I’m sure, to discover how truly talented you and Tina were as the musical engine to Talking Heads.

The first Tom Tom Club album was really like magic to me...we never had any intention of doing something outside Talking Heads but then David told our manager, he didn’t tell us, “I’m going to be doing a solo album, this collaboration with Twyla Tharp called The Catherine Wheel and I don’t know how long it is going to take,” --then Jerry said “well, I’m going to do a solo album,” and then Tina and I looked at each other and said what are we going to do? Our accountant said, “you better do something because you only have two thousand dollars in the bank.”

Why was that?

That was because the Remain in Light tour was a nine-piece band and we had toured the world and it was a very successful and historic tour, people are still raving about it... that was in 1980 but because we were flying nine musicians and a half a dozen crew around the world and paying for hotels and per diems and insurance and everything, there was no money left after that tour. We were still happy we did it but anyway --so we were more or less broke. Our manager went to Chris Blackwell of Island Records and he said “Chris and Tina would like to do a solo project or a duo project what do you say?” and we knew Chris Blackwell because he had come down to see Talking Heads at CBGBs on the same night that Andy Warhol had first come to see us.

He came down with the singer Robert Palmer. At that time we loved Island records and we bought almost anything that came out on Island Records whether it was Roxy Music or Burning Spear or Bob Marley and the Wailers, and Chris Blackwell said to us, “well, I can see you have something really interesting going on but right now I’m devoting all my time to breaking Bob Marley and the Wailers and I can’t possibly sign Talking Heads right now,” so we knew him for a long time and then we had made More Songs About Buildings and Food, and Remain In Light at his studio in the Bahamas.

Compass Point. So, knowing that Chris Blackwell said,” I understand the value of a good rhythm

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section, why not have Chris and Tina come down to Compass Point and cut a single and if I like the single, then they can do a whole album.” So, we went down to Compass Point and we cut a song called Wordy Rappinghood and when we finished the recording and we are in the mixing stage, we said, “Chris come on in and hear this and tell us if you like it or not.” And he came in and we played him Wordy Rappinghood and he said, “play that again! “ We played it again and he said, “I love this”--I’m going to release it as a single as soon as possible in the UK, Europe, and Latin America ...and he said while I release this as a single I want you to get to work on the rest of the album.” So, that’s how that all happened. And Wordy Rappinghood went to the top of the charts in like seven countries in Europe. I think it went to #7 in the UK...and then we followed it up with Genius of Love which was also magical. Genius of Love was our only crossover hit because it crossed over from the DJs who played it in nightclubs in New York and San Francisco and places like that to the urban or black radio stations. Chris Blackwell sold 150,000 12 inch singles of Genius of Love in the United States. After he sold 150,000 singles Seymour Stein woke up and said whoa, I better make a deal with Chris and Tina (laugh) 76 | MetMagNY.com | 25AMagazine.com

Does it feel better to set the record straight on the history of the band with Remain In Love?

It feels good to me that there is now a book about Talking Heads that is the inside story. Previous books about Talking Heads and there have been a few and most of them are regurgitated stories from music magazines and music newspapers.

Most of them from the ‘70s or early ‘80s. It’s like somebody went to the internet and just cut and pasted a lot of things. My book is not like that.

My book is like a story about a kid who wanted to be in a rock band that was different from other rock bands and who finally achieved that and it’s also about my great, fantastic romance with Tina Weymouth which continues to this day.

An incredible musical career, successful marriage what are you most proud of?

At the moment I’m most proud of my sons’ accomplishments both of them are artists and it’s not easy right now especially for young artists.

My older son Robin has a record label called Kraftjerkz. He is also a DJ and he does his own electronic music but he has recently released an album by a person from Philadelphia called Plastic Ivy. It’s just about to come out. Our other son Egan

is a painter and he’s doing really fantastic work and he has a show up right now in Berlin. He has upcoming shows in Seoul and Taipei. I’m very proud of both of them because we never asked them to follow in our footsteps but they have been and they have been doing a really good job of it.

According to Remain In Love, it seemed like in the past you could invite David to an impromptu jam session with Lou Reed or whoever it might be and he would gladly show up to be part of it. Is that something you could still do? If David were to accept an invitation to jam--what could you guys possibly do together? Could you create another albumdo you still have the musical chops or the ideas to come up with a new Talking Heads album?

Is that something you think is even feasible, to create new music with David, once he is done promoting American Utopia?

Yes, I think it’s absolutely possible. Witness the new Bob Dylan album. Who thought that he had that in him, but it’s fantastic. So I think that yeah, we may be elder statesmen at this point but we still know how to rock the party (laugh).

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A TALE OF TWO DOWNTOWNS

BY LISA SHERIDAN

I

t was the coolest of times, and to the fainthearted, it was the cruelest of times.

Long before the plague shuttered NY City’s nightlife, and before the underground club scene shifted to Brooklyn, the city’s beat pulsated on the stages of Max’s Kansas City, CBGB, and the Mudd Club.

That driving rhythm echoed and summoned me from a distant Springfield, Missouri. With $350 in my pocket, I followed the city’s siren call and hitched a ride to New York with a group of musicians who were friends of friends.

During that summer of 1980, the Midwest had an unprecedented heatwave. Still, I stowed away in the band’s rickety and windowless panel van. We were all packed in the seatless back of the vehicle on a bare metal floor, sandwiched between amplifiers and guitars. Worse still, a faulty radiator required blasting the heater to prevent the engine from boiling over. It was so hot that I thought the graffiti covering the van’s exterior would melt off into technicolor puddles. Too broke to afford a hotel room, we drove a grueling 28 hours straight.

The air was thick and salty. It would take days for me to wash off that travel funk.

Somewhere around 3:00 AM, we emerged out of the Holland Tunnel into the pre-Aids West Village, back then still packed with gay bathhouses. The smell of sweat, sex, and rotting garbage was everywhere. My first city view was a trans sex worker under the West Side Highway’s hazy streetlights. She was dressed in a merry widow holding up stockings that exposed her shapely thighs. In the highest heels imaginable, she was straddling the k-rail — sashaying in a seductive trance. In that instant, I knew only a place allowing such freedom could be home for me.

