ELYSIAN Winter 2018-19

Inspiring Women. Inspired Living.

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ELYSIAN Volume 3 • Issue 4 • hiver 2018

Bacall

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The starlet who deemed “the look” was more than just a pretty face with a sullen voice. She was an “Independent Woman.” BY LAURIE BOGART WILES

FEATURES

Xaviera Simmons

We talked to the renowned artist about her newest work and what she wants viewers to understand about the scope of American history.

BY LATRIA GRAHAM

A Room with a View From the Swiss Alps to Lake Tahoe, these exquisite winter estates are luxurious from surroundings to floor plan.

BY JENNA REALMUTO

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Inspiring Women Karen Abercrombie page 78 Faith Hope Consolo page 84 Donna Rice Hughes page 90 Daphna Smolka page 96 INTERVIEWED BY KAREN FLOYD

Marc Bohan for Christian Dior, Pollock dress. Long printed faille evening gown. Haute Couture Fall-Winter 1986.

DIOR

The Paris Couture House Holds its First U.S. Retrospective at the Denver Art Museum.

BY KATIE WEISMAN

“

I wanted to be considered a good craftsman. I wanted my dresses to be constructed like buildings, molded to the curves of the female form, stylizing its shape.

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travel

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Bring your bucket list to Banff. BY ANGELA CARAWAY-CARLTON

health&fitness Hit the slopes for better health. BY ANGIE COMER

beauty

DEPARTMENTS

fashion

New York City and its unique decadence. BY FAITH HOPE CONSOLO

Rolling out the signs of aging. BY AMY ZIMMER

wellness food

Avoiding holiday weight gain. BY DR. KATHERINE BIRCHENOUGH Ralph Lauren’s Polo Bar. BY MAKAYLA GAY

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inspired living A very Wilkins winter. BY RHONDA WILKINS

philanthropy sport

Transforming loss into legacy. BY LISA RUBENSON

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Melissa Ganzi: The snow queen of the sport of kings. BY SUE WEAKLEY

the getaway young creator

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Hôtel de Glace. BY BAKER MAULTSBY

RBC painting competition winner Amanda Boulos. BY MAKAYLA GAY

on the town

Fashion Group International’s Night Of Stars, NYC.

the cover

Lily Webster of Spartanburg, South Carolina was photographed

by Donald Latham. Hair and makeup by Tiffany Brown.

the backstory

More on Lily Webster and how ELYSIAN is empowering talent.

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E publisher

Karen Floyd editor-in-chief

Ryan Stalvey

c h i e f o p e r at i n g o f f i c e r

Katherine O’Neill managing editor

Abby Deering

editorial director

Rita Allison

c r e at i v e d i r e c t o r

Carmen Thomas media director

Rob Springer

director of photography

Donald Latham

advertising director

Cathy Williams CMG Marketing and Events (843)410.2739 x101 n at i o n a l s a l e s d i r e c t o r

Nancy Cooper comptroller

President

of

D i g i ta l O p e r at i o n s

Taylor Brown

d i r e c t o r o f d i g i ta l c o n t e n t

Jenna Realmuto

a s s i s ta n t a r t d i r e c t o r

Tammy Owens inspired living

Rhonda Wilkins inspiring women

Karen Floyd columnists

Katherine Birchenough, MD, Angie Comer Faith Hope Consolo, Amy Zimmer senior writers

Angela Caraway-Carlton Lisa Rubenson, Katie Weisman contributing writers

Michelle Breeze, Makayla Gay, Latria Graham, Baker Maultsby, Jenna Realmuto Sue Weakley copy editors

Diane High, Hadley Inabinet, Phil Randall style director

Angie Woodard

production stylist

Tiffany Brown

ELYSIAN Magazine (Vol. 3, No. 3) is published four times per year by Palladian Publications LLC, 113 W. Main St., Spartanburg, SC 29306.

For subscription information, call 888-329-9534; visit subscriptions@elysianservice.com; mailing address: Subscription Service, Elysian Magazine PO Box 2172, Williamsport, PA 17703 All rights reserved. Printed in the USA.

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From top: New ELYSIAN Editor-in-Chief Ryan Stalvey heads the Wednesday morning meeting. Carmen Thomas moves pins new layouts to the imposition board. Abby Deering and Katherine O’Neill discuss look over proofs. Diane High copy edits the Winter issue.

Jenna Realmuto and Kristin Eastwood arrive at the ELYSIAN offices at 113 West Main Street.

Kristin Eastwood

LAST YEAR’S WORDS BELONG TO “ FOR LAST YEAR’S LANGUAGE. AND NEXT

YEAR’S WORDS AWAIT ANOTHER VOICE. AND TO MAKE AN END IS TO MAKE A BEGINNING. — T.S. ELIOT

”

s we mark new beginnings in 2019, we welcome an ELYSIAN that is redesigned and reimagined.

We believe that next year’s words not just await but require another voice. ELYSIAN strives for relevance, constant change and adaptation. The decisions of our readers to live intentionally, make inspired choices and connect with and respond to the world-at-large are mirrored in the pages of our magazine. We credit our new Editor-in-Chief, Ryan Stalvey, for leading the coverto-cover reformation. In his words, “Visually, a good magazine should scream at, as well as whisper, to the viewer. Or rather, there should be a contrast of in-your-face, bold and dynamic layouts interplayed with pages of subtle design where the artwork is allowed to speak for itself.”

Journey with us as we fold change into ELYSIAN while steadfastly encouraging our readers to find their unique path. Through the stories of Inspiring Women, we continue to spread examples of achievement, spark conversation and acknowledge the responsibility all women have to the next generation. With our Inspired Living features, defined by deliberate, spirited and bold living, we are able to bring to life the passions and pastimes of our readers and connect them with original viewpoints.

Inspiring Women. (Anecdotal stories) At the crux of ELYSIAN is the power of storytelling. With the potency of narrative alive and vibrant throughout the magazine, four women share elements of complex lives through anecdotes of struggles and successes that truly inspire. These women herald from diverse backgrounds and careers—acting, business, not-for-profit and caregiving—and span distinct corners of the United States—California, Washington D.C., New York and Florida. Each shares her story, encouraging the reader through authentic life experiences.

Inspiring Women have grown to a veritable number, and thus, we have formed the ELYSIAN Circle, comprised of influential thought leaders, CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, Pulitzer Prize-winning authors, former and current Ambassadors, media personalities and beyond. Circle Women lift up the next generation through intentional acts. In this issue, our cover model Lily Webster is given profound advice by the Chairman of Douglas Elliman’s Retail Leasing, Marketing and Sales Division. A former model herself, Faith Hope Consolo “pays it forward” by including Lily in Fashion Group International’s Night of Stars in New York. From Faith to Lily, it is a perfect Circle.

Inspired Living. (Deliberate, spirited and bold) Our feature stories in this issue bring a greater representation of voices and women-centric perspectives to our readers. We explore the work of two contemporary artists who interrogate experience, memory and identity. Amanda Boulos reconstructs stories from her Lebanese-Palestinian upbringing, and Xaviera Simmons examines and unpacks the threads that form AfricanAmerican narratives.

With a nod to the past, this issue fuses the contemporary with the nostalgic. Laurie Bogart Wiles, niece of Humphrey Bogart, writes about the life and career of Lauren Bacall, dazzling us with visions of old Hollywood; and at the Denver Art Museum, we delve into the Christian Dior retrospective and the origins of haute couture.

Finally, what would a winter issue be without the splendor and excitement of the snowy season? Read about the glamor and sophistication of the St. Regis World Snow Polo Tournament in Aspen and allow us to transport you to destinations from Lake Tahoe to Quebec City to the iconic Swiss town of Zermatt.

Let the new year and our new look inspire you to reframe your dreams and reset your goals.

Welcome 2019! Welcome a new ELYSIAN!

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Karen Floyd Publisher

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SHOP & EXPLORE

STEP INTO THE WORLD OF ELYSIAN Experience ELYSIAN beyond the printed page through interactive augmented reality using your smartphone or tablet. Shop, watch videos, view galleries, visit websites and dive deeper into our pages than ever before.

Look for the interactive symbol interactive journey.

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on our pages, then follow the simple instructions below to begin your

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New York City and its Unique Decadence

BY FAITH HOPE CONSOLO

K-Beauty Kicking it Mainstream

Innisfree, the South Korean skincare and cosmetics brand, opened its first storefront in the United States last fall—right in the heart of New York City’s Union Square, 862 Broadway. The Amorepacificowned cult-fave focuses on naturally derived ingredients, specifically sourced from the volcanic, mineral-rich ecosystem of Jeju Island. The store not only boasts hundreds of products, but it also features a creative and immersive make-up experience. The space is packed with Instagrammable moments; the temperature is cool to mimic an ocean breeze, and it is scented with the brand’s signature green tea scent; and shoppers can marvel at a 21-foot-tall living green wall to illustrate the brand’s Jeju Island heritage. Growing its presence, Innisfree will open its second U.S. location at 750 Lexington Avenue, one of the premier retail corridors in the country. This urban oasis offers a sensorial escape into beauty land!

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Dine and Shop à la Paris

Located inside the exclusive Roman and Williams Guild store in Soho, retail restaurant La Mercerie by Chef Marie-Aude Rose celebrates the thoughtful delight of everyday French cooking. The café serves breakfast, an all-day menu, craft cocktails and an all-French wine list. Mercerie is the French word for haberdashery, and everything in the restaurant is for sale, from the artisanal dinnerware to the flatware and tables. At the end of the meal, guests are presented with a custom card featuring a selection of items available for purchase with same-day delivery available. This one-of-a-kind food destination offers a slice of Paris in Soho... and not just croissants!

SHOP & EXPLORE

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Diamonds, Sapphires and Emeralds, Oh My!

Earlier this summer, Saks Fifth Avenue’s flagship at 611 Fifth Avenue unveiled a fully renovated jewelry department that spotlights a mix of modern innovators and established brands. Called “Jewelry on 2,” the 7,000-square-foot extravagant enclave houses creations from more than forty jewelry designers in counters and shop-in-shops and has a pair of private VIP rooms where clients can sit down to discuss repairs and develop custom designs. The jewelry lineup features a mix of the established and new: Amali, Anita Ko, Aurélie Bidermann, David Webb, David Yurman, Gurhan, ILA Jewelry, Ippolita, Jacquie Aiche, John Hardy, Marco Bicego, MeiraT, Mikimoto, Mizuki, Pomellato, Roberto Coin, Temple St. Clair and Zoë Chicco. Additional renovations are under way for the lower level space to be transformed into a destination for top-tier jewelry called “The Vault,” set to open next year.

It will be a shopping experience that is not duplicated anywhere else in the country. This majestic home for bodacious baubles will not disappoint!

LUXURY IS ALL ABOUT ACCESS, AND NEW YORK CITY IS THE PLACE FOR CUSTOMIZED EXPERIENCES, DESTINATION SHOPPING AND DINING THAT CAN BE FOUND NOWHERE ELSE. E

SHOP & EXPLORE

Futuristic Fashion

In the Seaport District, Milanese luxury concept fashion boutique 10 Corso Como recently opened their doors on the first floor of the Fulton Market Building at 1 Fulton Street. This marks an important milestone for the neighborhood’s transformation into a fashion, cultural, culinary and entertainment hub. The boutique features an Italian café/ restaurant, fashion, design objects and books, a garden and an art gallery with shop-in-shop boutique brands such as Comme des Garçons, Maison Margiela, exclusive Gucci, Balenciaga and Prada.

The high concept store offers a curated selection of fashion, furniture, homeware and other accessories, displayed among a mix of artwork and installations sure to revitalize this historic neighborhood.

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Home Furnishings Extraordinaire

In the Meatpacking District, Restoration Hardware (RH) debuted their new flagship RH New York, The Gallery at the intersection of Little West 12th Street, Ninth Avenue and Gansevoort Street. The store has six floors with curated room spaces or vignettes dedicated to the entire RH aesthetic, including RH Interiors, Modern, Outdoor, Baby & Child and Teen. There is also a demarcated interior design atelier with five glass-enclosed private workspaces, a roof-top restaurant with outdoor terrace seating, as well as a separate barista haven. The next-generation design blurs the lines between residential and retail, indoors and outdoors, physical and digital, making for an innovative, immersive masterpiece that exudes a gallery feel more than a store, pushing the boundaries of what furniture shopping can and should be.

SHOP & EXPLORE

Whether you are shopping for diamonds or searching for skin care, New York’s newest shops and restaurants are laden with luxury in their own unique ways. ■

Faith Hope Consolo is chairman of Douglas Elliman’s Retail Division in New York. Respected worldwide as the ‘Queen of Retail,’ Consolo’s forecast on shopping and retail landscapes are heeded by designers, global brands, start-up boutiques, property owners and municipalities around the world. She has her finger on the pulse of the retail scene in New York City and the world’s greatest urban and suburban streets to shopping and lifestyle centers. An expert in trend-spotting, Consolo is the source for industry notables and neophytes.

Her extensive client base includes top-tier fashion, jewelry and beauty names such as Alexis Bittar, Bond No. 9, CADAR, Ferragamo, Fresh, Robert Clergerie and Yves Saint Laurent.

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Un dévouement à la qualité ancré dans la tradition.

Winemaker Laetitia Billiot, of Champagne house H. Billiot Fils, located in the Grand Cru village of Ambonnay in France’s Champagne region, embodies the intention of her importer, crafting Champagne made to make one take pause. At once expressive and thoughtful, lush and vibrant, her Champagnes capture purity and the heart of terroir, offering luxury in quiet contemplation.

Distributed by esteemed importer and distributor Skurnik Wines

&

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PHOTOGRAPH BY PAUL ZIZKA

bring your bucket list to banff

BY ANGELA CARAWAY-CARLTON

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hile steadily, and somewhat breathlessly, hiking up the trail of Tunnel Mountain— Banff’s smallest and easiest summit—I stop to appreciate one of the many astounding panoramas. As my eyes eagerly take in the beauty of the Bow Valley below, I’m startled when a woman suddenly scurries over the side of the rocks; one-by-one, a group of climbers effortlessly follows suit.

One day later, we buzz through the sky in a helicopter, gasping at glaciers, snowcapped mountains and a turquoise-hued lake. That’s the beauty of the Canadian Rockies: no day is ordinary or the same. Locals and visiting adventurers choose to scale a rock or rocket down a steep ski slope rather than settle for mundane vacation activities.

Located in Banff National Park, west of Calgary in the province of Alberta, Banff and Lake Louise will transfix you with their natural beauty and constantly nudge you out of your comfort zone with their arsenal of activities. Here, we’ve put together a guide to experiencing the best of Banff and beyond—can’t you just smell the fresh alpine air? ■

WILD & FREE

Heli-hiking. For a heart-pounding helicopter ride over Rocky Mountain peaks and spectacular glaciers, adrenaline junkies should reserve a bucket-list tour with Rockies Heli Canada. Depending on the season, guides will expertly land next to a stream and take guests on a hike through a peaceful forest to a dual waterfall where they’ll break out the bubbly for a toast to an epic adventure. rockiesheli.com Dogsledding. It will feel like a dreamy holiday movie during this must-do adventure with Kingmik Dog Sled Tours. After you’re snugly tucked inside the sled, eager Alaskan huskies will take you on a thrilling ride through the powdery forest to see some of the park’s most stunning scenery, including Kicking Horse Pass at the Continental Divide. It’s especially magical after a fresh snowfall. kingmikdogsledtours.com Ski or Snowshoe. While skiing is king in the winter, a snowshoe tour allows you to slow down and soak up the peace of the white-cloaked forest. Escape to Lake Louise Ski Resort which boasts 4,200 skiable acres of world-class terrain. Take a 14 minute gondola ride to the top of Mount Whitehorn to walk among the snow-covered spruce and subalpine firs and stop for breathtaking vantage points of the Canadian Rockies. skilouise.com Ice Skating. Drive an hour north to famous Lake Louise, where the normally mesmerizing turquoise lake is frozen solid and transformed into a winter wonderland for ice skaters. Considered one of the grandest rinks in the world, skaters can glide across the ice with views of Victoria Glacier or skate under the stars at night. (By Christmas, the hotel builds a towering ice castle on the rink.) Escape the cold and cozy up at a coveted window seat at the posh Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise. fairmont.com/lake-louise

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Once a wild outpost at the end of the Canadian Pacific Railway, today, Lake Louise and the nearby area offer some of the finest hiking, skiing and site-seeing in the world.

PHOTOGRAPH BY PAUL ZIZKA OPPOSITE PAGE: HELICOPTER: DARREN ROBERTS HIKER: JAKE DYSON SKIER: REUBEN KRABBE

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REJUVENATION BREAK

With all the extreme adventuring, you’ve earned some well-deserved pampering. Head to Banff Upper Hot Springs, Canada’s highest-elevation hot springs, where the steaming, mineral-rich waters are medicine for tired muscles. Arrive in the morning or at dinner time to beat the crowds. hotsprings.ca For the ultimate indulgence, book a spa treatment at the serene Willow Stream Spa— you’ll want to carve out extra time to soak in the spa’s mineral pool and let the pulsating waterfalls pound away tension. In downtown Banff, Cedar & Sage is a Zen-like respite where rubdowns are done with cedar and sage essential oils, known for their relaxing properties. Couples should book the Grand Wetaskiwin treatment, which includes bouncing between the cedar infrared sauna and contrasting hot-and-cold-showers, along with a decadent 90-minute massage. fairmont.com/banff-springs/ willow-stream; banffsholisticlounge.com

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PHOTOGRAPH BY KELLY MACDONALD

CRAVING CULTURE

Banff is one of the few mountain towns to offer inspiring culture—and its beloved gem is the 85-year-old Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. While located just minutes from bustling downtown, the centre feels like its own peaceful world, nestled in a forest and flanked by mountains. It functions as a creative hub and is home to a series of 50 huts where artists of all disciplines, from all parts of the world, come to practice and perfect their craft. One of the most unique nooks: a boat where famous author Yann Martel, who penned “Life of Pi,” spent time working. Banff Centre offers a full calendar of cultural events, but its shining star every fall is the Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival. The nine-day event is spread out over the centre’s four theaters, and tickets go fast for films and readings from trail-blazing authors, photographers and filmmakers showcasing thrilling adventures and mountain culture. banffcentre.ca

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ELEVATED CUISINE

Discovered in 1884 and set against the Alpine backdrop of Banff National Park, the historic Upper Hot Springs has all the amenities of a modern spa and bath house.