My new transporter-musician friends, The Marbles, helped me land in the art and music world’s epicenter. The Marbles, who held a pivotal position in the New Wave/Punk scene, secured a front-row seat within the demi-monde for

me. When I saw the classic cult film “The Blank Generation,” a primer for the downtown music culture, I was thrilled to see my friends featured so prominently.

Max’s closed shortly after I arrived, but I became a regular at CBGB and the Mudd Club, where I brushed shoulders with members of The Talking Heads, Blondie, and The Heartbreakers. As an uninitiated Midwesterner, this was an unbelievable stroke of luck and the ultimate cool. I studied and appropriated their disaffected brand of style. I was becoming a New Yorker.

But since I arrived fashionably late to the party, the sub-culture had already hit its apex. New York was clawing its way back from bankruptcy, rents were rising, and investment bankers started collecting Soho lofts. Time passed. I went on to become a designer, hoping to translate some of my newly acquired counter-culture chic for the Midwesterners who didn’t break away.

New music venues opened, and relocated, and reopened, and shut down. The next wave of young and impressionables arrived. Unfortunately, the Marbles never realized the fame they deserved, perhaps because they were too nice and just not edgy enough for those gritty times.

Today, my old Village neighborhood is an unrecognizable landscape of NYU outposts, corner Duane Reades, and bubble tea stands.

Before, I found myself in the epoch of the endless dance party. I could never have fathomed our current era of social distancing and the personal pod.

How did we get here?

Where will the Future Punx play?

Tomorrow’s artists know this is just a moment — so they are ready and waiting until this moment passes.

Fashion Issue: November 2020 | 79

entertainment

Onkar Sharma EXPLORING THE HUMAN PSYCHE

BY ADAM KLUGER

How did Literary Yard get started?

In 2013, I was looking out for journals to submit some of my works. I discovered that most of the print-oriented journals had limitations and had reservations to entertain submissions from new, budding authors. This forced me to think about the challenges new authors might be facing to get their works showcased or published. As a result, I started Literary Yard, to give writers, poets, and essayists a global platform. Today, it’s a global platform that accepts all genres regardless of the author’s literary background.

“panch” stands for five and “tatva” means elements. As per Hinduism or Sanatan belief, everything on Earth is composed of five basic elements or the “panchamahabhutas”. These elements are: Akash (Sky or Space), Vayu (Air), Jal (Water), Agni (Fire) and Prithvi (Earth). If you read through the five parts have been titled as per these elements. Without one element, life will not look like the way we see it.

Who are your biggest literary influences?

Thinkers, poets, and authors who have over the years shaped my thought-process and given direction to my writing are great masters like Rabindranath Tagore, Sarojini Naidu, T.S. Eliot, W. H. Auden, WB Yeats, Robert Frost, Khalil Gibran, among others. But more than them, I’m affected by the people around me, people whom I daily collide with at the metro station, at a grocery store, down the road, at a barbershop, or at a restaurant. My writing or poetry muscles its way through the nitty-gritty of daily life to scout for universal instances that ferment long enough in my psyche to be served as poetical wine.

Songs of Suicide reflects this. The lead and the longest poem in the collection ‘Panchatatva – the five elements’ was in the works for almost a decade. The poem has been structured into five parts to denote five stages of the human psyche and conscience. The word ‘panchatatva’ comes from Sanskrit, where 80 | MetMagNY.com | 25AMagazine.com

What’s your new book about?

Songs of Suicide is my naive attempt to empathize with poor souls, who go through atrocious circumstances and unbearable pain so much so that suicide remains the only option for them. I’ve endeavored to get

into their psyche and feel the agony that pushes them to the edge and the ledge of life. However, through this collection, in no way, I vouch for such an extreme step. I simply want people to understand the mental state of a suicidal person and refrain from taking anything that can drive them away from life. Instead, Songs of Suicide wants people to catch the subtlest hints that a suicidal person is leaving around.

Deciphering those hints is a challenge but an important part of our attempt to saving their life. Timely action can save a precious life. As per WHO, every year 800,000 people commit suicide globally. That said, suicide is a pandemic of a graver scale and magnitude which is eating humanity faster than any disease. Even if we find a vaccine for the COVID-19 in the coming months, the vaccine for suicide remains out of the picture. It’s only empathy and an attempt to allow the other person to share their pent-up feelings openly that can save a suicidal person. The poems in Songs of Suicide aren’t merely a manifestation of sadness and agony. The poems blend all emotions.

There is love, longing, desire, loneliness, worthlessness, sadness, disgust, and despair, but above all hope and a helping hand. I’ve picked up universal instances of suicide to develop an understanding of the anguished whom all of us might have seen or heard of attempting to kill themselves. In essence, my objective in writing this collection is to heal. literaryyard.com

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entertainment

Joni Mitchell THE LYRICAL LIFE OF JONI MITCHELL

BY W. A. MULLER

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Growing up in Vancouver, British Columbia with a Turkish father who spoke seven languages and taught painting, and a mother who worked in the family’s centuryold metal recycling business, Selina Alko was surrounded by the melody of words and stories from different places. It is no wonder that the award-winning writer-illustrator now spends her days melding words and mixed-media art to convey stories of hope and inspiration—as well as an alternative viewpoint. Selina’s picture books include The Case for Loving: The Fight for Interracial Marriage, B is for Brooklyn, Daddy Christmas & Hanukkah Mama, and most recently Joni: The Lyrical Life of Joni Mitchell. Selina lives in Park Slope, Brooklyn with her multiracial family.

DIANA DEVENDORF RICE D i a n a D e ve n d o r f Ri c e i s pl e a s e d to b e re p re s e n ti n g S o t h eb y ’s In te r n a ti o n a l Re a l t y u n d e r t h e me n to r s h i p of S ta n Po n te, S e n i o r G l oba l Re a l E sta te Adv i s o r, a n d o n e of Ma n h a tta n ’s m o st re s p e cte d a g e n t s.

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Diana Devendorf Rice Licensed Salesperson | 212.606.7602 diana.rice@sothebyshomes.com East Side Manhattan Brokerage | 650 Madison Avenue | New York, NY 10022 | 212.606.7660 © Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. All rights reserved. Sotheby’s International Realty® is a registered trademark. This material is based upon information which we consider reliable but because it has been supplied by third parties, we cannot represent that it is accurate or complete and it should not be relied upon as such. This offering is subject to errors, omissions, changes including price or withdrawal without notice. If your property is listed with a real estate broker, please disregard. It is not our intention to solicit the offerings of other real estate brokers. We are happy to work with them and cooperate fully. Operated by Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. Real estate agents affiliated with Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. are independent contractor sales associates and are not employees of Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. Equal Housing Opportunity.

Fashion Issue: November 2020 | 83

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Ottomanelli & Sons 120 YEAR MANHATTAN NEIGHBORHOOD BUTCHERS

S

BY ELIZABETH ELSTON

ince 1900, the family-run butcher S. Ottomanelli & Sons Prime Meats has been a New York City staple. Now, with many New Yorkers waiting out the Covid-19 pandemic in the Hamptons, Ottomanelli is delivering its top-quality chops from Manhattan all the way to Montauk.

health,” says Frank Ottomanelli, who operates the innovative Ottomanelli Butcher/Restaurant concept in Woodside, Queens. “People want transparency.

They want Premium Quality All-Natural meats that are antibiotic free, steroid free, growth hormone free. I am making it easy for New Yorkers who are concerned about going into a shop right now to access that.”

“Right now, people are thinking about their

Over their 120 years in the business, the Ottomanelli

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name has become synonymous with the best dryaged steaks, pork, poultry, and wild game meats money can buy. Frank Ottomanelli continues that tradition today, cherry picking the best hanging beef from the best dealers in the business and delivery it anywhere in the New York City area.

“I’m dealing with some of the same vendors that my father dealt with in the 1940s,” says Ottomanelli.

“We’ve been doing it so long. We have these

relationships going back four and five generations and that means that we get to select the best quality.”

That old school approach to business even carries through into the digital age through Ottomanelli. com. When you order a prime aged porterhouse steak – or any other specialty item or steak – you’ll receive Ottomanelli’s signature service until the moment it arrives at your door.

Most meat delivery service companies use third party services to cut, pack or even freeze their meats for delivery. But when you place an order with Ottomanelli, Ottomanelli handles every step of your order in house. Your meat will be fresh cut and delivered same-day by an Ottomanelli driver in an Ottomanelli truck.

“Everybody outsources these days,” says Ottomanelli. “We never will because we refuse to compromise on quality. That’s why when someone buys an Ottomanelli steak, they aren’t buying a steak they are buying a taste of New York history,” says Ottomanelli. ottomanelli.com Fashion Issue: November 2020 | 85

taste

Taste of Hope VIRTUAL CULINARY EVENT

T

he American Cancer Society (ACS) will host the 15th annual Taste of Hope virtual celebration on Tuesday, November 10, 2020.

The event will celebrate New York City’s iconic restaurant industry and raise critical funds for cancer research and local patient service programs offered by ACS. This year’s Taste of Hope will recognize James Beard Award-winning culinary honorees, Chef Michael White (Marea) and Chef Joseph ‘JJ’ Johnson (Fieldtrip). Mark D. Friedman and Jamie

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BY ELIZABETH DARWEN Koff return as event co-chairs, and CBS News’ Chris Wragge returns at emcee.

The event will feature special appearances and performances by Sting, Giancarlo Esposito (The Mandalorian, Breaking Bad), Mario Cantone (Sex and the City), Chef Jean Georges (The Fulton), Chef Todd English (Figs), Chef Aaron Sanchez (MasterChef), former football player Harry Carson (HOF NY Giants), Amy Ryan (The Office), Peter Onorati (This is Us), Harry Lennix (Blacklist), Alysia Reiner (OITNB), David Alan Basche, Bobby Cannavale, and more. Event guests will

also have the opportunity to hear first-hand how cancer continues during the pandemic and the devastating impact covid-19 has had on life-saving programs and services from two time cancer survivor, communicator, Coach and Author of Make Room for Joy, Vanessa Joy Walker.

Taste of Hope is the American Cancer Society’s signature culinary, wine, and spirits event. In a normal year, Taste of Hope provides 700+ guests the opportunity to enjoy bites from New York City’s top restaurants and philanthropic chefs, and sips from leading winemakers and spirit brands.

Due to safety precautions, this year’s event will be a reimagined virtual party, celebrating the work of local chefs and New York City’s culinary community, and honoring cancer survivors and loved ones lost to cancer. A pre-show featuring cocktail demos from mixologists at Golden Grove Global and Pepsi Co will air at 6:45pm, and an after-party hosted by DJ Spin Diesel with livestreamed performances will immediately follow the main event.

“The American Cancer Society, like so many of New York City’s restaurants, has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. But cancer hasn’t stopped, so neither will we,” says Chloe Lipman, executive director for the American Cancer Society of Greater New York City. “On November 10, I want everyone to do two things: order dinner from your favorite local restaurant, and join us online as we fight cancer and celebrate the spirit of New York’s indomitable culinary industry at the first-ever virtual Taste of Hope.”

Now in its 15th year, Taste of Hope has raised over $1.8 Million to support the American Cancer Society’s mission and goal of eliminating cancer as a major health problem. There is no cost to attend this year’s virtual event, but a donation is requested. To register, visit TasteOfHopeNYC.org.

Attendees also will have the opportunity to bid on silent auction prizes donated from leading organizations including: a coveted table at Rao’s, 1-1 Private Virtual Cooking Demo with David Burke, Dinner for 10 Guests at their home with Chef Michael White, and more.