Divine Dining, Stunning Views. Tucked away on the campus of Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, Three Ravens Restaurant & Wine Bar’s artfully prepared dishes and enchanting views of the mountains meeting the sky, will compete for your attention. The executive chef focuses on regional produce and impresses with dishes like creamy apple and celery soup, a perfectly cooked elk rack served with organic quinoa, green bean succotash topped with parsnip chips and melt-in-your-mouth bison with candied fingerling yams. banffcentre.ca/three-ravens-restaurant-wine-bar Dine Like the Swiss. At Ticino, a family-owned Swiss-Italian gem that’s been around since 1979, you’ll find real-deal cheese fondue made with a mixture of imported Gruyère and Emmental (you’ll have to seriously contain yourself from scraping the pot), along with made-from-scratch dishes such as gnocchi with house-smoked duck breast in a walnut sauce and osso bucco made with slow-braised Alberta elk. ticinorestaurant.com Pinkies Up. For a regal afternoon, make reservations for high tea at Banff’s grand dame, Fairmont Banff Springs. Inside The Rundle Lounge, which is also an essential meeting place for après-ski cocktails, you’ll sip a variety of teas and nosh on savory scones, dainty finger sandwiches and more. fairmont.com/banff-springs

PHOTOGRAPH BY NOEL HENDRICKSON

Aside from inspiring views, the Three Ravens Restaurant and Wine Bar features exceptional dining inspired by creativity, sustainability and culinary diversity.

WHERE to STAY

Standing majestically above Bow Falls and located within walking distance to downtown Banff, the historic Fairmont Banff Springs offers 764 rooms and suites that extend sweeping views of the nearby mountains and scenic Bow Valley.

Designed after a Scottish baronial castle, guests will feel like royalty as they climb the grand staircases to roam the expansive halls leading to outdoor patios and numerous dining options. fairmont.com/banff-springs

& THERE ARE THINGS YOU CAN’T CONTROL. TAKE A DEEP BREATH, AND LET IT GO

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FOR BETTER HEALTH

BY ANGIE COMER

Hit the Slopes

or some, winter is a time of snuggling up by the fire, indulging in hot cocoa and hibernating until spring. While that can be enjoyable, you’re far more likely to find me on the slopes!

Snow skiing is my favorite sport, and I love it so much that my wedding was planned around a week of skiing in beautiful Aspen, Colorado with my entire family and close friends. In addition to being a thrill, skiing is a pastime loaded with health benefits. Whether you’re eager to burn calories, build up your leg muscles or just get rid of anxiety, skiing might be the sport you’re searching for.

Improved Cardiovascular Fitness

Sure, gravity is helping if you’re skiing downhill, but your heart will still be getting a killer workout! As you ski, your heart rate increases. The higher your heart rate, the more oxygen your body needs—and the more calories you burn in the process. Skiing is an aerobic sport, which means that you’ll be keeping your heart ratewinter elevated of the time the slopes. moreon than normal. At high elevation, extended periods of time. Skiing is also or some, is a for timemuch of snuggling up you’re Keep in mind that if you’re skiing at high altitude, you’ll be and has toyour workheart harder to your delivercardiovascular going to help shape and build your quads by the fire, indulging in hot cocoa and your hearttaxing system a little hibernating more than normal.

At high elevations, your heart has to work harder to deliver plentyand of oxygen your hamstrings. Even the muscles in until spring. While that can plenty of oxygen to the muscles that to the musclesbe that need it most.

To enjoy the heart-healthy benefits of skiing without struggling with altitude feet and ankles get a workout when enjoyable, you’re far more likely to find need it most. To enjoy the heart-healthy your sickness, try tome getontothe your favorite ski destination a day or two ahead of time.

That allows you to acclimate to benefits of skiing without struggling with you’re skiing. slopes! the elevation before youskiing strapison skis. sport, and altitude sickness, try to get to your favorite Snow myyour favorite Mental Health Benefits of Skiing I love it so much that my entire wedding ski destination a day or two ahead of Focus onwas theplanned Corearound a week of skiing in time. That allows you to acclimate to the Although the physical benefits of In order to beautiful keep an Aspen, uprightColorado, posture when skiing,elevation you have to rely youroncore anskis. incredible amount. before youonstrap your skiing are nothing to scoff at, it’s the with you’re my entire For balance, you’ll useand yourclose obliques as well as your abdominals.

Although everyone expects to have sore legs the benefits that many skiers psychological family friends.

In addition to day after hitting the aslopes, you can alsoFocus feel iton inthe your core. A few runs down a challenging Core love most. Strap on your skis to enjoy a being thrill,don’t skiingbeissurprised a pastimeif loaded slope is a lot more than doing hundreds of crunches, sure!to keep an upright posture boost of endorphins and adrenaline - a In for order with fun health benefits.

Whether you’re that’s eager to burn calories, build up your leg when you’re skiing, you have to rely on combination of feel-good chemicals that Muscles of theorLower Body muscles just get rid of anxiety, skiing your core an incredible amount. For can keep you smiling for days to come.

Whether you’re heading for the bunny slopes orfor. the black diamonds, skiing a great workout for all the balance, you’ll use isyour obliques as well Plus,muscles since skiing is an outdoor sport, might be the sport you’re searching of the lower body. Your glutes serve as the powerhouse, helping to stabilize you as you remain in the squat position as your abdominals. Although everyone skiers get the added benefit of Vitamin for extended periods of time.Cardiovascular Skiing is also going to help shape and build yoursore quads andthe your the of sunshine is proven to expects to have legs dayhamstrings. after D.Even A dose Improved Fitness muscles in your feet and ankles get a workout when you’re skiing.

Sure, gravity is helping if you’re skiing hitting the slopes, don’t be surprised if you boost mood and stave off conditions like downhill, but your heart will still be can also feel it in your core. A few runs depression. Just one more reason to head Mental Health Benefits getting a killer workout!of AsSkiing you ski, your down a challenging slope is a lot more fun for the snow-capped mountains.

Although the physical benefits of skiing are nothing to scoff at, hundreds it’s the psychological many doing of crunches, benefits that’s that While I love skiing for so many reasons, heart rate increases. The higher your than skiers love most.

Strap skisoxygen to enjoy a boost endorphins and adrenaline—a combination of feelsure! there’s no denying the health benefits of heart rate,ontheyour more your bodyof for good chemicals that- can you smiling to come. Plus, since skiing is an outdoor sport,the skiers get Although there’s something sport. needs andkeep the more caloriesfor youdays burn the added benefit of process.

VitaminSkiing D. A dose sunshine is proven to boost mood andBody stave off depression.

Just oneabout cuddling up by the Muscles of the Lower magical in the is an of aerobic sport, more reason to headmeans for thethat snow-capped mountains.

Whether you’re heading for the bunny fireplace with a mug of cocoa, I promise which you’ll be keeping your While I loveheart skiing forelevated so manyforreasons, there’s no denying benefits of the sport. there’s slopesthe or health the black diamonds, skiingAlthough is the drink is a little sweeter in a lodge after rate much of the time something magical cuddling cocoa, Ifor promise themuscles drink is aoflittleasweeter greatofworkout all the long dayinof skiing. ■ you’reabout on the slopes. up by the fireplace withaa mug a lodge after a long day in of mind skiing.that ■ if you’re skiing at the lower body. Your glutes serve as the Wishing you love, health & happiness!

Keep powerhouse, helping to stabilize you Angie high altitude, you’ll be taxing your heart and your cardiovascular system a little as you remain in the squat position for NEJRON PHOTO/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

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hit the slopes for better health

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Rolling Out the Signs of Aging

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BY AMY ZIMMER

any Hollywood celebrities, aestheticians, dermatologists and plastic surgeons are rolling out the red carpet for the hottest new skin care technique called microneedling (also known as collagen induction therapy).

It involves using fine needles to create hundreds of tiny, invisible puncture wounds in the top layer of skin. Sound like modern day torture? It is virtually painless when local numbing cream is used and is incredibly effective with very little downtime.

The micro-injuries created in the skin stimulate the body’s natural wound healing processes, resulting in cell turnover, increased collagen and elastin production, therefore reversing as well as preventing signs of aging. To treat wrinkles, it is recommended that a needle length no greater than 1.5-mm be used especially when doing in-home treatments. However, for deeper wrinkles or severe acne scars, you may need even longer needles for maximum results, so you’ll want to find a dermatologist or facialist who performs microneedle therapy treatments.

I was introduced to this treatment in Europe this summer when I was in search of a little pick-me-up without the downtime of a laser treatment. Summertime, sun and laser do not work well together for obvious reasons. After my 20 minute treatment, my Austrian therapist sent me packing with a roller to continue my treatments at home. I must say, the results are obvious. My skin appears more plump, has less visible lines and sun spots have decreased. I use the in-home roller at least three days a week and include my décolleté area.

If I sound like a skincare fanatic, let’s just agree to call me religious to my regime; it is paying off and allowing me to age gracefully. ■

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ROBERT PRZYBYSZ/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

IN-HOME SUMMER SKIN REVIVAL TIPS FOR PIGMENTATION Lemon Juice & Honey

Lemon juice mixed with honey works as a natural bleaching agent. Lemons contain antioxidant properties which not only protect the skin from UV damage but also lighten dark spots.

• Mix lemon juice with some honey.

• Apply this mixture on the affected areas.

• Wait for at least 15 minutes.

• Wash off with lukewarm water.

Turmeric

Since ancient times, turmeric has been used as a face-pack in Indian households because of its medicinal properties. It is also helpful in balancing the pH level of the skin and adds a radiant glow to it.

• Mix a few drops of lemon juice with 1 tbsp of turmeric in order to make a paste.

• Apply the paste on the affected area to cleanse your skin.

• After 15 minutes, wash off with lukewarm water.

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RUDO FILM/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

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avoiding holiday weight gain

ost everyone looks forward to holiday festivities and gatherings, but they always seem to center around delicious food and drink!

At the same time, we dread the tight jeans and self-loathing that comes around just in time for our New Year’s resolutions. Although most people accept that the holidays inevitably result in up to 10 pounds of extra weight every year, it doesn’t have to be that way! The “winter weight” is not necessarily your fate.

I’d like to give you some tips to help you enjoy yourself this holiday season while defending your health and your sanity. Save those New Year’s resolutions for something more creative.

Think of these tips as “basic training” for the real battle coming up and as general rules for the care and maintenance of a healthy body.

Tip #1: Start cleaning up your diet now.

Don’t wait until after the temptations start! Take a hard look at the contents of your refrigerator and pantry. How much of what fills it is refined, processed, preserved “fake food?” If it has a label with more than a few ingredients, it’s not real food. As a general rule, 80 percent of what you eat should be fresh, whole food that requires refrigeration and

THERE ARE THINGS YOU CAN’T CONTROL. TAKE A DEEP BREATH, AND LET IT GO.

BY DR. KATHERINE BIRCHENOUGH

preparation other than just a microwave. Your refrigerator needs to be void of anything “prepared,” and that includes the convenient stuff in plastic tubs from your local gourmet market as well as most everything on the inner aisles of the grocery store or in the freezer department. Most of what is stored in your pantry should be whole, unrefined nuts and seeds, grains and legumes, herbs and spices and some key things like canned tomatoes, olives and artichokes. What should not be in there? Jars of juice, boxes of cereal, cookies, macaroni, cake mixes, soft drinks or other junk that is higher in chemicals than actual nutrition. Empty calories do nothing but raise your blood sugar, starting a cascade of inflammation in your body. It’s what you do every day that counts, not a decadent meal or two around the holidays. Eat clean, whole food on the regular, and your system can handle the Christmas casseroles with ease.

Tip #2: Get moving.

As the days get shorter, even those of us who are active find it hard to maintain. If you do not have a regular exercise habit, develop one now. The weather is cooler and perfect for a walk or run outside. If you live in a neighborhood with hills, incorporate a few of those each time you go out. Start slow if you’re not in shape or if it’s been a while.

The body needs time to acclimate and strengthen the connective tissue around joints when you first start exercising. After a few weeks, you can increase the frequency and intensity. Almost everyone can find a boot camp, yoga, CrossFit, barre, cycling or interval training workout close by.

You don’t even have to think—just show up in your workout clothes with a bottle of water and a towel. These classes make it easy to get a variety of activity, and since many are franchises, you can take advantage of other studios when traveling. Remember, you need strength, aerobic and flexibility training to make it a well-rounded program, but don’t make it too complicated. Just get up and move!

Tip #3: Fix your sleep.

With fewer daylight hours, we naturally get sleepier earlier in the evening. Take advantage of this time of year to make sure you are getting

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eight hours of high-quality sleep. Too little of it can cause your stress hormones and blood sugar to go up, resulting in weight gain. Sleep is also when our bodies repair the damage of the day, restore neurotransmitters and assimilate memories. Don’t sacrifice your rest to fulfill the demands of others. Protect your sleep—it will make you a better, more productive person.

Tip #4: Don’t succumb to holiday stress!

Family demands, travel delays, social anxiety and financial strain can all put a big damper on the holidays and create a lot of stress. And guess what? Stress releases hormones like cortisol that, over time, wreak metabolic havoc. That expanding waistline can be directly related to how you handle that traffic jam or canceled flight. Try to maintain perspective on what’s really important. There are things you can’t control. Take a deep breath, and let it go; don’t let it ruin your day or your health.

Tip #5: Try time-restricted eating.

Limit your caloric intake to 10-12 hours a day. By eating during a specific window of time and fasting (which means water or other noncaloric beverages only) for the rest of the time, you are effectively allowing your body to rest and repair for a significant amount of time every day.

This window of time can vary from day to day. If you eat breakfast at 8 a.m., try to finish dinner by 6 p.m. If you have a late or heavy dinner, wait

12 to 14 hours to eat the next day. Allowing at least four hours between dinner and bedtime is ideal if you want the best sleep. By engaging in time-restricted eating, you are allowing your blood sugar and insulin to decrease and your fat-burning mode to kick in. It’s a great way to maintain weight over the holidays and to achieve optimal health in the long term.

Tip #6: Exercise in a fasted state.

The most effective fat-burning exercise is done on an empty stomach. It takes about 20 minutes to use up the fuel in your muscles before the body turns to fat for fuel. Once there, the longer you can maintain that steady fatburning state, the better! Your heart rate should be about 80 to 85 percent of your maximum, which for most people is a brisk walk or a moderate jog.

Once you’re finished, eat only when you get a hunger signal. It may be five minutes, or it may be five hours. During that time, you are continuing to burn fat for fuel. Most people feel a good energy and a clear head in this state.

Drink water. If you’re hungry, eat. You don’t want to stress your body. This will help you maintain and even lose weight over the holidays!

So there you have it: a clean diet, exercise and movement, great sleep, stress management and a couple of smart tricks to amp up the fatburning. The holidays never looked so easy! ■

ABOUT DR. BIRCHENOUGH Katherine Birchenough was the fourth MD in the state of South Carolina to be certified through the Institute for Functional Medicine. A South Carolina native, Dr. Birchenough is a University of South Carolina School of Medicine graduate, board-certified in pediatrics and emergency medicine and has recently devoted herself full-time to her wellness practice. Dr. Birchenough practiced traditional medicine for more than 12 years, diagnosing and treating diseases but not really getting to the root cause. Over the years, she watched as unhealthy environments and poor lifestyle choices affected the health of her peers and her patients, at one point even herself, and knew that something had to give. She realized the pursuit of health, beyond just the absence of disease, is a specialty in and of itself but wasn’t available to traditional medical students. This realization brought her to a new career path in functional medicine and has fueled her passion to treat the patient, not just the symptoms.

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PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY THE POLO BAR

&dining

the polo bar

Y

ou might not be able to make a meal out of Ralph Lauren’s silk ties, iconic polos or tweeds, but you can sip an Old Fashioned or take a bite out of the famed Polo Bar Burger made from beef from Lauren’s double RL ranch in Colorado.

Coupled with an atmosphere that combines the warm glamour of a 1950s Madison Avenue executive lunch with the equestrian stateliness of an English country club, The Polo Bar offers a comfortable, luxurious setting for classic all-American fare and libation in the heart of New York City.

“I’m drawn to the kind of food that people truly enjoy—vibrant food that people want to return to time and again,” says Ralph Lauren.

Seasonal dishes range from chopped vegetable salads and crab cakes to corned beef sandwiches, steaks and the signature Polo Bar Burger.

Even though ribeye steaks are a far cry from rib-knitted sweaters, The Polo Bar matches the distinguished sporting lifestyle that’s synonymous with the Ralph Lauren brand.

BY MAKAYLA GAY

Inspired by Ralph Lauren’s love of communing with friends and family around the table, the menu is populated by Lauren’s favorite American cuisine. The atmosphere is bedecked with brass accents, mahogany wood paneling, intimate banquette leather seating, deep hunter green walls adorned with curated artwork and Henry Koehler polo match-inspired mural on the restaurant’s exterior.

The Polo Bar joins Lauren’s RL Restaurant in Chicago, Ralph’s in Paris, Ralph’s Coffee & Bar in London and Ralph’s Coffee Ocean Terminal in Hong Kong.

Ralph Lauren isn’t the only couture restaurateur. Cafes and restaurants are the natural falling place after a long day of shopping.

Brands like Bulgari, Gucci and Chanel are enticing customers to satisfy the hunger for food and fashion.