This year’s Taste of Hope executive committee includes Drew Blumenthal, Jennifer Cayetano, Gail Eissenstat, Nicole Filingeri, Juan Goulbourne, Rachel Halperin, Lizziee Jerez, Lauren Kaufman, Wayne Margolin, Melanie McManus, Sari Pollack, Kim Poulos, Meredith Rinn, Susan Santoro, Linda Shapiro, Scott Sheehy, Melissa Siegel, Brittany Stevenson, Jennifer Valentine, Vanessa Walker and Chelsea Whitney.

Taste of Hope sponsors include Arbill, Eurostruct Inc, KGI Design Group, Leumi Bank, McIntosh & Moon Strategies, Merrill Lynch Walters Bailey Associates, Olshan Frome Wolosky LLP. tasteOfHopeNYC.org Follow Taste of Hope on social media: Facebook: Facebook.com/TasteofHopeNYC Instagram: @TASTEOFHOPENYC Twitter: @ACSTasteOfHope Hashtag: #TOH2020 #15YearsOfHope Fashion Issue: November 2020 | 87

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The Baker House 1650 LUXURY HAMPTONS HOSPITALITY

E

ven in these different times, the vibrance and heartbeat of East Hampton hasn’t changed. Nestled right in the beautiful historic village you will find The Baker House 1650 – a 17th century English-inspired boutique Bed & breakfast. This award-winning property boasts the utmost levels in luxury and sumptuous amenities, which are available yearround. Incomparable to any other property, guests are welcomed by lush grounds, a stateof-the-art on-site spa, and fresh and lavish homemade breakfasts, served daily.

Antonella Bertello, who is a celebrated East Hampton entrepreneur and owner of The Baker

BY ELIZABETH ELSTON House 1650 notes her constant enjoyment in curating the experience for the guests. She lovingly renovated the estate and grounds, which have been beautifully landscaped and feature centuries old trees and expansive gardens. The Inn, which had to totally re-envision the standards in which they provide accommodation, have adapted and quite brilliantly, in fact. How properties have adapted to the COVID era outside of your home may seem daunting for many, but the adaptation in how amenities are provided at the Baker House promises a truly relaxing stay. From the minute you enter, the warm staff greet you and you are walked through the touchless check-in process.

The Baker House, which also kindly asks guests

to use masks in common areas and when they are unable to keep a safe social distance, have staff that are fully gloved, masked and who also wear protective shoe coverings when servicing a guest room. Guests are invited to enjoy either of the two outdoor pools in the warmer months and enjoy as well as the coveted complimentary beach passes - which also come with another special perk besides the access to some of the top beaches in the country: plush Frette beach towels, umbrellas and luxury beach lounge chairs.

The property which features sanitizer stations throughout and automatic dispensers for both soap and hand sanitizer is complimented by blooming white orchids and daily arrangements from their rose garden. A full breakfast is served Fashion Issue: November 2020 | 89

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daily by their personal chef. Guests will likely smell the fresh baked goods each morning and are given an array of delectable choices including fresh fruit and local farm-fresh eggs. Another unique touch to add to your stay is a visit to their honor-bar, which offers selection of the finest wines, liquors and beers.

The Baker House 1650 has blended comfort, safety and exquisite style both in their rooms and common areas for a truly unique experience.

Each guest room, which is uniquely decorated features touches in every corner. Seven rooms all perfectly appointed are spread out between the main house and include two large suites in the Baker Carriage House. Each featuring a private bath, curated mini bar selection and amenities

by Frette and L’Occitane. The style in each room is unique and accentuated by its location in the house. The Huntting Room in the main house features hand-hewn beams and a wood-burning fireplace facing the queen wooden frame bed with large windows overlooking the village green.

The Gardiner Room is light and airy with a view of the gardens and is decorated in pale yellow Morris & Co. papers and fabrics and features a luxurious king bed, a wood-burning fireplace and a two-person spa tub in the bathroom.

In the rear of the property, you will find The Baker Carriage House. Highlighted in tones of sands and beiges, its décor is reminiscent of the building’s original use as stable and includes hay doors and a spiral staircase, and features two exquisite suites. The Loft is a huge suite with a king size wooden sleigh bed, fireplace, surround sound, a separate living area with a fireplace and TV, a private terrace and a private bath with a two-person masseur tub.

Whether you are looking for an extended respite, or are planning a special occasion, The Baker House 1650 is the idyllic extensive property for both indoor and outdoor functions. The onsite concierge will handle and coordinate with local vendors for catering, event planning and more. The year-round inn offers a truly unique experience no matter what the season, making it a one-of-a-kind, and safe destination.

The Baker House 1650 181 Main Street East Hampton, NY 11937 (631)324-4081 www.bakerhouse1650.com 92 | MetMagNY.com | 25AMagazine.com

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Classiques Modernes ONE-OF-A-KIND MIGDALE CASTLE GOES ON THE MARKET

BY PETER ELSTON

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ne of Duchess County’s largest and most wellappointed mansions is now on the market and available for private tours.

four-year renovation by the owners. Today, the one-of-a-kind mansion is in excess of 34,000 square feet that spans four floors, 29 rooms, 10 bedrooms, 17 baths, 12 fireplaces and a professional kitchen.

In 1927, Migdale Castle in the tony New York suburb of Millbrook was completed for Margaret Carnegie Miller, the daughter and only child of Andrew Carnegie. Seated on the highest tract of land in the area to offer unparalleled woodland and Catskill mountain views, the estate was modeled after Carnegie’s Skibo Castle in Scotland.

“From the time you pass the majestic gates, the princely estate commands respect. Immediately you realize you are somewhere special, winding up the private driveway. The moment you catch a glimpse of the house, you are hit with a sense of arrival. You appreciate its architectural and historical significance–an American treasure and true trophy property,” says Classiques Modernes President and exclusive agent, Kenneth J. Moore.

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“I would describe the house as being divided into four wings–each for a different member of this family, each with its own personality,” adds Classiques Modernes’ lifestyle & realty expert, Loy Carlos. “Great care was also taken to restore the windows, the great hall and grand staircase to their former glory by importing stately materials from all over the world and covering the walls with exquisite French fabrics. Each room has a distinctive name–the Gold Room, the Red Room, the Blue Room, etc. It’s simply regal.”

On the main level overlooking the great lawn and breathtaking mountain views, the grand terrace was carved from bedrock to make a sweeping slope, envisioning a potential nine-hole golf

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course. Below an entire floor has been dedicated to luxurious amenities including a fully equipped spa featuring a treatment room, his and hers lockers, steam rooms and saunas and a hot tub. But the pièce de résistance is the indoor edgeless pool with a glass wall overlooking the great lawn – it’s the largest single pane ever built.

The pool also features “Desert Aire,” which keeps the temperature exactly two degrees above the water temperature so that you are never cold. It also boasts a 5,000-bottle wine cellar, 13-seat media room, large fitness room/studio, golf simulator, distinguished library, and a pub with an authentic bar imported from the United Kingdom.

“What people right away notice about the residence is that despite its enormous square footage, it doesn’t feel overwhelming,” observes Moore. About the land, Carlos adds that the abutting properties surrounding the estate are owned by Chanel’s Alain Wertheimer and Bulgari.

“It’s hundreds and hundreds of sublime acres exclusively owned by some of the wealthiest and most private people in the world.”

The expansive grounds -- which can be sold at a premium with an additional 175 acres to make nearly 400 acres – boasts multiple ponds with bridge walk ways to private islands; a 5,000-square-foot, three-bedroom gatehouse plus artist loft; a 10,000 square-foot, sixapartment staff house; and a tennis court. The estate also features eco-elements like a massive organic garden with greenhouse, an enormous chicken coop, orchards, crop fields, deer fields and hiking trails.

For more information contact Kenneth J. Moore at 646-580-4243 or email ken@ classiquesmodernes.com. classiquesmodernes.com/properties Fashion Issue: November 2020 | 99

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Renaissance Properties PANDEMIC LEASE RELIEF FOR NEW COMMERCIAL LEASES

BY LILLIAN LANGTRY

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he ownership team of Bradley and Kenneth Fishel of Renaissance Properties has announced that new leases signed will contain a provision allowing rent relief in the event of a future pandemic shutdown. “Tenants shouldn’t fear signing new leases due to a future stayat-home order. These lease provisions will provide comfort that they won’t have to continue to pay full rent for space they can’t use”, states Bradley Fishel, Vice President.

Under the lease provisions that Fishel provides, in the event a stay-at-home order is issued by the government, the first month of the order results in a 50% reduction in the rent, and the second month a 75% reduction. Thereafter all rent is abated until the stay-at-home order is lifted.

The Fishels have been busy adapting their portfolio of office buildings to the new reality of office leasing.

“The best way to lease space is to fully comply with all scientific recommendations” states Kenneth Fishel, President. “We have outfitted our historic properties with the best sanitizing equipment the industry has to offer. Our air conditioning systems have both MERV-13 filtration and ultraviolet lighting within the ductwork. But the most important attribute we offer are operable monumental windows throughout all spaces allowing cross ventilation of fresh air. And all our properties have fully fitted out roof decks”, states Fishel.

Their efforts have borne success in leasing in a challenging environment. Their flagship property at 632 Broadway has signed leases with Tumblr, Serengeti Asset Management, an un-named high fashion model/influencer, and HealthQuarters (in collaboration with Mount Sinai Hospital). At 264 West 40th Street leases have been signed with Asian Media Rights, CNM LLP, Pierce Mattie Public Relations, Kokolakis Contracting, Capital Signs and Darius Rose.

Their newest historic tower at 62 West 45 Street has

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undergone a full renovation, and leasing activity has been dynamic. Leases have been signed with financial firms EA Markets and Axio Financial, each of which have leased full floors.

“We’ve been busy re-investing in our high-quality buildings” states Bradley Fishel. “Our pricing is reflective of the actual market, our concession and TI packages encourage leasing, and we always pay our brokers promptly” Mr. Fishel proudly states.

The Fishels are represented by the JD Cohen leasing team at Newmark Knight Frank.

About Renaissance Properties: With an eye towards distressed assets, Renaissance specializes in value-add investments with a focus on Prewar Prime Properties. From commercial & retail building ownership, to leasing, management and construction, Renaissance has built its reputation on the superior capabilities and efficiency of its people, its most important

resource. With an emphasis on quality and attention to detail, Renaissance brings a high level of comfort and modern technology, including the most elegant build-outs and the fastest services to all of its treasured tenants. renaissancepropertiesny.com

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A Picturesque Fall 2020 STAYCATION AT THE SOUTHAMPTON INN

BY LILLIAN LANGTRY

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lthough galas, parties, concerts and fundraisers were cancelled, postponed or went virtual, autumn in Southampton is still divine. Crisp breezes begin to blow through the branches of leaves turning splendid gold shades as pumpkins are picked and ruby wines are sipped. With fall upon us, your cozy getaway by the beach awaits at the Southampton Inn. Located in the historic Village of Southampton on the East End of Long Island, the Tudor-style Inn offers 90 elegant guest rooms surrounded by magnificent estates, within walking distance of boutiques, museums, art galleries, and eateries.

The Southampton Inn: • Claude’s Restaurant unveiled its all new brunch menu and is now available Wednesday through Sunday from 11am to 2 pm. The award-winning restaurant will continue its breakfasts daily, as well intimate dinner parties, corporate events, and micro weddings for groups with less than 50 attendees.

• November is Thank You Month To First Responders, Health Care Workers And Veterans. Rooms for First Responders, Health Care Workers and Veterans are $100 per night double occupancy (limited availability) plus taxes and fee. (Valid ID needed upon check in) • Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and the Southampton Inn is offering a special package; $295 (+ tax and fees) per couple for an overnight guest room and 4-course delicious turkey dinner with all the trimmings, (soup, salad, entree, and pie). Seating limited to 50 people.

• Bicycle rentals with helmets and locks are available to guests through end of November (or weather permitting).

• The all-weather Tennis court is open and ready for play.

• Pets are welcome in the 16 pet friendly rooms.