If you find yourself pining over a bygone era and the casual glamour of sipping an Old Fashioned in between polo rounds or lounging in an English clubhouse, The Polo Bar makes that nostalgia a reality. Be prepared. If you’re not on the VIP list that’s lined with A-list celebrities, the wait to get in is as legendary as the icon behind the The Polo Bar.

IT’S ABOUT LIVING THE BEST LIFE YOU CAN AND “ ENJOYING THE FULLNESS OF THE LIFE AROUND YOU— FROM WHAT YOU WEAR, TO THE WAY YOU LIVE, TO THE WAY YOU LOVE.

”

— RALPH LAUREN

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PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY THE POLO BAR

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE POLO BAR MENU

gh

STARTERS THE POLO BAR CRAB CAKE Thinly Crusted & Served with Mustard Bell Pepper Sauce - $24 BEEF CARPACCIO Black Olive Tapenade, Wild Arugula, Crispy Potatoes & Parmigiano Reggiano - $28 CAVIAR & FINGERLING POTATOES 1-ounce Golden Osetra with Crème Fraîche - MP SOUPS & SALADS MUSHROOM SOUP Crispy Hen-of-the-Woods & Arugula Pesto - $16 THE POLO BAR SALAD Greens, Avocado, Tomatoes, Cucumber & Shaved Radishes with Mustard Vinaigrette - $18 MAINE LOBSTER SALAD Gem Lettuce, Endive & Citrus Vinaigrette - $34 CLASSICS RALPH’S CORNED BEEF SANDWICH Melted Swiss & Horseradish Coleslaw on Marble Rye - $28 DOVER SOLE Pan-Seared with Meyer Lemon Butter Sauce - $65 CHICKEN UNDER A BRICK Sautéed Spinach with Lemon & Rosemary - $34 VEAL MILANESE Wild Arugula, Fennel, Red Onion, Radishes & Cherry Tomatoes - $47 STEAKS & BURGERS THE POLO BAR BURGER Tomatoes, Lettuce, Onions, Pickles, Cheddar & Crispy Bacon - $28 VEGGIE BURGER Avocado, Heirloom Tomato, Pepper Jack Cheese & Barbecue Sauce - $22 NEW YORK STRIP STEAK 16-ounces - $55 BONE-IN RIB EYE Hand-Cut Fries 22 ounces - $70 DESSERTS THE POLO BAR BROWNIE with Walnuts, served with Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream & Warm Chocolate Sauce - $11 CLASSIC CHEESECAKE with Marinated Strawberries - $14 RALPH’S COFFEE ICE CREAM with Dark Chocolate Shortbread Cookies - $10 * Information collected at close of Winter issue.

Prices and availability may vary.

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During your next New York jaunt, enjoy American classics done up with Ralph Lauren’s iconic eye for detail and balance.

Reservations strongly encouraged. ■ 1 East 55th Street New York, New York 10022 212.207.8562

ELEGANT LADIES’ OUTDOOR APPAREL shopmckennaquinn.com

info@ shopmckennaquinn.com

American Made

a Very

Wilkins Winter

BY RHONDA WILKINS

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W

hen the brisk quietude of winter enfolds us in its arms, it is almost instinctive to gather those we cherish in a grateful embrace that soothes the soul and warms the heart. Of my fondest wintry reminisces, one vision floats one vision before my eyes: Kitzbühel, where I spent many a holiday in the company of dear family and friends among the white peaked alps. In December, this quaint Austrian village transforms into a holiday wonderland of twinkling lights and snow-capped rooftops set against a dramatic backdrop of mountains.

Kitzbühel has been the epitome of tranquility and reprieve since the middle ages, where ski pioneers and the upper echelon of Austrian Gesellschaft alike have enjoyed the pastoral vistas and the Tyrolean earnestness. Nestled amongst shops offering the most exclusive in winter wear couture, intimate cafes provide the backdrop for cherished conversations by well-stoked fires. ■

GIFTS FROM THE HEART, WITH A PERSONAL TOUCH, TRULY DEMONSTRATE A LEVEL OF THOUGHTFULNESS THAT JUST CANNOT BE EXPRESSED WITH A SIMPLE BOTTLE OF WINE. • hiver 2018 • readelysian.com

On the Menu

2.

ROCHUS/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

As can be expected, the winter months are a time of indulgence and tradition, and no holiday spread can be complete without caviar. In my opinion, there’s only one way to go with your caviar: Golden Osetra. And there’s only one place to procure this delicacy once reserved for royalty: Caviar Russe. Slightly less salty than most varieties, Golden Osetra has a subtly sweet and nutty quality that makes it an ideal mate for homemade crêpes. Rather than the traditional (and heavier) blini, I find that light, fluffy crêpes topped with Golden Osetra and a mixture of crème fraîche and sour cream allows the flavor of the caviar to really sing Of course, with more than 27 different species of sturgeon, and many more non-sturgeon fish that have their roe made into fine caviar, there’s a plethora of distinct textures and tastes, so it’s completely determinant to your palate. Whether your preference lies in saltier or less brinier tastes, smaller or headier pearls, always purchase the best you can afford.

Caviar Russe 538 Madison Ave New York, NY 10022 (212) 980-5908

1.

Winter Beauty

Beauty does not depend solely on the products you use—it depends on you. Consistency is the key to procuring change, in life and with your skin. Here are just a few of my choice beauty enhancers that, combined with a fool-proof routine, will bring out the beauty in anyone. With blistering winds, plummeting temperatures and the moisture-sapping heat of indoor furnaces, it’s especially important during these winter months to stay faithful to your skin care regimen. A scrub is key to sloughing away dead skin to reinvigorate a winter-weary complexion. I prefer Instytutum’s Triple Action Resurfacing Peel. I follow through with a nightly serum, such as Moon Juice’s Beauty Shroom serum, to lock in moisture.

4.

[1] Golden Osetra Caviar. [2] Anglea Caglia Facial Roller. [3] Instytutum Resurfacing Peel.

[4] Moon Juice Beauty Shroom.

[5] Loog Guitar.

[6] Pulse Light Up Skates.

6.

SHOP & EXPLORE

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Bestowing Spirit

The art of gift-giving can be a tough one to crack, so I stick to what I know. My golden rule? Always give something that you would like to receive. Whether perusing Place des Lices flea market in Saint Tropez or visiting the consignment shops that dot West Palm Beach’s Antique Row, I’m always in search of vintage elegance. Think silver escargot forks and mother-of-pearl demitasse spoons. What could be a better gift than a piece of history you can hold in your hands?

Statement pieces that are timeless, quality items you’ll have for the rest of your life, also make wonderful presents. Gift-giving should be fun! While a LOOG Guitar might be a little too expensive to expect in your stocking, you can always ask even if we might not always receive.

Gifts from the heart, with a personal touch, truly demonstrate a level of thoughtfulness and care that just cannot be expressed with a simple bottle of wine. I never come to a gathering empty handed, and I always make sure my guests leave fêtes with something to make the evening all the more memorable. During the holidays, I enjoy spending my hours in the kitchen crafting homemade scrubs, chicken liver pâté, hot pepper jam and several classic recipes to which I always add my own twist. Regardless of the creation I whip up for those near and dear, I like to wrap gifts in a personalized ribbon for a delicate touch of personal detail.

[7] Moncler Bourget Skiwear.

[8] Lipstick Charger.

[9] Karen Adams Desk Calendar.

[10] Vintage Silver Spoons.

8.

10.

IMAGE COURTESY NEIMANMARCUS.COM

Executive Lifestyle Editor, Rhonda Wilkins, is a former Senior Executive at Balmar Printing & Graphics in the Washington D.C Metro and the wife of the late former U.S. Ambassador to the Netherlands, C. Howard Wilkins Jr., Rhonda brings a wealth of knowledge in the fields of fashion, design, entertaining, travel and healthy living. Rhonda currently splits her time between Palm Beach, Florida and Europe.

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SHOP & EXPLORE

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EXCLUSIVE GIFTS THAT INSPIRE. Shop the entire collection online: readelysian.com/shop

Christian Dior draping fabric over model Sylvie, 1948.

COURTESY OF CHRISTIAN DIOR

Christian Dior, Fanny. Celestial blue taffeta gala dress worn

by Mrs. Elizabeth Firestone. Haute Couture Fall-Winter 1953, Vivante line.

FROM THE COLLECTIONS OF THE HENRY FORD, GIFT OF MRS. HARVEY FIRESTONE, JR. INV. 89.492.342 ©LAZIZ HAMANI

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BY

IE T A K

A M S I E

W

I O

st r i F ts m. i s d l u e o s H u se M u t r o H ver A e r u ut e Den o C s h i t r t a a P The spective ro t e R U.S.

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C hristian Dior was one of the world’s most important fashion designers, and the Denver Art Museum (DAM) intends for you to know nearly everything about him through its current exhibit, Dior: From Paris to the World. With more than 200 couture dresses along with accessories, videos, original sketches and other pieces from the Dior archives spanning more than 70 years, the show gives visitors an intimate and extensive look at Christian Dior himself and his work as a couturier. It also showcases fashion from the six designers who assumed the creative direction of the Dior label following Dior’s death in 1957, just 11 years after he opened the doors to his couture house.

Christian Dior founded his couture

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house in 1946, a year after the end of World War II, and his designs shook the fashion world. Fabric had been rationed in France and other countries during the war, and extravagance was shunned.

At his first fashion show in 1947, Dior unveiled his Bar Suit, the ensemble of a tightly cinched jacket in ivory shantung paired with an intricately pleated full wool skirt made from nearly 13 yards of fabric, not including the tulle petticoats. It was a shock of design because its formfitting shape abandoned the styles of the two previous decades, and the indulgent fabrics were a surprise after the scarcity of the war years. The press dubbed Dior’s style “The New Look,” launching his career and changing the course of fashion

• hiver 2018 • readelysian.com

Christian Dior generated a revolution in Paris and around the globe after World War II in 1947 with his New Look collection.

Here, a protest in Chicago against this new collection that same year.

ACME TELEPHOTO, 9/22/47

in France and around the world.

The iconic Bar suit is one of the many highlights of the Dior exhibit curated

by Florence Müller, DAM’s Avenir Foundation curator of Textile Art and Fashion. It’s interesting to compare the Bar suit to a 2009 mohair coat in a similar silhouette from designer John Galliano, the fourth artistic director of the house of Dior.

But such comparisons exist throughout Dior’s history after his death in 1957. The designers who followed Dior—Yves Saint Laurent, Marc Bohan, Gianfranco Ferré, John Galliano, Raf Simons and currently Maria Grazia Chiuri—took inspiration from the legendary designer, but they have also added their own personal aesthetic.

Müller’s choice of fashion pieces and

Opposite: Dior fashion models wearing “Vert gazon,” “Gavroche,” and “Flirt” ensembles, 1961.

PHOTOGRAPH © MARK SHAW MPTVIMAGES.COM

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Raf Simons for Christian Dior, 3/4-length duchess satin evening gown with Sterling Ruby SP178 shadow print.

Haute Couture FallWinter 2012.

DIOR HÉRITAGE COLLECTION, PARIS. INV. 2013.56 ©LAZIZ HAMANI

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“

Elegance must be the right combination of distinction, naturalness, care and simplicity. Outside this, believe me, there is no elegance. Only pretension.

”

— CHRISTIAN DIOR

Christian Dior, Bar suit.

Afternoon ensemble in shantung and pleated wool, Haute Couture Spring-Summer 1947, Corolle line.

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DIOR HÉRITAGE COLLECTION, PARIS. ©LAZIZ HAMANI

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Elizabeth Taylor wearing Soirée à Rio dress (Spring-Summer Haute Couture Collection and wearing a pair of diamond and cultured pearl ear pendants,

by Ruser), 1961. ©MARK SHAW/MPTVIMAGES.COM

Opposite: Marc Bohan for Christian Dior, Soirée à Rio. Chiffon and embroidered faille evening gown worn by Elizabeth Taylor. Haute Couture Spring-Summer 1961, Slim Look collection.

DIOR HÉRITAGE COLLECTION, PARIS INV. 1993.15 ©LAZIZ HAMANI

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Gianfranco Ferré for Christian Dior, Palladio.

Long pleated georgette crepe dress. Haute Couture Spring-Summer 1992, In Balmy Summer Breezes collection.

DIOR HÉRITAGE COLLECTION, PARIS INV. 1992.23 ©LAZIZ HAMANI

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John Galliano for Christian Dior, Embroidered mohair bouclette coat. Haute Couture Fall-Winter 2009.

DIOR HÉRITAGE COLLECTION, PARIS. INV. 2010.20 ©LAZIZ HAMANI

John Galliano for Christian Dior, Gold embroidered triple organza jacket and skirt. Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2004.

DIOR HÉRITAGE COLLECTION, PARIS. INV. 2004.50. ©LAZIZ HAMANI

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Yves Saint Laurent for Christian Dior, Bal Masqué. Haute Couture Spring-Summer 1958, Trapèze line. Short evening dress in point d’esprit tulle embroidered with jet beads and embellished with satin bows.

DIOR HÉRITAGE COLLECTION, PARIS; INV. 1987.101 ©LAZIZ HAMANI

“

Black is the most slimming of all Colors. It is the most flattering. You can wear black at any Time. You can wear it at any age.

You can wear it for almost any occasion. I could write a book about black.

”

— CHRISTIAN DIOR

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Christian Dior with models, ca. 1955.

PHOTO ANDRÉ GANDNER © CLÉMENCE GANDNER

accessories illustrates this beautifully.

As the exhibit’s name suggests, the show emphasizes the global scope of Christian Dior, who was a pioneer in how he expanded his signature label around the world. He opened his first U.S. boutique in New York in 1948, and in the years following, he did an extensive visit to the U.S., held fashion shows abroad and attracted an international clientele, including the U.K.’s Princess Margaret and Hollywood’s Marlene Dietrich, whom he outfitted for the 1950 Alfred Hitchcock film, “Stage Fright.”

The house of Dior had a major retrospective celebrating its 70th anniversary in Paris in 2017, co-curated

by Müller, but the Denver show is completely different.

“The Denver Art Museum’s presentation is entirely new, a dramatic and modern departure from the Paris show,” Müller explains. “About twothirds of the objects that will be on view in Denver were not on view in Paris.”

Architect Shohei Shigematsu, a partner in Rem Koolhaas’ firm, Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), designed the exhibit. His modern approach “plays off the architecturally structured Dior dresses, as Christian Dior had the ambition of being an architect when he was a teenager, prior to becoming a renowned fashion

designer,” Müller notes. Shigematsu enjoyed critical acclaim for his design of the 2015 exhibit Manus x Machina: Fashion in the Age of Technology exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. “The Denver Art Museum is the ideal venue for Dior: From Paris to the World, as the DAM has an ambitious program of impressive art exhibitions, and fashion is a major art form,” says Müller. “We previously showcased two world-exclusive fashion exhibitions, including an Yves Saint Laurent retrospective in 2012, and a Cartier exhibition in 2014. With Dior, we are continuing this series of major fashion exhibitions, which pay homage to the world’s most brilliant artistic fashion designers.” ■

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PHOTO 12 / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

B A C AS L L

By LAURIE BOGART WILES I WAS EIGHTEEN

or some, winter is a time of snuggling up by the fire, indulging in hot cocoa and hibernating until spring. While that can be enjoyable, you’re far more likely to find me on the slopes!

Snow skiing is my favorite sport, and I love it so much that my entire wedding was planned around a week of skiing in beautiful Aspen, Colorado, with my entire family and close friends. In addition to being a thrill, skiing is a pastime loaded with health benefits. Whether you’re eager to burn calories, build up your leg muscles or just get rid of anxiety, skiing might be the sport you’re searching for.

when I first saw one of his films. It wasn’t because I was curious. It was because I’d just seen Lauren Bacall on Broadway in Applause. And I was mesmerized by the sheer energy of her performance. Never had I seen a woman hold an audience in the palm of her hand. Lauren Bacall was one of the most iconic women of her time and an inspiration to women everywhere, across the years—as she was, almost a half-century ago, to me. “I think women are much more willing to take chances with their lives, are much more honest and are generally better friends,” Bacall said in an interview a few years before her death in 2014 at age 89.

“My mother was a great example. She was the greatest influence of my life.” More than anyone, my mother had the more than normal.

Aton high periods of Bronx, time. Skiing greatest effect me.elevation, Born Bettyextended Joan Perske in The New is also your heartYork, has to work harder to deliver going to help shape and build your quads in 1924, she was the only child of Natalie Weinstein (1901plenty of1977), oxygen to the muscles that and your hamstrings.

Even the in a daughter of Romanian Jewish immigrants who settledmuscles in need it most.

To enjoy the heart-healthy your feet and ankles get a workout when Brooklyn. In 1923, Natalie married a man she did not love and benefits of skiing without struggling with you’re skiing. altitude sickness, try to get to your favorite ski destination a day or two ahead of Mental Health Benefits of Skiing time. That allows you to acclimate to the Although the physical benefits of elevation before you strap on your skis. skiing are nothing to scoff at, it’s the psychological benefits that many skiers a year later delivered Betty—appropriately—in a movie house.