• Bedside Reading bags of newly published books are offered to guests for your reading/relaxing in the library,

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on the lawns, patios, parks, beach, your guest room.... (while supplies last).

• Monthly room rentals for $3,500 (+ tax and fees) from November 2020 through March 2021 are available in lieu of house rentals (includes housekeeping, utilities, garbage removal, and available breakfasts).

• The Southampton Inn Fall Season rates are much reduced. Most dates have vacancies. Connecting rooms are available for family getaways. Rates midweek for November are $145 and from $145 to $200 (+ tax and fees) on weekends. Discounts available for stays of 3 nights or longer.

Around the Village: • Outdoor dining is offered at several Village eateries.

•The shops are open, welcoming, and merchandise on sale.

•The Southampton History Museum, Southampton Arts Center, and Southampton Cultural Center have COVID compliant exhibits and activities. Check website links to find the offerings and schedules.

• Hank’s Pumpkin Town is open daily. Go pumpkin picking or explore their Maze Park.

• Sears Bellows walking paths and hiking trails are open and welcoming.

• Farm stands are selling their fabulous fresh produce, homemade baked goods and candied apples.

• Wineries are open mostly by appointment for tours and tastings. southamptoninn.com.

Southampton Inn & Claude’s Restaurant 91 Hill Street, Southampton, NY 11968 For more information, visit www.southamptoninn.com F: @SouthamptonInn | T: @Southampton_Inn | I: @ Southampton_Inn

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Deana Concilio-Lenz

BY W. A. MULLER PHOTOGRAPHED BY SCOT T ROSENTHAL

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EANA CONCILIO-LENZ, BIOGRAPHY Deana Concilio-Lenz has been a successful executive producer, director and creative director and has been a force for her clients for over 20 years by marrying ideas, substance and art. Her multi-hyphenated talent has been about the visual; helping her clients see beyond their brand and into their own vision. She is proud to continue her journey from producer to interior design architect. For over 8 years, her company, Deana Lenz Interiors has been creating and visualizing new environments for her decor clientele across the country, bringing her distinct modern eye to clients while ensuring she understands what the client wants.

She then translates it into a timeless home. Deana Concilio-Lenz is proud to

have participated in Parsons, The New School for Design Decorative Arts and Architecture Masters Program.

Deana has been working with clients on the producer side and on the design side for many years. “My eye is trained to look for that special vintage piece and to capitalize on that for my client. My design style is to create a timeless home with distinct pieces by artisans which translates into an eclectic fresh look,” says Deana.

As a producer, Deana’s first instinct is to find the right lighting. When she first visits a client’s space, she hones in on the light in each room and then

studies extremity pieces which she feels can make a room feel special. She then builds on that visual, “most people build from the rug up, but I do it the other way around,” adds Deana.

Not every piece looks the same but there is a purpose to it. It is about textures and textiles, using the light that you see in other environments. “I love to combine mid-century pieces with heirlooms that enhance symmetry.

Sculpted pieces also give the room a sense of depth and uniqueness.

The structure and bones of the space are key if a client loves or dislikes something,” explains Deana. Deana also knows how to guide and nurture a client if they are not sure about their own tastes.

incorporated into the new space. Metal accents are like a piece of jewelry. I search out quality pieces and then may decide to incorporate vintage, reupholster furniture or add a key element.

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Deana uses handmade pieces by local artists that help bring every room she designs to life.

Conceptualizing and executing is what DLI does best. As a producer for A-list clients: Kanye West, Sheryl Crow, Billy Joel, Julianne Moore and many others, Deana uses those special techniques to initiate visual concepts for final design. She tours the room, finds textiles and then thinks about colors and coordinates these efforts with her clients. She listens to her client’s needs and how can we maximum their vision as well. If they don’t care for a certain color or textile she knows how to pivot and reevaluate the room. My work is not in a traditional vain , it is more about creating spaces for clients who necessarily want a home that is calm.

As an interior designer, Deana is nimble and can change pieces or add something different that offers an extra touch of distinction that clients crave whether at the start or at the end of a project.

“Creating homes for people brings comfort, especially now. I have designed and executed many kitchens renovations. I am always nurtured by those projects because kitchens are always the focus of family gatherings. Envisioning vignettes in every room is my specialty, finding pieces that are interchangeable is part of the process that I love,” says Deana.

Design trends evolve and change every year. DLI specializes in projects that display the meaning behind important antiques. That is a great way to display pieces that have meaning and evoke positive emotions. It also creates a lovely balance of traditional and contemporary.

How Deana works is truly unique due to her work as a producer. What comes first: the paint, color palette or the furniture? “The color palette is first for me. I pick out textiles or patterns. My method is to work solids first and then weave in patterns. I found a cutout velvet that I loved and I am putting that on an original Mid-Century bench that will live against the foot of the bed for a new project I am working on,” says Deana.

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Priorities for clients are what Deana establishes from the start. She listens to what they don’t want first and then learns about how her unique collectable design style would work for them.

She executes what they say by being patient and understanding their needs. “I always look at the environment to pinpoint the original bones of the room, that is a priority for me. It is what my eye focuses on, I don’t look at blocks of color, I look at color schemes and how this can be

Outdoor/landscape architecture and foraging is changing, outdoor living space is more important right now. DLI focuses on bringing that outdoor feeling inside! “I just found vintage ceramic 1920’s planters and used them in an office. They added an extra special touch that made the room come to life,” adds Deana.

During difficult times people are becoming more domestic and relying on their homes as a sanctuary. We are looking forward to creating spaces that exude comfort and elegance, no matter what the landscape is.

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Gabriela Gil TIME AND SPACE

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BY LILLIAN LANGTRY ainter, sculptor, and former dancer Gabriela Gil has announced her first New York solo exhibition. The Honduras-born, NYC-based artist will show the first volume of her “Time and Space” series starting Thursday, December 3 through Sunday, December 20, 2020 in Soho which will be shown in-person and virtually. Gabriela explains, “Timing is important in this project, because I am purposely taking advantage of the Covid lockdowns to present this body of work in creative ways.”