Focus on the Core love most. Strap on your skis to enjoy a When Betty was five, her parents divorced, and she never saw In order to keep an upright posture boost of endorphins and adrenaline - a her father again. This left her with a sense of rejection and need when you’re skiing, you have to rely on combination of feel-good chemicals that for approval. She left behind those negative feelings every Saturday your core an incredible amount. For can keep you smiling for days to come. afternoon, when she took in a double-feature matinee at the 68th balance, you’ll use your obliques as well Plus, since skiing is an outdoor sport, Street Playhouse, star-struck by Hollywood legends such as Joan as your abdominals. Although everyone skiers get the added benefit of Vitamin Crawford, Greta Garbo, Myrna Loy and Ginger Rogers. Her expects to have sore legs the day after D. A dose of sunshine is proven to favorite, however, was Bette Davis. “I used to smoke a whole pack of hitting the slopes, don’t be surprised if you boost mood and stave off conditions like cigarettes in the restroom. I wanted to be just like Bette Davis. She can also feel it in your core. A few runs depression. Just one more reason to head made me feel more than anybody else did.” When she was fourteen, down a challenging slope is a lot more fun for the snow-capped mountains. she met her idol. “You’re Betty Bacall,” Bette Davis declared. than doing hundreds of crunches, that’s While I love skiing for so many reasons, “So, you want to be an actress?” “I was so in awe of her,” Bacall for sure! there’s no denying the health benefits of remembered, “I couldn’t think. The tension was indescribable.” She the sport. Although there’s something saw Hepburn in The Philadelphia Story (“She was so beautiful. We Muscles of the Lower Body magical about cuddling up by the got fifty-cent seats, and I almost fell out of the balcony”) and Vivien Whether you’re heading for the bunny fireplace with a mug of cocoa, I promise Leigh and Laurence Olivier in Romeo and Juliet (“I was hit between slopes or the black diamonds, skiing is the drink is a little sweeter in a lodge after the eyes”). Betty was determined to become an actress. a great workout for all the muscles of a long day of skiing. the lower body. Your glutes serve as the Wishing you love, health & happiness! he enrolled in the American Academy of Dramatic powerhouse, helping to stabilize you Angie Arts in New York. Her written evaluation states, “Good as you remain in the squat position for proportions, blonde, pleasing personality, voice—low, New York regionalism, Jewish but does not look it.” Her mother could only afford the first year’s tuition, so Betty worked as an usher at the Lyceum Theater to pay for school. She turned to modeling to make money and was noticed by the legendary fashion editor, Diana Vreeland. “I was scared to death,” Bacall said of their first meeting. “She put a suit on me, told me which makeup to use—but very little. ‘Betty, I don’t want to change your look.’ When all was done, she put a scarf around my neck—knew just how to tie it, a little off-center, —and I was ready for my first sitting with Harper’s Bazaar.” Vreeland recalled, “Betty’s always been what used to be called a ‘good kid.’ She’s always kept her own thoughts and her own dreams. She literally had nothing to offer but her existence.

But I was so interested in her.” The March 1943 cover of Harper’s caught the eye of Slim Hawks, wife of Hollywood producer Howard

An Independent Woman Improved Cardiovascular Fitness Sure, gravity is helping if you’re skiing downhill, but your heart will still be getting a killer workout! As you ski, your heart rate increases. The higher your heart rate, the more oxygen your body needs - and the more calories you burn in the process. Skiing is an aerobic sport, which means that you’ll be keeping your heart rate elevated for much of the time you’re on the slopes.

Keep in mind that if you’re skiing at high altitude, you’ll be taxing your heart and your cardiovascular system a little

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In this 1946 press photograph, Lauren Bacall, soon to be starring opposite of Humphrey Bogart in Warner Bros. The Big Sleep, relaxes on the cot in her dressing room. She uses the break to autograph her picture for a GI in an Army hospital.

COURTESY HERITAGE AUCTIONS/HA.COM

“

She put a suit on me, told me which makeup to use—but very little. ‘Betty, I don’t want to change your look.’ When all was done, she put a scarf around my neck—knew just how to tie it, a little off-center—and I was ready for my first sitting with Harper’s Bazaar.

”

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Hawks, who summoned her to L.A. for a screen test. She was only eighteen. “I was so ambitious, so anxious to have another life,” Bacall said. She was put under contract for $100 a week and several weeks later, won the role of Humphrey Bogart’s love interest in the screen adaptation of Ernest Hemingway’s To Have and To Have Not. As she was walking into Hawks’s office, “Bogie was coming out. ‘I’ve just seen your test,’” Bacall recollected. “‘We’ll have a lot of fun together.’ Little did he know.”

at

45, Bogart was now one of Hollywood’s biggest names. A seasoned professional, he was thoughtful and helpful to his young leading lady, who was 25 years his junior. “He could tell how nervous I was,” Bacall said. She would hold her trembling head at a certain angle, chin down, looking up with her famous cat-like eyes. It became known as “The Look.” Bogie and Bacall were falling in love. They would arrange clandestine meetings on his schooner, Santana. A friend, Peter Stone, said, “Bogie became nuts over her. She had the poise and the manner of a much older woman.” To Have and To Have Not was released in 1944 and became a huge box office success.

With his tumultuous, seven-year marriage to Mayo Methot over, Bogie proposed to Bacall—with a proviso; “I want a wife, and I want my wife with me,” he told Bacall.

“Promise not to go off on location.” She agreed. “I wanted to give him what he never had. I wanted to give him a family life. He had reached a point where he never thought he’d have a family, that it was never meant to be, never have children or a really happy marriage. I made that promise, and I stuck to it. In view of the fact we had such a short life together, I’m glad I did.” Her classic line would prove as true in their lives as it did in To Have and To Have Not. “You don’t have to do a thing, not a thing. Just whistle. You know how to whistle, Steve. You put your lips together and blow.”

Bacall’s next film, Confidential Agent (1945), with Charles Boyer, was a fiasco. To salvage her career, Warner reteamed Bogart and Bacall in three successive films, The Big Sleep (1946, also directed by Hawks), Dark Passage (1947) and Key Largo (1948).

Their passion for one other was even more real off screen than on, their private life more important than the limelight, and they rarely missed a weekend on the Santana.

After Key Largo, Bacall got pregnant with their son, Steve. “When I told him I was pregnant,” she said, “we argued because he realized something was coming between us. Of course, he loved what happened.” Two years later, Bogie agreed to film African Queen with director John Huston on location in Africa. Bogie wanted Bacall with him, so Natalie took care of Steven while they spent six months in the bush, filming with a crew and cast that co-starred their friend, Katherine Hepburn. Bogie was thrilled to win an Oscar for African Queen and to learn he was going to be a father again. “She was his flower,” Bacall said of Bogart’s love of his baby daughter, Leslie, “always tiptoeing around, touching her fingers, holding her hands, looking at her with wonder.” Bogart finally had it all: a happy marriage, children, a beautiful home and a tremendous career—but not for long. In 1956, he was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. “I remember going to the hospital and thinking, I’ve never been to doctors, and now I’ll probably spend the rest of my life going to them,” he said. At his urging, Betty filmed Designing Woman after the prognosis. Her co-star, Gregory Peck, recalled Bogie saying to him, “Hey, kid, I hear you’re a Catholic. Say a Hail Mary for me.” After filming, Bacall stayed home to care for her husband. “Betty stays home with me,” Bogie told a friend. “That’s how you can tell the ladies from the broads.”

On Sunday, January 13, Bacall went to pick up the children from Sunday school.

“Goodbye, kid. Hurry back.” They were the last words Bogie ever spoke. By the time she returned home, he had fallen into a coma. Humphrey Bogart died the following day at the age of 57. “The word to describe Bogie and Betty,” their friend Gregory Peck said of that terrible time, “is gallantry.”

Widowed at 32, with two young children to support, Lauren Bacall was forced to face a harsh reality. “I had a series of bad events after Bogie died. I was not thinking

SCREENPROD / PHOTONONSTOP / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

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Lauren Bacall and Tennessee Williams in Bacall’s dressing room during the Broadway play Cactus Flower.

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PHILLIP HARRINGTON / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

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straight at all. I behaved perfectly acceptably, but Hollywood seemed more and more bleak. They just thought of me as Mrs. Bogart, never thought of me seriously after Bogie died. I had to get out and make a living, but movie rolls had slowed down. So, I went back to New York.

It was time to go on the stage and see if I could do it.” Bacall opened on Broadway in Goodbye Charlie, “I got onstage without a nerve in my body, ice cold and tough. I found out that I could do it. That was a great reward for me; after all, it was my original ambition.”

In 1961, she met Jason Robards, Jr. “We were instantly attracted to each other,” she said of the actor most famous for his roles in Eugene O’Neil plays. They were married and shortly after, their son Sam was born. She returned to Broadway in 1965 in the smash hit, Cactus Flower. Her career was back on track—but her marriage was falling apart. She was 40 when she took on the part of Margo Channing, one of her idols, Bette Davis’, signature roles, in the musical adaptation of the classic film, All About Eve. She took daily voice lessons to prepare her for Applause and spent endless hours in rehearsal. “Don’t be nervous darling,” Noel Coward wired her on opening day. “It all depends on you.”

“When you spend a lot of your life in the shadow of somebody else,” Bacall said of her life as Mrs. Bogart, you need to have an accomplishment of your own. I think I felt it solidly for the first time in Applause. She would win a Tony in 1970 for Best Actress in a Musical and that same year, a

Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical. But she received her greatest compliment backstage one night from Bette Davis. Bacall said, “She stood at the dressing room door and said, ‘Nobody could have done this but you, and you know I mean that.’” She toured the world in Applause for five years never missing then, or any time in her life, a single performance. In 1974, she appeared in the major motion picture, Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express, with an all-star cast, and in 1976, appeared in The Shootist, starring John Wayne. In 1977, her beloved mother, Natalie, died of a massive heart attack. “You never get over it, that loss,” she mourned, “but after all, that’s who’s given you life.” Her autobiography was published in 1978 and won the National Book Award. Then, in 1981, she returned to Broadway in Woman of the Year, the stage adaptation of the classic Tracy and Hepburn comedy, for which she was awarded her second Tony for Best Actress. In 1984, Bacall triumphed on the London stage in Sweet Bird of Youth. The London Times wrote, “If the audience had imagined that they heard some applause, it was probably Bogie sitting with the gods applauding his baby.” Among the numerous honors she received for her work in film, on stage and radio, Bacall won the Kennedy Center Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997 and received an honorary degree from Columbia University. “We all have to get through our lives the way we can get through them, but I don’t dwell on that. You just have to give it everything you’ve got.” ■

COURTESY HERITAGE AUCTIONS/HA.COM

Author’s Note: Humphrey Bogart and my grandfather, Adrian Bogart, were cousins. They grew up together in New York. I never met the film legend, his wife, Lauren Bacall, or their children. I was only three-years-old when he died. Growing up, he was simply Grandpa’s cousin who made movies.

Aside from their shared passion for acting, Bacall and Bogie were two of the most avid sailing enthusiasts in Hollywood. Here, in these Warner Bros. publicity photos they test the Santana’s stays and steering gear preparatory to setting sail in the waters around Balboa, California.

Opposite page: Film star Lauren Bacall arrives at London Airport from Paris to complete the filming of her latest movie.

PA IMAGES / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

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x EXPLORING and TROUBLING the BOUNDARIES

Sundown (Number Thirteen).

COURTESY DAVID CASTILLO GALLERY

with

XAVIERA SIMMONS

By LATRIA GRAHAM

Ahead of her showing at Art Basel in Miami Beach, we talked to the renowned artist about her newest work and what she wants viewers to understand about the scope of American history. readelysian.com • hiver 2018 •

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B

ack in 1998, after working for a number of years as a fashion photographer’s assistant, New York City native Xaviera Simmons was searching for a new way to express her creativity. A chance meeting with a group of Buddhist monks would change the direction of her art. The contemporary multimedia artist found herself compelled to join the group’s pilgrimage retracing one of the transatlantic slave trade routes. Along the way, they stopped, meditated, prayed and chanted their way down the East Coast before making their way across the Atlantic.

Her journey wouldn’t end until 2000 in South Africa. From there, she hitchhiked through East Africa, eventually making her way to Ethiopia. As she met new people, experienced their culture, learned their customs and tried new food, she searched the faces of those around her for something familiar, for the place her ancestors might have come from. She wanted to know where she belonged.

“African-Americans identify with a continent, but African people, they don’t,” Simmons says. “They’re from Togo, they’re from Benin, they’re from Nigeria, they’re from South Africa.

They are that, and then they’re in their tribe, and then they’re their person. Europeans are not just Europeans. They’re French, they’re Spanish. But African-Americans . . . we’re basically the result of American history.”

After reaching this revelation, Simmons knew the work she had to do was home. “I had to ask, ‘Who am I here in this country?

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Who are my people?’ We don’t have a motherland. Africa is 54 different countries. There is no place in Africa that I could ever go that would be my home. I’ve been all over Africa. Where can I go, and it’s like home for me?”

She made her way back to New York City in order to find out. Twenty years after her initial pilgrimage, the questions of identity, belonging and the transient nature of people still drives her creative process, and that thematic chord runs through the majority of Simmons’s work, whether it is text-based sculpture, installations, photography or performance-based art.

When she returned to the U.S., Simmons earned her BFA at Bard College and then completed the Whitney Museum’s Independent Study Program in Studio Art. While enrolled at the Whitney, she also completed a two-year actor-training conservatory program with The Maggie Flanigan Studio to better understand the role the body can play in performance and how to better channel emotions in her artwork. “I wanted to understand how directors work with emotion and also to understand how to use my body as more of an instrument—it’s got to be able to help emotions come forward. My images have to do that. Great actors are able to mold and shape emotions.”

Her work, at times cinematic in nature, seeks to enhance the scope of America’s history by teetering on the edge of the unknown in order to provoke conversations that can inform and enrich our world.

Left to right: Sundown (Number Fifteen), Sundown (Number Six), Sundown (Number Seven), Sundown (Number Twelve).

COURTESY DAVID CASTILLO GALLERY

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ight now, she is preoccupied with language, specifically labels—how they are applied to us, whether or not we accept them and the parameters we create for ourselves in order to project an identity: “I think of myself as a descendant of slaves and not as much African-American,” the artist explains. “I check the African-American [box], but then one of my closest friends is Ethiopian, and she also checks African-American.

Then my rock star friend, he’s first generation Nigerian, he’s checking African-American. We’re all checking African-American, but we have different experiences. To understand those differences does not negate the connection, but we need to understand that [descendants of slaves] are a particular group with a particular history in this country.“ Simmons is interested in the data, the minute, the terms we use to describe ourselves, and her lens encompasses more than the experiences of the descendants of slaves. “I’m interested in all the terms, actually—how people label and identify themselves, what they carry and also, how they’re labeled. All these terms . . . they have created how we view ourselves.”

For her 2018 site-specific installation titled Convene, which took place in the Hunters Point South Park of Long Island City, New York, she dug into the data to understand the cultural composition of Astoria and Long Island City. Her materials for the commission were ordinary: aluminum canoes, paint and some rope, but her use of specific vibrant colors is an abstract provocation about demographics. The canoes, once a method

of transportation to move goods and people from one place to another, are painted the colors of the national flags of countries whose citizens previously or currently populate the area, helping residents realize their proximity to one another.

This isn’t Simmons’s first foray into the linguistic boundaries and labels, but now she is using them to enhance the scope of America’s history. Her ability to poetically layer memory, textual history and archival photography on top of modern color schemes is her specialty, exemplified in the recent exhibition Sundown Towns. The term was shorthand for all-white municipalities that enforced segregation through a series of discriminatory local laws barring non-white people from the area after the sun went down.

The rules were often enforced by violence.

In the Sundown Town series, repetition, color and geometry all work in tandem to create lush, vibrant backgrounds, presenting a sense of serenity and warmth before the archival element forces a shift in perspective, leaving viewers with a feeling of displacement when they are unable to reconcile the two. Simmons is imploring viewers to hold two divergent focal points in their heads at once and to continue turning over the nonlinear narratives and lived histories long after leaving the gallery space. She challenges our understanding of the notion of belonging, expounding upon the transient nature of the descendants of slaves and forces us to reconsider the concept of home.

In Sundown (Number One), the scene seems almost pastoral—a woman

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in a West-African patterned dress stands in front of a wallpapered backdrop of plumeria colored flowers and greenery holding a brightly colored photo . . . of slaves or sharecroppers picking cotton.

In Sundown (Number Four), the primary character, clothed in a dress reminiscent of the flour sack florals of yesteryear, literally carries history on her back in the form of a photograph. Set against a backdrop of boxwood bushes, two children near the front of a ramshackle clapboard house stare unflinchingly at the viewer from their black and white photograph.

Art critics and collectors are receptive to the work that Simmons is creating. Her pieces reside in permanent collections at a number of New York art museums including the Guggenheim Museum, The Museum of Modern Art and The Studio Museum in Harlem.

The High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, as well as the Perez Art Museum in Miami, also contain a number of her pieces. Her artwork has received mentions in or graced the pages of publications like Art in America, The New York Times, Essence Magazine, Artforum, The Chicago Tribune, New York Magazine and Hyperallergic.

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ne of her favorite artistic events is Art Basel in Miami Beach. “What’s beautiful about coming to Miami and being at Art Basel in particular is that you have many different types of people looking at your work in a way

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that they wouldn’t before because it’s a place where people come intentionally to look at artwork,” she says. Simmons also recognizes that while the art fair is intended to be a commercial transaction, its existence has a higher purpose: “It’s interesting to have your work be historically critical but also part of the commercial landscape that art fairs bring. To penetrate people’s historical narrative and to be able to do that and also have them want to have these objects to treasure and collect them and take care of them and be stewards for them. It’s an honor. It’s introducing stewards to the art that they are going to decide to take care of and to nurture, so it can be a part of our world’s collective memory.”

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his year, she is part of a group exhibition at the David Castillo Gallery, where a number of her pieces from “Sundown Town” will be on display with several of her text sculptures and her fur and wood compositions titled One (Blue Frost).

The piece looks fairly innocuous until the top of the table comes into view. Dressed in an outfit similar to the pattern of the fur colored chairs, there’s a picture of Xaviera Simmons lacquered into the wood. In the photograph, she is pouring over a map of the African continent, as if she is still searching for something.

“Yes, these things can decorate homes, but they can do more than that. They also can inspire dialogue, and through that dialogue, change the way we interact with history.” ■

Left to right: Sundown (Number Ten), Sundown (Number Five), Sundown (Number NINE).

COURTESY DAVID CASTILLO GALLERY

or some, winter is a time of snuggling up by the fire, indulging in hot cocoa and hibernating until spring. While that can be enjoyable, you’re far more likely to find me on the slopes!

Snow skiing is my favorite sport, and I love it so much that my entire wedding was planned around a week of skiing in beautiful Aspen, Colorado, with my entire family and close friends. In addition to being a thrill, skiing is a pastime loaded with health benefits.

Whether you’re eager to burn calories, build up your leg muscles or just get rid of anxiety, skiing might be the sport you’re searching for.

or some, winter is a time of snuggling up by the fire, indulging in hot cocoa and hibernating until spring. While that can be enjoyable, you’re far more likely to find me on the slopes!

Snow skiing is my favorite sport, and I love it so much that my entire wedding was planned around a week of skiing in beautiful Aspen, Colorado, with my entire family and close friends. In addition to being a thrill, skiing is a pastime loaded with health benefits. Whether you’re eager to burn calories, build up your leg muscles or just get rid of anxiety, skiing might be the sport you’re searching for.

Improved Cardiovascular Fitness Sure, gravity is helping if you’re skiing downhill, but your heart will still be getting a killer workout! As you ski, your heart rate increases. The higher your heart rate, the more oxygen your body needs - and the more calories you burn in the process. Skiing is an aerobic sport, which means that you’ll be keeping your heart rate elevated for much of the time you’re on the slopes.

Keep in mind that if you’re skiing at high altitude, you’ll be taxing your heart and your cardiovascular system a little

Improved Cardiovascular Fitness Sure, gravity is helping if you’re skiing downhill, but your heart will still be getting a killer workout! As you ski, your heart rate increases.

The higher your heart rate, the more oxygen your body needs - and the more calories you burn in the process. Skiing is an aerobic sport, which means that you’ll be keeping your heart rate elevated for much of the time you’re on the slopes.

Keep in mind that if you’re skiing at high altitude, you’ll be taxing your heart and your cardiovascular system a little

more than normal. At high elevation, your heart has to work harder to deliver plenty of oxygen to the muscles that need it most. To enjoy the heart-healthy benefits of skiing without struggling with altitude sickness, try to get to your favorite ski destination a day or two ahead of time. That allows you to acclimate to the elevation before you strap on your skis.

Focus on the Core In order to keep an upright posture when you’re skiing, you have to rely on your core an incredible amount. For balance, you’ll use your obliques as well as your abdominals. Although everyone expects to have sore legs the day after hitting the slopes, don’t be surprised if you can also feel it in your core. A few runs down a challenging slope is a lot more fun than doing hundreds of crunches, that’s for sure!

Muscles of the Lower Body Whether you’re heading for the bunny slopes or the black diamonds, skiing is a great workout for all the muscles of the lower body. Your glutes serve as the powerhouse, helping to stabilize you as you remain in the squat position for

extended periods of time. Skiing is also going to help shape and build your quads and your hamstrings. Even the muscles in your feet and ankles get a workout when you’re skiing.

Mental Health Benefits of Skiing Although the physical benefits of skiing are nothing to scoff at, it’s the psychological benefits that many skiers love most. Strap on your skis to enjoy a boost of endorphins and adrenaline - a combination of feel-good chemicals that can keep you smiling for days to come.

Plus, since skiing is an outdoor sport, skiers get the added benefit of Vitamin D. A dose of sunshine is proven to boost mood and stave off conditions like depression. Just one more reason to head for the snow-capped mountains.

While I love skiing for so many reasons, there’s no denying the health benefits of the sport. Although there’s something magical about cuddling up by the fireplace with a mug of cocoa, I promise the drink is a little sweeter in a lodge after a long day of skiing.

Wishing you love, health & happiness!

Angie

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A ROOM WITH A VIEW

For thousands of years, in a season that can seem frightfully unforgiving, winter adventurers have embraced the powdery snow that blankets rooftops, trees and frigid terrain by donning skis and gliding weightlessly through the trees and sleet.

But where to travel to find the ultimate winter wonderland?

Resorts can sometimes be kitschy and overrun with tourists, but one should never settle for run-of-the-mill. From the Swiss Alps to the Italian Dolomites to the Sierra Madre, here are the most awe-inspiring destinations—and the most luxurious chalets—to hit the slopes.

By JENNA REALMUTO

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f all the Alpine vistas, none are more thrilling than the Italian Dolomites. The groove-shaped peaks present stunning hues that whimsically dance with the sun’s arc. One drinks in the atmosphere instead of simply being awestruck. If you land here towards the end of ski season, the flowers begin to peep out of the snow, and a stop in a rustic hillside taverna fills your lungs with the aroma of fresh gnocchi and hearty sauces. Perhaps crown your meal with a cumin grappa. The Dolomites tug at the heartstrings like a Puccini aria, and the memory never completely fades. Very few with the means to return fail to do so—it’s impossible to ignore the beckoning of Cortina d’Ampezzo, the cherished heart of the Southern Alps. A longtime jetset location for the European aristocracy, the town centre enchants with a castle-like bell tower reigning against a backdrop of grandiose mountain peaks. Throughout its history, Cortina has housed and aroused artists and intellectuals—Hemingway once lived a year here—so perhaps the serenity will inspire the next masterpiece. Whether one is feeling creative or is itching to strap on the skis, Cortina d’Ampezzo is the perfect landing.

Chalet Stella Alpina

Overlooking the charming promenade of Cortina’s main avenue sits Chalet Stella Alpina. The exterior exudes the very essence of traditional stucco-and-timber architecture, but inside is a fusion of modern furnishings and old-world coziness. It seems a different world—a world that rejects the status quo. Start your day by taking a dip in the heated indoor pool, and after a day of skiing, melt the icicles from your bones in the state-of-the-art sauna and spa. Tucked in the very heart of the renowned Via Menardi area, a cultural, economic and social hub, your après-ski activities seem limitless. Its cutting-edge wellness amenities and proximity to the picturesque slopes make Chalet Stella Alpina the peak of modern luxury, a place to enjoy the excitement of winter sports and bask in a hamlet of relaxation.

Behind the traditional exterior of this alpine home lies a luxurious, modern chalet with fantastic views from the terrace overlooking the town of Cortina d’Ampezzo and beyond to Mount Cristallo. The wellness area is equipped with a sauna, a swimming pool, sunlamps and a jacuzzi with waterfall. In addition to a large-screen cinema room, the home also features a state-of-the-art wine cellar housing the finest labels. The master bedroom offers two ensuite bathrooms.

For more information visit Italy Sotheby’s International Realty. italy-sothebysrealty.com Price upon request.

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Lake Tahoe and the Sierra skyline are the back drop for this exceptional ultramodern lake front property. The home benefits from walls of glass in each of its principal rooms, capturing the seasonal beauty of its habitat. The residence boasts 4 bedrooms and 5 baths spanning more than 8,600 feet.

T

o breathe the same air as the angels, you must go to Tahoe,” wrote Mark Twain of the crisp, pine-scented atmosphere of Lake Tahoe.

Straddling the border of California and Nevada, the desert nudges from the east as the trendy Bay Area muscles in from the west. The crystal clear waters, ringed by towering pines and snow-capped peaks, mirror the majesty of the Sierra Madre on its pristine, cobalt surface.

(If one were to drop a stone off a boat, it would remain visible until it reached a depth of 70 feet or more.) Trimmed with fragrant pines and blanketed with fluffy snowfall, Lake Tahoe knits the adventurous elements of winter into one picturesque destination. With multiple ski parks (flaunting both Olympic-level potential and bunny-slope bluffs), the panoramic beauty of Lake Tahoe is polished by sunshine four out of five days a year—one reason many of the nation’s finest winter athletes have made Tahoe their home. Once you’ve warmed up from your foray on the snow-capped slopes, you will find that casinos, signature boutiques and gourmet dining abound.

580 Gonowabie

For months, designers rejected the notion that a huge, frameless glass door could be done, but the construction manager didn’t take “no” for an answer. Fourteen months later, a 2,000-pound laminated entryway was seamlessly fitted into the almost entirely glass structure that appears to emerge from the Sierra Madre mountainside. Every inch, every element, every accoutrement of the ultra-modern architecture by Mark Dziewulski was deliberate. The project spanned a decade, enlisted the help of more than a dozen consultants and designers and was tailored to the exacting desires of the then-owners. Sitting in any of its rooms, one gets the illusion of standing on a cloud, floating between the snowcapped mountains and the shimmering depths of Lake Tahoe. Trimless windows make up the external walls of each principal room, allowing for spine-tingling views of the water, and the looming centerpiece levitates as a glass staircase that winds its way up through six stories. The purity of detail of this chalet is a perfect match for the quietly upscale North Shore. From the bottom floor, one steps down an amphitheatrelike lawn and carefully hewn stone steps to the steel pier, where yachting is popular all year round.

For more visit Oliver Lux Realty/Christie’s International Realty. oliverlux.com $39,750,000

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or some, winter is a time of snuggling up by the fire, indulging in hot cocoa and hibernating until spring. While that can be enjoyable, you’re far more likely to find me on the slopes!

Snow skiing is my favorite sport, and I love it so much that my entire wedding was planned around a week of skiing in beautiful Aspen, Colorado, with my entire family and close friends. In addition to being a thrill, skiing is a pastime loaded with health benefits.

Whether you’re eager to burn calories, build up your leg muscles or just get rid of anxiety, skiing might be the sport you’re searching for.

“

Improved Cardiovascular Fitness Sure, gravity is helping if you’re skiing downhill, but your heart will still be getting a killer workout! As you ski, your heart rate increases.

The higher your heart rate, the more oxygen your body needs - and the more calories you burn in the process. Skiing is an aerobic sport, which means that you’ll be keeping your heart rate elevated for much of the time you’re on the slopes.

Keep in mind that if you’re skiing at high altitude, you’ll be taxing your heart and your cardiovascular system a little

There’s a whole beautiful world out there, and it was like riding a magic carpet, getting to know exotic, faraway places.

”

— YVETTE MIMIEUX

or some, winter is a time of snuggling up by the fire, indulging in hot cocoa and hibernating until spring. While that can be enjoyable, you’re far more likely to find me on the slopes!

Snow skiing is my favorite sport, and I love it so much that my entire wedding was planned around a week of skiing in beautiful Aspen, Colorado, with my entire family and close friends. In addition to being a thrill, skiing is a pastime loaded with health benefits. Whether you’re eager to burn calories, build up your leg muscles or just get rid of anxiety, skiing might be the sport you’re searching for.

Improved Cardiovascular Fitness Sure, gravity is helping if you’re skiing downhill, but your heart will still be getting a killer workout! As you ski, your heart rate increases. The higher your heart rate, the more oxygen your body needs - and the more calories you burn in the process. Skiing is an aerobic sport, which means that you’ll be keeping your heart rate elevated for much of the time you’re on the slopes.

Keep in mind that if you’re skiing at high altitude, you’ll be taxing your heart and your cardiovascular system a little

70

more than normal. At high elevation, your heart has to work harder to deliver plenty of oxygen to the muscles that need it most. To enjoy the heart-healthy benefits of skiing without struggling with altitude sickness, try to get to your favorite ski destination a day or two ahead of time. That allows you to acclimate to the elevation before you strap on your skis.

Focus on the Core In order to keep an upright posture when you’re skiing, you have to rely on your core an incredible amount. For balance, you’ll use your obliques as well as your abdominals. Although everyone expects to have sore legs the day after hitting the slopes, don’t be surprised if you can also feel it in your core. A few runs down a challenging slope is a lot more fun than doing hundreds of crunches, that’s for sure!

Muscles of the Lower Body Whether you’re heading for the bunny slopes or the black diamonds, skiing is a great workout for all the muscles of the lower body. Your glutes serve as the powerhouse, helping to stabilize you as you remain in the squat position for

• hiver 2018 • readelysian.com

extended periods of time. Skiing is also going to help shape and build your quads and your hamstrings. Even the muscles in your feet and ankles get a workout when you’re skiing.

Mental Health Benefits of Skiing Although the physical benefits of skiing are nothing to scoff at, it’s the psychological benefits that many skiers love most. Strap on your skis to enjoy a boost of endorphins and adrenaline - a combination of feel-good chemicals that can keep you smiling for days to come.

Plus, since skiing is an outdoor sport, skiers get the added benefit of Vitamin D. A dose of sunshine is proven to boost mood and stave off conditions like depression. Just one more reason to head for the snow-capped mountains.

While I love skiing for so many reasons, there’s no denying the health benefits of the sport. Although there’s something magical about cuddling up by the fireplace with a mug of cocoa, I promise the drink is a little sweeter in a lodge after a long day of skiing.

Wishing you love, health & happiness!

Angie

or some, winter is a time of snuggling up by the fire, indulging in hot cocoa and hibernating until spring. While that can be enjoyable, you’re far more likely to find me on the slopes!

Snow skiing is my favorite sport, and I love it so much that my entire wedding was planned around a week of skiing in beautiful Aspen, Colorado, with my entire family and close friends. In addition to being a thrill, skiing is a pastime loaded with health benefits.

Whether you’re eager to burn calories, build up your leg muscles or just get rid of anxiety, skiing might be the sport you’re searching for.

or some, winter is a time of snuggling up by the fire, indulging in hot cocoa and hibernating until spring. While that can be enjoyable, you’re far more likely to find me on the slopes!

Snow skiing is my favorite sport, and I love it so much that my entire wedding was planned around a week of skiing in beautiful Aspen, Colorado, with my entire family and close friends. In addition to being a thrill, skiing is a pastime loaded with health benefits. Whether you’re eager to burn calories, build up your leg muscles or just get rid of anxiety, skiing might be the sport you’re searching for.

Improved Cardiovascular Fitness Sure, gravity is helping if you’re skiing downhill, but your heart will still be getting a killer workout! As you ski, your heart rate increases. The higher your heart rate, the more oxygen your body needs - and the more calories you burn in the process. Skiing is an aerobic sport, which means that you’ll be keeping your heart rate elevated for much of the time you’re on the slopes.

Keep in mind that if you’re skiing at high altitude, you’ll be taxing your heart and your cardiovascular system a little

Improved Cardiovascular Fitness Sure, gravity is helping if you’re skiing downhill, but your heart will still be getting a killer workout! As you ski, your heart rate increases.

The higher your heart rate, the more oxygen your body needs - and the more calories you burn in the process. Skiing is an aerobic sport, which means that you’ll be keeping your heart rate elevated for much of the time you’re on the slopes.

Keep in mind that if you’re skiing at high altitude, you’ll be taxing your heart and your cardiovascular system a little

more than normal. At high elevation, your heart has to work harder to deliver plenty of oxygen to the muscles that need it most. To enjoy the heart-healthy benefits of skiing without struggling with altitude sickness, try to get to your favorite ski destination a day or two ahead of time. That allows you to acclimate to the elevation before you strap on your skis.

Focus on the Core In order to keep an upright posture when you’re skiing, you have to rely on your core an incredible amount. For balance, you’ll use your obliques as well as your abdominals. Although everyone expects to have sore legs the day after hitting the slopes, don’t be surprised if you can also feel it in your core. A few runs down a challenging slope is a lot more fun than doing hundreds of crunches, that’s for sure!

Muscles of the Lower Body Whether you’re heading for the bunny slopes or the black diamonds, skiing is a great workout for all the muscles of the lower body. Your glutes serve as the powerhouse, helping to stabilize you as you remain in the squat position for

extended periods of time. Skiing is also going to help shape and build your quads and your hamstrings. Even the muscles in your feet and ankles get a workout when you’re skiing.

Mental Health Benefits of Skiing Although the physical benefits of skiing are nothing to scoff at, it’s the psychological benefits that many skiers love most. Strap on your skis to enjoy a boost of endorphins and adrenaline - a combination of feel-good chemicals that can keep you smiling for days to come.

Plus, since skiing is an outdoor sport, skiers get the added benefit of Vitamin D. A dose of sunshine is proven to boost mood and stave off conditions like depression. Just one more reason to head for the snow-capped mountains.

While I love skiing for so many reasons, there’s no denying the health benefits of the sport. Although there’s something magical about cuddling up by the fireplace with a mug of cocoa, I promise the drink is a little sweeter in a lodge after a long day of skiing.

Wishing you love, health & happiness!

Angie

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T

he alpine village of Zermatt, Switzerland is the quintessential postcard resort with a truly special crochet of sights, sounds and thrills. Cars not allowed, the sound of horse-drawn sleighs is ubiquitous with the occasional jingle of bells. As the approach by mountain train rounds the final bend, the cinematic Matterhorn majestically positions itself as the everpresent backdrop of your stay. Peppering the hillside are centuries-old hay barns and cozy log-fashioned bistros. One is beckoned by fireplaces and hearty fare to pop in one or two on the downhill traverse—unless you wish to venture down the sunny eightmile trail to the Italian village of Cervinia.

Challenging the Matterhorn for attention at these higher elevations is the proud and massive Monte Rosa on which mountain goats pick their precarious way through crevices. Zermatt’s cozy main street sparkles with gentile raclette restaurants with some night spots percolating until the wee hours.

Once visited, no other alpine destination can fully measure up. The understated Swiss townsfolk quietly welcome all to share in the love of their charming mountain treasure.

Heinz Julen Loft

Directly from the twinkling village streets, one boards a lift to ascend to the stunning Heinz Julen loft. Originally built as his private home (or, as some report, “party pad”), the world-famous Julen wielded his architectural panache to make this structure an opulent enigma. The open plan, with all its space and light, is reminiscent of an artist’s Manhattan-style loft but is instead encased within wooden chalet in the Alps. The double-height living area overlooks the village with floor-to-ceiling windows, complete with an inset fireplace and wrap-around electric curtains if you prefer a bit of privacy. (But who doesn’t want to enjoy a cup of fresh coffee while gazing over the snow-capped range of Mischabel Mountains?) Indeed, the experience of a stay at this loft is the ultimate in self-indulgence with a freestanding, indoor jacuzzi, a master bedroom with rotating floor and a suspended, illuminated dining table that can be raised or lowered to your liking.

For more information visit Luxury Retreats. luxuryretreats.com $2,553/night

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W INSPIRING WOMEN Our Inspiring Women have been selected because each has carved out a unique path through life that is recognized by others as exceptional. You will see a commonality in the interviews.