“I’ve been working on this series for two years,” Gil says.

“My previous work was more figurative, and this new series breaks away from the figure completely. This is making way to abstract work that explores line, color and rhythm.”

In volume one of the series, Gil will show roughly 20 highly detailed miniature sets, inspired by the handmade nativity scenes she saw as a child in Latin America, each with small paintings. The miniatures will then be displayed alongside large-scale paintings from the series.

Despite having worked on the project for years, Gil says that the Covid-19 pandemic recontextualized her vision.

She says that she is leaning into the fact that people have been exposed to high levels digital content during the Covid-19 lockdown – the time during which she created the second half of the series.

“We are all consuming content on this tiny screen,” she says. “So, the idea was to create a play on perception.

A lot of my paintings in this series are really big. I wanted the virtual exhibition itself to become an artwork.”

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Gil has moved throughout South and North America for her entire life and that “constant migration” shaped her multicultural perspective and nurtured her “interest in art as a way to transcribe personal experience using a unique visual language.” This series is heavily inspired by Latin America - its colors, its textures, its dances, its nature, and its warmth. However, I wouldn’t say

this series encompasses my whole Latin American experience. Maybe another way to put it is that I am exploring my roots or going back to my roots with Time and Space, with the intention of building from there.

different place without really going?” she says.

“And if I can only show the content virtually, on the tiny screen, then why not flip it on its head, go all the way and do something that would be harder to do in real life at a physical showing.”

“I thought, if we can’t actually go somewhere physically, what is a way we can travel to a

gabrielagil.com

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Mickalene Thomas AN ICONIC CULTURAL ‘REMIXER’

BY RACHEL VANCELET TE

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alling 49-year-old artist Mickalene Thomas’ ascension in the art world ‘meteoric’ is an understatement.

Her works in the mediums of photography, collage, and printmaking are today exhibited all over the globe to rave reviews and reside coveted in numerous prestigious collections. A momentous transformation in her artwork occurred after receiving a critical letter in her first year at Yale University, which she said abruptly moved her into a contemporary and, most agree, irresistible style. “At that time it was horrible, you felt you were singled out as a failure,” she said. “But in retrospect it was fantastic, and I’ve noticed that most of us who got those letters saw a dynamic shift in our work.” Thomas was given her first real show in Chicago at the Rhona Hoffman Gallery, 2006, but she really exploded on the scene in 2012, after her work became recognized, was featured in several notable magazines, and she was taken on by Lehmann Maupin’’s gallery in

Naomi Looking Forward #2, 2016 (detail) Rhinestones, acrylic, enamel and oil on wood panel 84 × 132 in.

(213.4 × 335.3 cm) Purchase, acquired through the generosity of the Contemporary and Modern Art Council of the Norton Museum of Art, 2016.245a-b © 2018 Mickalene Thomas / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York Fashion Issue: November 2020 | 113

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Mickalene Thomas, Le Dejeuner sur l’herbe: Les trois femmes noires (detail), 2010. Rhinestones, acrylic, and enamel on wood panel, 304.8 x 731.5 cm. The Rachel and Jean-Pierre Lehmann Collection © Mickalene Thomas The painting re-casts the Three Graces from Greek Mythology as African American Women dressed in 70’s clothing …she “introduces a complex vision of what it means to be a woman and expands common definitions of beauty...”

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NYC. Before that, Thomas was commissioned in 2010 for The Museum of Modern Art’s restaurant window where, on a massive scale, she remade Manet’s 1863 “Le Déjeuner Sur l’herbe,” replacing the idealized picnic scene with three stylish African American women. Ian Alteveer, the Met curator said of her work. “It’s seductive while at the same time it is meant to reference the street, the city, fashion, and memory.”

To create her compelling collage paintings, she has borrowed likenesses and poses from established masters such as Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, Edouard Manet, Henri Matisse, and Romare. For Mickalene’s more explicit, and some say sensitive work, she owes a particular debt to Gustave Courbet, the 19th-century French realist. Mickalene says, “If I wanted to be controversial, I would have used photographs.

But I’m not interested in being so literal and direct. Paintings give you more room for illusion and fantasy, more room to discover things.”

Thomas begins her imaginative painting process with carefully choreographed and curated photographs she styles and stages herself. Hours are spent on every detail from background layout to individual subject styling before the photoshoot even begins. Depending on the medium she chooses, her dazzling collage portraits include the use of superimposed oils, enamel, acrylics, the ever-present Swarovski crystals, and rhinestones

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Mickalene Thomas, Qusuquzah Lounging with Pink + Black Flower, 2016, rhinestones, acrylic, and oil on wood panel. ©MICKALENE THOMAS/ARTISTS RIGHTS SOCIETY (ARS), NEW YORK/PRIVATE COLLECTION

which can define both the subjects and the surface of the paintings. An Australian university experience in 1998 infused her work with certain aboriginal influences, although most of her contemporary art seems inspired by other popular art eras mirroring muses from Pop Art, Neo-Impressionism, Pointillism, including Cubism, Dada, and the Harlem Renaissance movements. The rhinestones create something more than just bling, says curator Lisa Melandri, “In portraits her use of rhinestones becomes 116 | MetMagNY.com | 25AMagazine.com

this highlighting mechanism for the eyes and lips, creating shimmer or dynamism,…“But in landscapes it’s not just decorative — it makes spaces that move in and out and makes you think about the light on the furniture.”

Mickalene Thomas, with nuanced rebelliousness, consistently excels with her notso-subtle character re-creations and pointed symbolism, expressing both the personal and the collective Black experience. She is

generating quite consciously a new culturally diverse art experience whose influence is now often imitated. Inside the art world, critics are cheering her all-inclusiveness, and outside the art world, she is seen as a Superstar. Michelle Obama sat for her in 2010 and for the past 10 years, her focus has drifted toward the creation of striking portraits in which her women subjects challenge the stereotypical Black body types seen in 19th Century artworks. Her aesthetic presents a curvaceous, brassy and bold African

American beauty staged in classical historical poses. As a way of self-expression and also to play with the idea of portraiture, she made the decision to assert her own personal preferences and power by using her own body in some of her work. Truly an original Remixer for the modern African American generation and culture, this brash, fearless artist remains a force of nature – clearly with the wind at her back.