These remarkable women have achieved greatness by following their internal compasses while facing the circumstances they are dealt in life.

None had a road map.

Portions of these interviews have been selected to showcase these women’s inspiring lives and have been edited for clarity and brevity.

For video interviews, visit elysianwomen.com

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Interviews by KAREN FLOYD

KAREN ABERCROMBIE

Born: Aliquippa, Pennsylvania Resides: Mooresville, North Carolina

Award-winning actress; storyteller; motivational speaker; singersongwriter; producer; owner of Isanaklesh Entertainment, LLC, soon to release Just Grace; Miss Clara in the movie War Room.

DONNA RICE HUGHES

FAITH HOPE CONSOLO

Born: New, Orleans, Louisiana Resides: Northern Virginia

Born: Shaker Heights, Ohio Resides: New York, New York

Known as the “Queen of Retail;” Chairman of Douglas Elliman’s Retail Leasing, Marketing and Sales Division; responsible for the most successful commercial division of New York City’s largest residential real estate brokerage firm; at the center of the Revitalization of Times Square and the Redevelopment of Penn Station.

SHOP & EXPLORE

President and CEO of Enough Is Enough; an internationally known internet safety expert; author; speaker and Emmy Awardwinning film producer.

E

DAPHNA SMOLKA

Born: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Resides: Boca Raton, Florida

Patient educator for the International Pemphigus Pemphigoid Foundation; received Masters of Management in Hospitality from Cornell University; travel, hospitality and marketing industry professional for over two decades; member of the Women’s League of B’nai Torah Congregation.

An award-winning actress, producer, singer-songwriter, motivational speaker and philanthropist, Karen Abercrombie is no stranger to the big screen. In addition to her many guest appearances in television shows, she recently starred as Miss Clara in the box office hit, War Room. Karen gives credit to her beloved Aunt Vine, who planted the seeds of love and the power of faith, for making her the strong woman she is today.

award-winning actress & producer

Karen Abercrombie Your childhood was difficult; can you tell me about your parents?

Both my parents were alcoholics, and mother was also a drug user/abuser. My siblings and I were very close. Because my mother was drunk a lot, I had to step into her shoes: cooking, cleaning and caring for the younger siblings.

When did you realize that you had a gift, and what was that gift?

I don’t know when I realized it, but I always had a vivid imagination.

I even had an invisible friend when I was growing up. I had actually forgotten about it, but I heard my grandmother and mother telling me about my friend. I don’t know. Was it an angel? You know how the mind can save you from your surroundings? The human mind is absolutely amazing and has the ability to help you protect yourself in a difficult situation.

Did your other siblings fare as well as you have?

In some respect, because we always had each other. We are still very, very tight and very, very close.

You have a home in North Carolina and in Los Angeles.

Where do you spend most of your time?

It depends on what’s going on. Sometimes I am in Los Angeles for three, four, five months, and sometimes I just need to come home to North Carolina and chill out. That is where I plant my garden and where I rarely wear shoes.

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Were you a good student or a bad student?

I was an okay student. It’s very interesting. When the teachers showed me that little extra that I didn’t get at home, I excelled, in particular, my seventh grade English teacher, Ms. Dukovich.

I always loved English. I loved the language, but I wasn’t very good at it. In her class, I went from making Ds to off the charts.

There were students that were brilliant across the board, but they couldn’t keep up with me in that class.

You mirrored your teacher’s enthusiasm much like pleasing an audience. Is that why you excelled in acting?

It’s what I’m gifted to do. It is just what it is. I always intended to go to college. I was majoring in psychology, but I spent most of my free time doing plays. Finally, I said, “Okay, I can’t do this anymore. I can’t pretend that college is really what I want to do.

I want to act.” I started doing some research and found a couple schools to audition for and was accepted to a few. My choice was to move to New York not knowing anybody.

How old were you?

I was 20.

What acting method do you use?

I learn my lines by walking through the blocking. That’s what works for me. I studied at the American Academy of Dramatic

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Q

How do you know when you are driving the wrong road, metaphorically speaking?

Arts in New York City. They use the Stanislavski method, but I use a little Stanislavski, a little Meisner. You know, when it comes down to it, whatever works for you. I think you should use whatever allows you to give a true and authentic performance.

Was there one person in particular that molded you in your youth?

My Aunt Vine. Even though my mother was an alcoholic, she saw the connection I had with Aunt Vine. My parents are dead, but God allowed my aunt to be alive, so she could see the result of the seed she planted. She is now 91. It was under her that I gave my life to Christ. So, yes. If you meet her, you’ll say, “Hmm, I see a little Miss Claranacker (phonetic).” She is a little tiny woman, but she is a powerhouse and on fire for the Lord.

She obviously inspired you in some of the movies that you’ve played. What was your first job?

My first professional job was in theater. I was in New York, so, twenty.

During high school, my drama teacher “opened a door” that gave me the opportunity to act in a very prestigious community theater.

Do you feel that you were chosen by God to bring a message to the world?

Absolutely.

And what is that message?

Turn to God. God has everything that we’re all searching for. We try to fill it with money, or whatever, but that relationship with him is the only thing that will fill you up.

You were 39 years old when your son was born, and you hiked until the eighth month. Tell me about that.

I was living full-time out in L.A. where there are all these canyons.

We had a dog at the time, a Springer Spaniel named Jessie. Jessie and I would hike with a stick until I got really, really big, and then, I’d take a .22 pistol because I wasn’t as flexible and couldn’t move as fast. There were wildcats, packs of coyotes and a large population of homeless people. I was a little slower but was always protected.

With a thirty year marriage, successful acting career and motherhood, how do you balance?

I was married briefly in New York to a musician. It was my first serious relationship. We were married seven years and just grew apart. I met my husband, my love, and he’s very different. This gentleman, my husband, is from Jersey, the Isle of Jersey, a little island between London and France. He’s an amazing craftsman.

He worked and trained as an apprentice. The work he does with his hands is incredible, and he works for designers all over the country, but he’s always been very supportive. He didn’t know anything about

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Karen Abercrombie sat down with ELYSIAN publisher Karen Floyd to share her story.

the art world or the theater world. The first time he saw theater was when he came to see me in a play before we started dating. It’s great in that he’s fascinated by it, by watching me morph into different characters. He has been a source of support above and beyond. So, there’s never any stress and strain that way. Because he does what he does and is basically his own boss, he can say, “Well, I’m not coming in.” He can meet me in L.A., or he can meet me in New York or wherever I’m working.

Does he understand the toll on you when you take on characters as an actor?

Oh, he does. He does. Well, for me, whenever I step on stage or in front of a camera, it’s worship. I go in completely open to the process.

It is simply worshiping the giver of the gift. I’m just using the words and the situation that somebody else has set up for a character. So, no matter what the character is or the situation the character is in, I find it energizing because I’m worshiping God. I know other actors who have to go on a vacation after something, but it’s different for me.

Tell me about the character you played in War Room.

When I read her dialogue, her voice popped up out of me. Often, we have to build a believable three-dimensional character, but it just wasn’t that way with Miss Clara. I heard her voice immediately.

When I went in to do the audition, it was an answer to a prayer. It was something divine that God put in motion, and everything fit properly.

Did she remind you of your aunt?

There were parts, yes, because she’s a spiritual powerhouse.

But, yes, absolutely.

Your aunt was instrumental in your faith?

Yes, she had a children’s ministry called The Sunshine Band.

She would take her little flannel board, Mary, Joseph, Jesus and the animals into different neighborhoods to teach children about the love of Christ. I was one of those children.

In God’s Compass, you played Suzanne Waters. Was that also Godly inspired?

It was, in many respects. Suzanne Waters was a widow. She lost her husband, and she was retiring as a high school principal.

She was excited but not exactly sure what life would look like after spending so much of her time as a wife and a principal. Her life journey shown in the movie was quite amazing. It’s a beautiful story.

She ends up taking in children that have lost their parents, and they become family. She also finds that God is in every move. He’s got you. He’s around every corner you’re about to walk. It is a powerful story, and I did it at a point in my life where it was impactful. At that time, my son was in college. Everything God does is divine. He was helping to prep for this character.

You have been an actress in many movies. What is your favorite role to date?

It would definitely be Miss Clara because I was able to share my faith and spread the message of prayer.

Do you believe God predetermines life, or do you think you have life choices?

We all have a purpose here, but God gave us free will. We get in that car, and we drive it, many times in the totally opposite direction of where we should be going. But, he’s always with us wherever we go, and he’s always waiting for us to make the choice.

How do you know when you are driving the wrong road, metaphorically speaking?

Many times, I don’t drive there because he’s gifted me with many things. I write music, so I gravitate to Christian-based music. I remember several times saying to myself, “Oh, God, you’ve given me this talent! What am I going to do with it?” Do you know what’s happened? Everything that I’ve done, even if it’s been years before, has a place. I’m able to pick up some of the old children’s music that I wrote, and there’s a place for it now.

I have found that the energy I spent was never “for nothing.”

Everything has value, but sometimes the time is just not right.

You describe purpose and timing. Is that orchestrated by God? I believe it is. I believe it is.

Why do you reside in Mooresville, North Carolina?

We just wanted to slow things down. My husband was really busy doing his beautiful work. I was busy acting. I knew that the more my son would need me, the more I needed to be available. Because it took me so long to conceive, my son is everything. I was on my knees for many years praying for him.

When I was in L.A. right before I got pregnant, things were just picking up, picking up. And then, I found out that I was pregnant. I did not have to think twice. When my baby was born, he would be my priority. I was living in Burbank. I had an audition right over the hill in Hollywood, just ten minutes away. I knew a very nice lady across the street that had a daycare. I said to her, “Can I drop him here for a few minutes while I run over the hill?” I had a certain time to audition and planned on returning immediately afterwards. When I came back to get my baby, he was still at the door. He didn’t take his backpack off. His face was red, nose running. He had been

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crying. I said, “Okay, no one will ever again keep this gift that I’ve been given.” From then on, everybody that wanted to hire me knew my baby would be coming. He was well-behaved.

Everywhere I went, he had his little bag; he had his toys. While we rehearsed, whatever we were doing, he was right there with me, in the room or at the theater. He’d have his little car or be playing with something else, but he was always right there.

God gave me that gift, and I honored that gift. That’s how I ended up doing a children’s theater company. I could be home every time my son was home, and there would be food cooked for dinner. My husband made a studio for me on the top floor of our house. When my son would come home, all these other kids would come with him. They would come upstairs and take classes. He’d do his homework and then come up and play with us for a while when I taught drama.

Where is your son today?

He’s a robotics engineer in Massachusetts.

I want to talk now about your life today. What lies ahead?

I want to use my gifts to pour beauty and love into this world.

I want to direct my energy to our youth because it is so hard to grow these days. They are being bombarded with garbage.

The sheer volume of trash found on the Internet combined with the films that are being made is breathtaking. I have formed a production company, and we started making movies. They are exciting, slightly sci-fi type movies. Everything we do has a spiritual backdrop. We produce movies that are intriguing and engaging with good messages for our kids. I want to continue to do that. When I die, when it’s time for Him to call me home, I don’t want to have a drop of what he put in me left.

What do you want to be remembered for?

Love.

What would you consider your greatest accomplishment to date? Only one.

Greatest accomplishment. Being here. Just being able to use my God-given creativity to make a difference.

What life goal remains?

Just to continue to weave people together. I feel that if we don’t come together, we’re missing parts of God. I believe Mark Twain said, “Travel is the cure to prejudice.” When you travel and you taste spices in food that somebody else has cooked, you take in some of the other cultures. It’s just God’s handiwork. He’s so awesome, and he’s wide. He’s wider than the pages. Man might think we can put him on the pages, but it’s impossible. He’s deeper than we can begin to fathom. But when we travel, we glimpse into the canyon of all God’s people.

What’s your favorite book?

It would be the Bible. If I can’t say the Bible, there was a book my English teacher had me read that changed everything for me. The book was called The White House. It was a story of a young Mexican girl who moved into a different neighborhood. She was very, very poor, and she was very popular. When people would take her home after extracurricular activities, she would have them drop her off way down the hill, and she’d walk all the way up the hill because she didn’t want people to see how she lived; the house with chickens in the yard.

It was the first book she had us read that school year. I was a young teen. That story sunk deep and changed me. You are you, and you are amazing. Never be ashamed.

If you had conversation with any person, who would that be?

Mother Teresa, because of her love for people. Her heart was open and wide. She was amazing to me. She loved out loud. She loved and by her example, taught all of us how to treat each other.

Which philanthropic causes are your focus?

Outside of children, clean drinking water in countries where there is none, donating money for wells and digging wells in Mexico and some of the African countries. Imagine being so thirsty, and the only water you can drink is contaminated with parasites. The mothers in these countries give their kids the water, and then they wait a few weeks until the pustules have grown on the bodies. Then, they start to dig so that the parasites can crawl out.

If you could ask God one question, what would that be?

Why me?

Pretend for a moment that I am your son. What do you need him to know?

Just know that you are more than enough. You’re more than enough. ■

Many times, I don’t drive there because he’s gifted me with many things.

I write music, so I gravitate to Christian-based music. I remember several times saying to myself, “Oh, God, you’ve given me this talent! What am I going to do with it?” Do you know what’s happened?

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Faith Hope Consolo poses in front of Christain Dior’s flagship store on East 57th Street, New York City.

She’s known as the “Queen of Retail” and has long been recognized for her fashion savvy and design talents, but Faith Hope Consolo has carved out a unique place for herself in the high stakes real estate world of New York City as Chairman of Douglas Elliman’s Retail Leasing, Marketing and Sales Division.

On a recent afternoon, Faith sat down with ELYSIAN Publisher, Karen Floyd, for an interview. Their chosen venue was an elegant boutique hotel tucked away on a quiet side street on the Upper East Side. The Lowell Hotel, a stone’s throw from the celebrated fashion houses of Madison Avenue and footsteps from Fifth Avenue and Central Park, is well known to discerning visitors to New York City who appreciate exceptional accommodations and discreet service.

retail broker & real estate industry expert

FAITH HOPE CONSOLO Your background in the arts began in New York and Paris?

Yes, it was a very exciting time. I really wanted to be an interior designer, which I eventually became. I also loved fashion and contemplated designing accessories; although that was not really my love. I was always an artist at heart. When I chose Parsons, I said, “This will be my career.” My passion was studying art. I was just 16 years old. Later, when I studied in Paris, my roommate and I had the opportunity to visit the greatest museums in the world. We even traveled behind the Iron Curtain to visit the museums of Russia and Poland. My appreciation of the arts is deep and is what I am “inside.” I love going to the theater and the ballet. I am very fortunate to live here in New York City, the art capital of the world, not to mention the financial and the shopping capital of the world.

You also paint?

Yes, in watercolor. I love painting all those beautiful colors and consider myself a fake impressionist painter. I did a small show in Lenox, Massachusetts. They don’t have as discerning an eye as they have here in New York.

You are a recipient of the Dramatist Guild Foundation 2018 Gala Honors. Was it for your acting?

No, not acting but for my philanthropic focus. I can’t believe the Dramatist Guild selected me alongside the president of Estée Lauder. When they called, I asked, “Are you sure?” I am still a little taken back and grateful.

Tell me about your experience acting Off-Broadway. When was the first time that you even considered the idea of acting?

My parents died when I was very young. I was raised by my grandmother who was much, much older. When I was at school in Connecticut, I used to drive to New York to visit the Actors Guild, always waiting for that casting call. I went for the modeling gigs too. I didn’t tell anyone. When the call came for a walk on, I never got the message. My grandmother would say that I was not there. Back then, there was only one phone in the home and no answering machines. I never got those messages. After college, I decided to pursue acting and did some summer stock. I knew it wouldn’t be my full-time career, but I wanted to keep my fingers in the pie. A few years ago, a friend who had seen some of my work said, “Why don’t you do this musical with us?” He had a series, and that’s what we did. I get calls from time to time, and ironically, I have had more calls, after the Off-Broadway show, from reality television shows. I could never do that because my focus is in commercial real estate. We have to protect our clients; client anonymity and negotiation details are confidential.

How does it feel when you are on the stage?

Very natural. I am told that I am a natural born actress. In the boardroom when I want control of the meeting, I use facial expressions, movement, as well as what I say, to control outcomes. I have been told that when I say something, people believe it. I always tell them that is nothing more than being a good actress.

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Did you get nervous in the Off-Broadway show production?

I was nervous the night of the show. They gave me the lines in advance and asked me to rehearse with everybody. I was really busy at the time but committed to doing a little bit. The night of the show I got very, very nervous because I realized the audience was comprised of my friends, clients, lawyers, doctors and neighbors. They had promoted the show beyond my expectations. For the general “theater goers,” it’s okay, but there were many people in the audience that I cared deeply about. My assistant kept coming back saying, “You won’t believe who’s sitting out there.” The theatre sold out and had standing room only. That is when I really became nervous.

So, painting, interior decorating, acting, visual arts, ballet, theater.

The whole gamut. What do you want people to remember about you?

I danced through life.

Do you consider yourself an innovator or a sustainer?

I work like a sustainer, but I am always innovating. Right now, the retail landscape is very challenging, not only here in New York, but all over the world. I get up every day, and I say, “What are we going to do? How are we going to solve this? How will we find the right pieces to the puzzle? What do we have to do differently today to make things happen?” And I mean not only for the deal, but to support our clients, our retailers. Once you place a client, whether it’s in New York, L.A. or Paris, you must differentiate yourself by how you support them. What happens after the placement is equally important. Whether it’s digital or print, everything must keep changing and growing. I never approach any project or challenge the same as I did yesterday, last month, last year and ten years ago.

Q

Were you nervous the entire show?

No, the minute I stepped on the stage and the first line came to me, I went right into character. The director couldn’t believe it. He said he was surprised that not only was I able to remember the lines, but I had made the part my own. Beforehand he said, “Listen, let her make it her own. If she doesn’t say exactly what’s in the script, let her do whatever she wants because she will be hysterical.” He trusted me, and I was very funny because it was a very unusual character. I think the facial expressions made it work. I recognized people in the first row that I knew. I just got into character, and it was a lot of fun. I received a lot of good feedback and nice writeups in the real estate trade magazines.

A former model in her own right, Faith founded a modeling agency in college, which she sold to a national company. She then went on to found an interior design firm, which she later sold to an architectural firm, before starting her real estate career.

You are known to“count,”or read a room, better than anyone. How does that work?

How do you respond to people that call you an icon?

I’m not a Nobel Peace Prize winner, and I am not curing any diseases. I am just trying to make it all work. When I entered this profession, there were no women doing commercial real estate.

I was told to go into residential. “Oh, no,” I said. “I want to hang out with the boys, be with the big guys. I want to meet the icons on Wall Street.” I feel that I met that challenge early.

There were two or three other women in the office at the time, but that was it. Success is more than just staying in the game; it is staying on top of the game. There will always be new people coming into the profession. It is important in this business to assimilate them and maybe even be a role model for them.

Are you a businesswoman, a marketing person or a financial person?

Faith placed luxury multi-brand beauty retailer Cos Bar, in its first Manhattan location at Brookfield Place, one of the city’s most sought after luxury shopping destinations.

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Ironically, I hate numbers, but my business is all about numbers. I don’t sit and crunch the numbers but can read a balance sheet. I passed the Series 7, but I could never be in Wall Street. I suppose my real interest is marketing, but I want to avoid being pigeonholed. It is all about how you look at something the idea of what can be. I have taken real entrepreneurs and placed them in a wonderful space so that they are primed to be huge successes. The key is understanding what someone is trying to do.

You can’t be everything to everybody, but I like to be part of the process in helping people reach their goals.

I read, not only people, but also situations. I have this innate gift.

I can come into a room, and no one has to speak. I will be able to assess who is on our side, the other side and who will be an issue or a problem.

I have learned it is a very rare quality.

How many hours do you work a day?

I don’t know. My mind is always going, thinking about work. I may not work a lot of hours in the traditional sense, but even when I am on vacation, at a concert, on a boat in the middle of the Mediterranean, my mind never stops. I just mesh work together wherever I am.

Will you retire?

No.

How did your grandmother impact your life?

She took care of me after my parents died. She was strong.

She had buried her children, two husbands, and here I was . . . a teenager. She was over 80. She ran our home. She was always there for me and was a wonderful support. She was my role

model for her strength. Everyone else had a family unit or at least parents. And we didn’t have either.

You never had children?

Yes. That was my choice. I was an only child and didn’t think I would be a good enough mother. I thought, if I make a mistake as a mother, it could be a terrible mistake. But if I make a mistake in a career or a deal, I can go on to remake that. You cannot remake being a mother.

How do you close a deal?

You squash all objections. You try to always be present. People often don’t close deals because they are not listening. Early on, I had a mentor who was not in real estate. He said, “Faith, take out that pad

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and write what you want on the left side and what your client wants on the right side. Just bridge the gap.” It’s all about bridging the gap.

We would like to close every deal we work on. We don’t. Sometimes you just cannot control the outcome. I remember the deals that we didn’t close. There was a very significant deal early on in my career.

I won’t tell you the name, but it was a major company. I went to bed at night with a deal in place, the biggest store on the biggest street. The next morning the CEO was fired, and they ripped up the lease. When I went into my office, everybody was looking at me asking each other, “What is she doing here? Isn’t she upset?” No, I was determined to find something else. That day, I took a walk in the Channel Gardens. I saw this couple standing there just staring at a building. I said, “Can I help you? Are you tourists?” He said, “We have an apparel company in California, and we’re looking for a store in this area.” I took them by the hand, I embraced them, and I brought them back to the office. They did 24 deals with me all over the country. I picked them up off the street, and I still find clients there because I talk to people. I don’t get in the elevator with the iPhone in my ear. Metaphorically, when I walk into an elevator at the New York Athletic Club filled with 20 men, I talk to them, and I ask them questions. “I’m giving a speech today. Who’s taking me to lunch? How are you?” So, I meet people all the time. When someone tells me they don’t have business, I say, “You are too busy, and you are not in the moment.”

What is your legacy?

I think a person’s legacy is the sum total of how you live your life and how you continue giving back. When I say giving back, I do not just mean financially. Often when people become successful, they’ll appear at one luncheon, or they’ll give a lecture. I try to do more by giving time. I support The Women’s Real Estate Organization and mentoring programs. I have a very big intern program. I want to give back to those entities that gave me the support in the beginning.

You are known to “count,” or read a room, better than anyone. How does that work?

I read, not only people, but also situations. I have this innate gift.

I can come into a room, and no one has to speak. I will be able to assess who is on our side, the other side and who will be an issue or a problem. I have learned it is a very rare quality.

Faith Hope Consolo visited with ELYSIAN publisher Karen Floyd for a candid interview at the luxurious Lowell Hotel in New York City’s Upper East Side.

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Is this a skill set you learned from your early years of having to survive in a difficult industry?

I don’t know. It can be a burden because you can walk in a room and feel when people are in a negative mood or in pain. I am a sponge. It is visual. I can walk off the elevator onto the floor, see a new hire sitting there and know whether this one will stay or go. I just feel it in their body language . . . their eyes.

It is a curse, too, because you feel their negativity?

Yes. Awful. Awful.

How do you talk yourself out of absorbing that?

You tell yourself you are okay, how good things are and ask yourself what you can do to help the situation or make it work. It’s very hard when friends become ill. I can hear a voice on a phone and know instinctively something is wrong.

Is it why you’re such an amazing seller?

I don’t know, but it is helpful qualifying a deal who will be with you, who is not. It can also be a burden.

Is leadership lonely?

It can be very lonely. You know what? I have a friend who is the CEO of a company. Recently, she commented, “Faith, the air is very thin at the top.”

But no regrets?

What’s the point? We don’t have time for that.

What advice can you give to our cover model Lily Webster?

I would tell her to think about her best asset. What does Lily have that is different from everyone else, even better than everyone else. What sets Lily apart? Whatever that quality is, Lily should take it with her through life. Whatever that is, it will be in her spirit. No matter where she goes, what she studies, this will be with her forever. This will be something she can lean on.

And what was yours?

Not to be that lonely orphan child that had no parents. I align myself very quickly with people. I learned how to bond by finding the common thread between us. Each person has a different thread that is unique and most important to him or her. ■

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Raised in a traditional southern family, catapulted overnight into the national spotlight, Donna Rice Hughes went from career-minded college graduate to become the center of a political scandal that contributed to the end of a presidential campaign.

Today, she is CEO of Enough Is Enough, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to make the Internet safer for families and children.

internet safety expert & nonprofit CEO

Donna Rice Hughes How many places did you live as a child?

My father worked for the Federal Highway Administration, so we usually lived in capital cities. I was born in New Orleans and lived there for three months. Next, we lived in Tallahassee, Florida for eight years, Atlanta for nine months, and then Columbia, South Carolina until I graduated from the University of South Carolina.

My mother worked for the State Forestry Commission.

You had a dual degree, were Phi Beta Kappa and a university cheerleader?

I had a biology pre-med degree with a minor in business. I didn’t know what Phi Beta Kappa was when I received the invitation. It was a real honor to be asked to join Phi Beta Kappa my junior year. I served on the Mortar Board and Honor Society and yes, somehow managed to be a cheerleader. It was a busy college career, and I loved it. Four of the best years of my life.

You entered into the pageantry world as well.

How old were you when you started doing pageants?

Well, my mother thought I was an awkward tween. We didn’t use that word back then, but I had braces and not great skin, wiry hair. This is before blow dryers and curlers. She sent me to a modeling school, so I could learn how to wear makeup and walk. I started modeling and did my first commercial in the ninth grade for Pizza Hut. Before I knew it, I was being asked to do some pageants. I only did a few.

But you were Miss South Carolina?

I was Miss South Carolina in the Miss World Pageant. There are three signature pageants: America, Universe and World. I won World, which is bigger overseas. It really wasn’t a big deal.

You are tiny. What is your height?

My height is 5’6”, and I’m not as tiny as I used to be.

Unfortunately, sitting in front of a computer for 25 years and not being that active has resulted in being a good 20 pounds over what I was in school. I was the smallest cheerleader on the squad.

I was the one at the top, and I was fearless.

In your 20s, you became known as the beautiful, “It Girl” from South Carolina. Tell me about that.

Wow. Well, I’ve never heard that before. My family and my faith were very important to me. I was committed to make a difference.

I believed in excellence in everything that I did. I was just really blessed to have good people around me; great friends and a lot of opportunities came to me. I didn’t realize that I had any leadership ability until I went out for cheerleading at Carolina. I honestly did it because I was trying to keep a 4.0 GPA. I had a physiology test and a high-level accounting test on the same day. I had not studied for the accounting test, and somebody said, “If you go out for cheerleading, you could get an excuse to get out of the test.” So, I went out, and I was chosen for one of the two remaining spots on a six-girl varsity squad. I just loved it. I really did. I learned that I had some leadership skills, and we actually got a lot of things in motion at Carolina including the Gamecock cheer.

What is your greatest accomplishment to date?

We have accomplished significant things at Enough Is Enough. I would say having the perception, in 1993, ‘94, to see how the internet was going to be impacted by the criminal element, the pornographers and the sexual predators. We helped to start the internet safety

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movement in this country by pioneering that initiative with a whole team and having the vision and the fortitude to get out there and say, “We need to do something about this!” That is an accomplishment I am most proud of.

What was a childhood dream that you realized?

A dream of mine was to use my gifts and my talents to fulfill my destiny and my purpose. That is an odd thing to say, but I wrote that on my first resume when I graduated from college. They said, “What do you want to do?” I said, “I’m not sure exactly, but I want to be used to the fullest of my potential to fulfill my Godgiven destiny that I am here on this Earth to do.”

Donna Rice Hughes’ 1986 modeling card from her early days in fashion.

What is God’s Will for you?

I think finding God’s Will is an interesting challenge. I didn’t start out knowing His Will. In my “prodigal twenties,” I bounced around a bit and lived a gypsy-like life. I put my confidence in people and made some wrong choices. I wanted everything that I was going through right then (1987) to count for something bigger than me. There was a lot of personal pain involved with my family and other people too.

Seven years later, I met the lady that started Enough Is Enough.

The organization was founded by a group of women; Dee Jepsen, who was the president, Tipper Gore and Susan Baker. They saw the problem of pornography in print and broadcast, especially hardcore material. Enough Is Enough was started in 1992, and I started with the organization in ‘94 as their communications director. Dee Jepsen explained that pornography promotes many myths. One of them is that when a woman says ‘no,’ she really means ‘yes’ and wants to be violated. I heard those exact same words when I was 22 and lost my virginity against my will. At the time, we did not have a name for it. Today, it is called date rape. Her words seemed to give me a green light to get involved in this issue. We had no way of knowing what was coming down the line with the internet. Two weeks into it, we saw the beginnings of what would happen. This was an issue that had not seen the light of day. I knew that I was being called to this line of work because I already had an international media platform. We used the opportunity to bring these issues before the national media, Congress and thought leaders. Our message was simple: sexual predators and pornographers have easy access to our kids. The internet safety movement was started in 1995 in an effort to get out in front of this problem.

What happened at age 22?

I actually dated really great guys through high school and college, Christian guys that respected my boundaries. I began to compromise over time. I always say you don’t go from A to Z overnight. You make these little left turns, and that’s what happened to me. I started dating some guys who did not share my faith and did not respect my boundaries, and one of them took advantage of that.

Were you here in Washington at the time?

I was in Columbia, South Carolina where I grew up, and I was on my way to New York as Miss South Carolina. I didn’t tell anybody because I was ashamed. I thought it was my fault. This happens a lot with women. We are seeing that in the #MeToo movement where you hear women saying, “I thought it was just me.” Unfortunately, this attitude has silenced sexually abused young women and girls, and even young boys, for a long time. Shame keeps us in the dark. I stayed in the dark, and I didn’t share that with anybody for many years.

Did you ever think about prosecuting that person or exposing the man who violated you?

I did not, and I’ll tell you why. The next day he called me and apologized. The experience led me to this line of work. He said, “I didn’t realize that you really meant ‘no.’ I thought you were playing

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Q

a game and that you meant ‘yes.’” I thought that was very odd at the time. Fast forward many, many years later, when my boss, Dee, was hiring me for Enough Is Enough. She said that one of the myths of porn messaging is that women really want to be taken advantage of.

Violent content, where women are objectified, sends a message in this man’s world that those kinds of sex games are permissible. That certainly wasn’t my case and my story. I really meant no.

Do you remember the first person you told what had happened?

I’m not sure that I remember. I believe I told a couple friends along the way. It was years later that I spoke out and even then, I minimized it.

When you see women coming forward now with a similar story, what do you think?

I say, “Good for them for bringing it into the light.” What is most important in healing is to be able to talk about something and to realize that you’re not alone. I had worked through so much, especially once I began this work, that I didn’t have any of the pent-up anger or animosity that we see in many women; it’s normal, and it’s good to get it out and start talking about it. We live in a culture that has been saturated with hardcore internet pornography for the past two decades. At Enough Is Enough, we’ve been fighting that to get stronger laws passed and the laws we have on the books aggressively enforced. America is still the number one producer and exporter of hardcore material that is not protected speech. Young people are growing up with a steady diet of very extreme material.

At 22, you were taken advantage of. How did that affect you?

As a young Christian girl, I was taught and believed that I wanted to save myself—my virtue—for marriage. When that was taken from me, I didn’t understand that I could choose to enter into a second virginity. You can say, “I went this direction, but I want to have a life of sexual integrity and purity before I get married.” Well, you can go back to that. Regardless of how or why that innocence has been shattered, that doesn’t mean that you need to continue in that direction. I just continued to make a series of not very good choices when it came to the people that I dated and went out with.

Q

You were in Florida, and you met Gary Hart. Did you know who he was?

I did not know who Gary Hart was when I first met him.

Interestingly enough, he had invited me to dinner. At that time, he had not entered the presidential race. His name had not been in the public eye for maybe four years. Not being a political animal, I called my parents, and I said, “I know this man is in politics, but I’m not sure what he does. I am embarrassed, and I don’t want to seem ignorant.” My dad said, “Well, he’s definitely been in politics. I’m not sure what he’s doing now. I’ll check it out.” And my mother, being about as apolitical as I was, said, “I think he’s got a TV show.” I said, “Mama, that’s Gary Collins.”

Wrong Gary. So, I went out on the date and the Bimini trip. I did find out that he was married because I asked.

You found out before or after the trip?

During the trip, I found out.

Did you know what was even close to bubbling up?

I had absolutely no idea what was about to happen. I did not know that he was going to run for the President of the United States. He announced it two weeks later. That was when a lot of information about him and his womanizing surfaced in the media.

I saw him one more time when I went to Washington, D.C. Two girls that I thought were friends tipped off the Miami Herald and reporters began following me. The result of that visit was a huge story and the scandal that followed changed my life forever.

Have you spoken to those women ever since?

I have not spoken to the woman who called the Herald. In fact, I didn’t even know who it was. I didn’t understand what had happened or why it had happened until many weeks later when the National Enquirer bought the picture of what is described as “the lap shot” from one of the girls who had a copy of that photograph. I had talked with one of the girls until that point.

Were you set-up?

Yes. I’m not sure exactly how it happened because I, obviously, didn’t know. From the media reports that have been done since, many of which were not accurate, and books written, my understanding is that these two girls called the Miami Herald and told them that I was planning to see the Senator. They made the decision to follow me and staked out his house. I was really taken by surprise, as was everybody except those involved in the set-up.

What a betrayal from those women.

Yes, and there was a lot to this. In fact, finally, I’m planning on writing my own book. There have been so many books written over the years and even a movie based on one of these books. But I will tell you, this particular story, this scandal, was a watershed event. I was thrown into the shark-infested waters of a mainstream media that had gone tabloid. It had never happened before, so nobody knew how to handle it. The Hart Campaign didn’t know what to do, and my name was released to the media. I was forced to face the press. You can only imagine. Just that one-week has been turned into books. My life changed forever. Every day was survival and fighting false media stories. People think fake news started now? There was fake news back then. I didn’t have a publicist and attorneys. No one was there to make sure that the record was always straight. This wide-eyed southern girl that wanted to make a difference in the world, that had graduated Phi Beta Kappa, found herself in the middle of a sex scandal. It was about the worst nightmare I could ever imagine, for my family and me. My determination is what brought me back to my faith. My mother and my grandmother kept saying, “Donna don’t make any choices.” I was offered millions and millions of dollars to tell what had happened. I wanted to tell the truth, to redeem my reputation. One media reporter referred to me as the “Media’s Favorite Punching Bag” until Dan Quayle came along. When I met Vice President Quayle, I shook his hand. I said, “Thank you so much.” He said, “What?” I said, “Well, you probably haven’t heard, but, before you came along, I was considered to be the ‘Media’s Favorite Punching Bag.’ So, you’ve taken all the pressure off of me.” He and Marilyn, his wife, were both hysterically laughing. It was a year-and-a half of nonstop media focus, one story after another. But I came back to my faith.

My grandmothers and my mom said, “Get your life straight with God.” Nobody knew what to do or how to respond. They kept thinking 15 minutes of fame, and it will be over. It wasn’t over. I became front and center after Gary Hart dropped out of the race, which was actually not a result of me because I didn’t say anything about what had happened.

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How did you not become angry?