Thomas received a BFA from the Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY, in 2000 and an MFA from Yale University School of Art, New Haven, CT, in 2002. She has been awarded multiple prizes and grants, including the USA Francie Bishop Good & David Horvitz Fellow (2015); Brooklyn Museum Asher B. Durand Award (2012); and the Timehri Award for Leadership in the Arts (2010), the BOMB Magazine Honor (2015), MoCADA Artistic Advocacy Award (2015), AICA-USA Best Show in a Commercial Space Nationally, First Place (2014), Anonymous Was A Woman Grant (2013), Audience Award: Favorite Short, Second Annual Black Star Film Festival (2013), She is represented by Lehmann Maupin in New York; Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects; Kavi Gupta in Chicago and Galerie Nathalie Obadia in Paris. Thomas’s prolific body of work is held in many collections, including 21c Museum, Akron Art Museum, Allen Memorial Art Museum, Art Institute of Chicago, Baltimore Museum of Art, Boca Raton Museum of Art, Brooklyn Museum, Honolulu Museum of Art, International Center of Photography, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Museum of Modern Art, National Portrait Gallery, Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, New York Public Library, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Rubell Family Collection, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Seattle Art Museum, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Studio Museum in Harlem, Taschen Collection, Mikki and Stanley Weithorn Collection, Whitney Museum of American Art, West Collection, and Yale University Art Gallery.

For more insider Quickfire Tips: @rvancelette Fashion Issue: November 2020 | 117

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Dr. Samuel Waxman

THE ICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI

BY LILLIAN LANGTRY

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amuel Waxman, M.D. founder and CEO of the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation (SWCRF) received the prestigious Jacobi Medallion from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. The health system recognized Dr. Waxman and eight others for making significant contributions to medicine in a virtual ceremony held this week.

This prestigious recognition represents Dr. Waxman’s dedication to clinical and research excellence, and the trust placed in him by so many throughout his distinguished career as an oncologist, hematologist, research scientist, founder, and CEO of the SWCRF. In his acceptance speech, Dr. Waxman talked about an early discovery by a virologist at Mount Sinai at the time, who discovered that differentiation therapy could be used to correct a vitamin deficiency related to pernicious anemia.

“That got me so excited I changed my direction from the B12 Folate deficiencies to the belief that we could bring a differentiation therapy to leukemia. That provided new resources and support. The institution [Mount Sinai] stood behind me. But more than any other, the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation provided the sources and resources to recruit people here and elsewhere to make a form of leukemia, Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia (APL) become a curable disease because it was due to a vitamin a deficiency as a result of a gene mistake. This is an amazing clinical outcome, and I’ve been on that quest to do this to other forms of cancer.”

“Sam Waxman has been a great oncologist and hematologist of Mount Sinai for decades.

He has formed the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation. He has help fund hundreds of research projects that has led to new ideas

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about the causes of serious forms of cancer and the developments of new treatments,” said Dennis S. Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and President for Academic Affairs, Mount Sinai Health System.

Dr. Waxman’s passion for curing cancer and research started with the idea that collaboration - across expertise, research institutions, and even national borders - is the key to breaking down barriers and achieving more breakthroughs.

His collegial approach and transparency led to, at the time, an unprecedented research collaboration in China that successfully used differentiation therapy as a less-toxic and more effective form of treatment for APL. That treatment cures more than 95% of patients with APL and is widely used to this day.

From this early landmark achievement, Dr. Waxman’s collaborative research led to many more discoveries that have improved the lives of those dealing with cancer.

The Jacobi Medallion is one of Mount Sinai’s highest awards to recognize its alumni for distinguished achievements in medicine.

“I am delighted to accept this award with my wife loving wife, Marion, who has been with me during my tenure at Mount Sinai. It started in 1963 when I started here as an intern. I was fortunate to have the support of amazing colleagues both in the clinic as well as in the lab,” said Dr. Waxman.

“Mount Sinai has gone from a wonderful hospital to a world-class medical school and health care system. It is a model in New York City and around the world.” waxmancancer.org

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NEW YORK SOCIAL SCENE A BROKERS SHOWING, A DISCO BALL, HELPING ANIMALS, & A GOLF TOURNAMENT

By Clara Morgan

Renaissance Properties hosted an exclusive brokers event on the rooftop of the recently renovated historic commercial space in Noho: Bradley Fishel, Maria Fishel, Kenneth Fishel ©Matteo Prandoni/BFA

Jarad Winter, Matthew Augarten at Renaissance Properties exclusive brokers event in Noho ©Matteo Prandoni/BFA

Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation gave donors the Patti LaBelle performs at Gabrielle’s Angel chance to relive the Studio 54 days at a Virtual Foundation’s Virtual Disco Party Disco Party. Guests raised over $1 million to fund ©Getty Images critical cancer research as host DJ Cassidy kept them dancing all night: Denise Rich ©Getty Images

Philanthropist Jean Shafiroff hosted a special fundraiser for the Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation (SASF) at NAIA Restaurant at the Capri Hotel in Southampton, NY: Jean and Martin Shafiroff ©Rob Rich/Society Allure 120 | MetMagNY.com | 25AMagazine.com

Raya and Clifton Knight at Jean Shafiroff’s fundraiser for the Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation (SASF) ©Rob Rich/Society Allure

Darrell Handler, Kenneth Fishel, JD Cohen at Renaissance Properties exclusive brokers event in Noho ©Matteo Prandoni/BFA

Nile Rodgers performs at Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation’s Virtual Disco Party ©Getty Images

The Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation (SWCRF) held its 38th Annual Golf Tournament at the scenic Fresh Meadow Country Club in Lake Success, NY: Samuel Waxman MD, Ann Liguori ©Charles E. Manley

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