I was angry. I was mostly angry that in the United States of America, I had no rights to privacy. I had no rights to the truth of what had happened. I was being exploited on a regular basis by the media. I had been a model and a TV actress, and all these pictures of me were surfacing. People were selling pictures for tons of money because I wasn’t releasing anything. My only media interview was with Barbara Walters. My silence fed what I call the ‘media’s telephone game.’ They did not fact check. Once one story that was inaccurate or had false information ran, it would be repeated and then expanded on. Before you knew it, it didn’t bear any resemblance to the truth. I was angry with the girls that betrayed me. I was angry at the Hart Campaign. I was absolutely devastated. My hair started falling out, and it went gray. I don’t think I ate for a week. But the bottom line is I came back to my faith in the Lord. I said, “God, I don’t know how you are going to do this, but you have got me. I fell really hard, really fast, and you’re the only one that can pick up the pieces and make something beautiful out of a destroyed international reputation.” And he did.

What life lesson can you share with a grandchild or young person, Donna?

Well, there’s a lot wrapped up in what I would say to a grandchild or any young person. I would say, “Stay true to yourself.” With every choice along the way, and we have to make choices every day, ask the question, “What is the wise thing to do?” not the most expedient choice or what will feel good now. Recognize that every choice you make has consequences. If you make wise choices, the story of your life will reflect those choices in successful and regretfree living. I think that is so important. The other is to choose your friends very carefully because your friends can impact a lot of your choices. There is a reason that our parents told us, “This group of friends is not a good influence, and this group is.” In the Bible, we are told that bad friends can corrupt good behavior. So, pick your friends wisely because your good friends will be with you for life. Those who are a bad influence will be here today and gone tomorrow. Every single choice matters. ■

A

I did not, and I’ll tell you why. The next day he called me and apologized. The experience led me to this line of work.

He said, “I didn’t realize that you really meant ‘no.’

I thought you were playing a game and that you meant ‘yes.’” . . . Fast forward many, many years later, when my boss, Dee, was hiring me for Enough Is Enough. She said that one of the myths of porn messaging is that women really want to be taken advantage of. Violent content, where women are objectified, sends a message in this man’s world that those kinds of sex games are permissible. That certainly wasn’t my case and my story.

I really meant no.

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MAKE UP BY IVY LEEZ / HAIR BY AVI MIZRACHI, IZZY & CO.

Life is filled with great joys and often sadness. Daphna met her future husband, Felix, at the young age of six years old. Years later, after graduating from college, they met again.

The attraction was instant, and for the seventeen years they were married, they adored each other. Throughout their marriage, Daphna stood by Felix through many medical trials and tribulations until he passed away due to metastasized melanoma. Daphna honors his legacy by trying to live life to the fullest no matter what happens. Today, Daphna works as a patient educator for the International Pemphigus Pemphigoid Foundation, speaking with dental and medical students and raising awareness about treatment for this rare disease.

patient educator & caretaker

Daphna Smolka Who are Jona and Rebeka?

Jona and Rebeka are a wonderful mix of my husband and me. When they were little, I would tell them that they were one part him, one part me and one part God. They are completely perfectly unique. So, like our Milo, the Chiweenie, part Dachshund, part Chihuahua, they each have a piece of us.

They are the perfect mix.

You first met Felix when you were six years old?

I was six. He was nine. It was Fourth of July weekend, 1976.

We lived in Philadelphia, and our families knew each other. They coordinated coming to see the Bicentennial celebration and staying with us. While they were there, my brother broke his wrist wrestling at camp somewhere in the mountains. My father was an orthopedic surgeon and a pediatric specialist, so he told them that nobody should touch him, just make him comfortable, until he arrived to fix him. We had a plane because my dad was retired Israeli Air Force and flying was his passion. I am guessing Felix’s mother wanted to go in the plane because they left the three kids (who didn’t speak a word of English) at the house with the babysitter, my friend and me. I remember Felix from the start. There were three kids, but he was the one that I remember.

He was albino looking, and he was blind. At the time, I didn’t really understand legally blind. I just knew he was blind, and he was playing basketball. He was such a vivid image in my head.

Talk to me about your childhood. Your mother and father both are Israeli?

They are both Israeli. My mother was actually born there. At the time, it was called Palestine or the Mandate of Palestine. My dad was born in Germany in ‘33, but he ended up in Palestine before he was a year old.

Did your parents’ families suffer persecution in the Holocaust?

My dad’s mother/father did not. His grandfather, who was a leader in the community, apparently committed suicide by jumping out of the Gestapo headquarters. They brought him in for questioning. My dad’s grandmother spent time with the partisans in the fields and the forests in France. So many people perished in different concentration camps, but we were very lucky. My father’s family left Germany, and my mother’s family left Austria. They all ended up in Palestine in the German/ Jewish community. My father’s parents were friends with Felix’s mother’s aunt and uncle. He lived with them when he was in medical school with Felix’s father.

What is your post-high school education?

I received my undergraduate degree in economics at George Washington University in D.C. and my graduate degree from Cornell in hospitality.

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Let’s now talk about Felix. You reconnected with a call to him about employment advice?

I left him a message, and he called me back the next day.

Within two minutes of conversation, he said, “You don’t really want to work in that situation.” I was like, “No, I don’t.” So he asked, “Why did you call?” I explained that my parents thought he might be able to give me some advice. We talked for two more hours, and we just kept talking. He was the nicest individual I had ever spoken to in my life. He heard things I didn’t say. That night I went out with a friend. When I got into her car, I remember telling her I had just shared the most enjoyable conversation with another human being that I had ever had.

Did he adore you?

Yes. We adored each other. It was very genuine, and it was very special. He was such an interesting person. He had a lot of characteristics so similar to my father. Not on the surface. My dad was very athletic, and my husband was not. However, they shared their strengths of character, their kindness, their ability to help take care of other people and to be considerate. Everybody who knew him loved him. The bank tellers still follow up with my kids about him. The TSA guys recognized him because he didn’t see well. He was really smart. People would see him and think something is not right with him. They wouldn’t know exactly what was wrong though.

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He looked at things very closely.

He was born premature at 26 weeks. He missed the Guinness Book of World Records by one ounce because he was so tiny. His right eye had no retinal attachment, and the left eye had a quarter. As a premature birth, he was in an incubator. Although I think the U.S. was far more advanced, there was so much they didn’t know yet. At that time, they didn’t cover the eyes. He had no cotton over the eyes, and the lenses were scratched. He had a retinal issue and damaged lenses. Later on, he had eye surgery, which was frightening because full retinal detachment was a possibility. No one prepared us for what happened. His vision was actually better than ever. When he recovered from surgery, he saw things he had never seen before.

It was amazing to witness his discovery of sight.

Did he have surgery before or after you were married?

After we were married. I think our daughter was in kindergarten, and our son was in preschool.

What happened when he saw your face?

He said that I did not look so different. He spent a lot of time close-up to us. It was the veins in his skin that he was most surprised by. He had never really seen gravel or a rainbow. When he saw a rainbow, he said, “You know, I think I’ve always imagined it like that.” Or a spider. That was another sight that he found fascinating.

Q

ELYSIAN Publisher Karen Floyd sits down with Dalphna Smolka in her home in Boca Raton, Florida.

Q

A

What life lesson have you learned that you would want to share with your children?

. . . I hope they learn to enjoy who they are and to be self-confident, to keep going regardless of the hard blows life throws at you every day. My dad would say, “Yihyeh beseder.” It will be okay.

How many years were you married?

Seventeen. It would be 18 coming up.

January, a year ago, what happened? Did Felix have health issues before that?

Because he was born premature, he had related eye issues and poor vision his entire life.

In 1995, he was diagnosed with melanoma on his leg. They took out two lymph nodes, and they said it was clear. He followed it up every year for five years. When he got the “all clear,” we lived our lives. In August of ‘15, my dad was not doing well.

My mother just needed a break from caregiving. I said, “Go to New Jersey, take a break. I’ll stay with Dad.” That was her birthday gift. Felix was going to take the kids to visit a family friend. We had just been in Vienna for a while, and he said, “You know what? I’m so tired. I don’t really feel up to it. Let’s just stay at home. We’ll hang out in Boca, and we’ll have a little staycation.” They came over. They swam. Afterwards, when he was changing in my parent’s bedroom, he banged into a sharp edge, and it scraped the side of his leg. Blood went everywhere. I had him lie down and started to clean the wound. As I was doing first aid on his leg, we saw a red lump. He thought it might be a hernia, and I did not know. Neither of us had noticed it before.

I thought it might be an infection. We followed up on it the next Tuesday. The doctor did not think it was a hernia. He decided to do an ultrasound, then an MRI and finally, a biopsy. They came back with metastasized melanoma. Twenty-year-old cells incubate in the body. The mutation he had was BRAFV600E; it was an “invisibility cloak.” The melanoma had been sitting there dormant for all those years. The body did not know it even had a problem. The mutation was twofold. It was invisible to the body, and then, the cell didn’t die. Anyone with melanoma has

to really keep an eye out because it can easily spread throughout the lymph system. Unfortunately, melanoma is so aggressive—it spreads far and fast. You know, the liver, the lungs, the brain, the blood or the bones. At that point, it was in the lymph system, and we spent Rosh Hashanah that year at Mount Sinai in New York getting a second opinion. Later on, he was diagnosed with hemolytic anemia. Hemoglobin, for a normal adult male, is 14.

His was four. His body was just eating up the red blood cells faster than he could produce them. That was January a year ago. He got a total of 21 blood transfusions. Many of them were direct donors. A lot of people loved him and just showed up and gave blood. He was in the hospital for 21 days until we could say he was stable, which meant a hemoglobin of seven or above for two days in a row. Every day I left the house before 6:00 a.m., so I could be at the hospital for morning rounds because you did not know which doctor was going to show up or when. I was always there when the nurses’ shift changed between 6:00 and 8:00 p.m. because I wanted to make sure the night nurse knew everything that was going on. My husband was the one who told me, “Never go to a doctor’s appointment alone because the patient can become emotionally clouded and not hear everything.” He wanted to make sure I heard what the doctor said, so he had someone else’s “take” on it. I’m a doctor’s daughter. I never heard such nonsense. But then again, I guess I always had my dad’s input without even realizing it. It never occurred to me that you should have someone in the doctor’s office with you when you’re emotionally not sure what you’re hearing.

But that was what he wanted, so I was there to listen and ask a lot of questions. I’d put lavender on his pillows at the hospital because he liked that. We brought a lot of Dunkin’ Donuts and vegetable platters to the nurses. He was a big believer in bribing nurses.

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What happened after he was hospitalized for 21 days?

He came home for about a week and a half. We had been watching The Man in the High Castle before he’d gone to the hospital the first time. We finally said, “Okay, you’ve been home a week and a half. Let’s watch it again.” So we put it on. And then, all of a sudden, he said to me, “Daph, I want you to call my brother and have him come pick up the kids. They are going to sleep over there. After that, you are going to call an ambulance.” I was like, “What?” He said, “Yes, that’s what you need to do.”

Did you know it was dire at that point?

You know that there is always a chance, and he was such a fighter being born at 26 weeks. My dad had a million things go wrong with his health, and he always came out okay. I was always hopeful. “Until proven otherwise” was my saying. He just kept fighting. He seemed okay. He seemed lucid. He made sense. He really approached his illness with a lot of thought and meaning. I say it was a real gift because the entire months of March and April he didn’t go into the hospital once. Jona was born in March and Rebeka was born in April. We always will have that. His birthday was April 30th, and he turned 50. He said he did not want a party with everybody. He just wanted the four of us, so of course that is what we did. It was a milestone moment. You need to have something to hope for always. The following Sunday we planned an open house. People came when they could because we had friends from Miami and London who were visiting. It was kind of an all-day thing. The real first hint that there was some sort of bigger problem came next. The kids decided at the last minute to make a video. We had everybody send us little clips of “Happy Birthday, Felix.” We showed it to him on his birthday. Then, at the party, we were showing it again to all these people. As he watched it, my daughter was next to him; he acted as though he had never seen it before. The next day, he was supposed to meet with one of his lawyers for business. When I dropped him off I told the attorney, “I don’t know what this meeting’s about, but he is not allowed to sign anything. He is not making a hundred percent sense.” I thought he was exhausted. The next day, I was supposed to meet the kids. He and I were sitting together and talking, and he just acted funny. I started going through the

questions you would ask to determine if someone was having a stroke. “Honey, what year is it?” He said, “1967. Wait. No. 1976.

Wait. No.” I asked him if he was joking with me? He couldn’t say 2017. I called his brother and asked him to come over because I was supposed to leave with the kids. I was trying to tell him we need to go to the hospital, and he refused to go. He was admitted later. When visiting hours were over, and it was time for me to go, I said, “You know, honey, I don’t feel comfortable leaving you.

You just don’t seem a hundred percent yourself.” For the first time, he asked me to stay. I called the kids and told them they were going to sleep at their cousins, and I was going to stay. They moved us up to the private room and set me up with a cot. The nurse needed a urine sample, which he provided, and just as she started to leave, I asked him if he was in any pain. I said, “Do you need any pain meds?” And he just wasn’t there. He had a total stroke right then and there in front of me. It was really scary with the whole code blue, code gray, a million people in the room all at once. The next thing I knew, they were taking him for another scan.

After that, they moved him to the neuro ICU. It turned out he was having these intermittent clots, and he was on every blood thinner possible. So, there was just nothing more that could be done. That was Wednesday. On Thursday, his English cousins arrived. They literally made the decision and showed up, and his sister flew from Israel. When she got there Friday morning, he was in and out.

Did you know how dire it was at that point?

At that point, it was very clear that there was not going to be a recovery. We moved him to hospice that night. It was weird. We were able to have Shabbat candles (electrical) that they provided.

He actually said the entire Bracha, which was a beautiful thing because we had been doing Shabbat dinners since the kids were little. We had Saturday and Sunday at Hospice. But once he got there, I don’t really think he communicated much. I stayed the whole time. Everybody was there.

Did you have closure?

Other than missing him and regretting all the things that he will miss being a part of, there was nothing that we did not say to each other. We had a few sayings. One was, “I love you more every day.”

Are you okay?

I am okay. I miss him. I miss him every minute. He was one of those guys who was always fun to talk to. He just had a good take on things.

What life lesson have you learned that you would want to share with your children?

They have experienced so much pain already. I hope they learn to enjoy who they are and to be self-confident, to keep going regardless of the hard blows life throws at you every day.

My dad would say, “Yihyeh beseder.” It will be okay. I don’t know. I never experienced as much death and dying as they have. It is so raw, people that they knew and loved, one after the other. I’m hoping there’s something positive they can take from it, something that will help them grow and not spiral down.

Happiness is a choice. My father died six months after Felix.

My dad and Felix both loved living. They were very passionate about how important it was to live life to the fullest. My dad’s motto was carpe diem. Felix fought to live. He did. He was not going down without a fight. So, I would say to them, live life to the fullest, and never give up. ■

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GIVE.

Every two seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood. The American Red Cross provides 40% of our nation’s blood and blood components to help accident and burn victims, heart surgery and organ transplant patients, and those battling cancer.

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Nyla Rodgers, founder of Mama Hope, with project partner Anastasia Juma, director of Our Lady of Perpetual Support in Kenya.

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Transforming Loss into Legacy

n 2006, before Nyla Rodgers became the founder and CEO of the international nonprofit Mama Hope, she was 26, living a fun, friendfilled life in San Francisco, working as a director of programs for the Pacific Rim Foundation. She had already earned two degrees, traveled the world and had come back to her native California to build her career in a cosmopolitan city that happened to be a bridge away from where she grew up in Marin County.

As an only child raised by a single mother, Nyla and her mother, Stephanie, were very close. They loved that they were living near each other again and could spend time together. Then everything changed in an instant. Stephanie was diagnosed with an aggressive, late stage cancer, and Nyla moved home to take care of her.

“My mother was everything to me,” she says. “She got sick so fast, and I felt forsaken. There was so much I didn’t know yet, so much more

MAMA HOPE FOUNDER, NYLA RODGERS, IS ON A GLOBAL MISSION TO CHANGE MINDSETS, THEN CHANGE THE WORLD.

BY LISA RUBENSON

I needed to learn from her.”

After her mother died, Nyla felt angry and disconnected from everything and everyone—including her faith. A little while later, Nyla was offered a contract job in Kenya. She knew her mother had been sending support to a young man there named Bernard, and the job posting was close to where he lived. Nyla and her mother had always dreamed of flying together to visit Bernard, and now Nyla had a chance to make the trip herself.

Nyla went to Kenya, met Bernard and planted two trees with him to commemorate Stephanie. Then Nyla met Anastasia Juma, a woman from Bernard’s village. Anastasia asked Nyla if she’d like to meet some other people who had known her mother. Nyla was drawn to this warm woman who seemed to know so much about her, so she accepted the invitation.

When she arrived, Nyla was welcomed with hugs and people singing Amazing Grace, the same song that had played at her mother’s funeral.

Nyla was overcome with emotion.

“I didn’t know these people, but I felt like I was home,” she says. “This was a community that understood loss and perseverance. There was a recognition of our shared humanity.”

Anastasia and others had arranged for a memorial service to honor Nyla’s mother, and the whole village attended. It was then that Nyla learned the extent of her mother’s involvement. Stephanie had been helping a community of women in the village set up a table bank that enabled them to start their own businesses. And there was more.

Before she passed, Nyla’s mother had called Anastasia to say she was dying and wouldn’t be able to help anymore. She also said, “I have a daughter who will continue my work.” Anastasia then told the people in her village that they “must pray for this woman’s daughter to come to them.” There Nyla was, months later, hearing these things for the first time.

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“My mother’s beautiful heart was right there,” she says, “with me and with all of these people. I’d never seen impact like what my mother was able to achieve by giving directly to the people in Anastasia’s community.” Nyla knew then she would spend the rest of her life working to honor her mother’s legacy.

She returned to San Francisco to raise money for a Kenyan health clinic. On Mother’s Day, she wrote a letter to everyone she knew asking them to help fund it. They did, and soon Nyla was back in Kenya working to make the clinic a reality. After that, she helped another community leader in Tanzania fund a school for vulnerable children. The more people she met, the more projects she wanted to be a part of. Within months, Nyla formed Mama Hope and began putting together a business plan and a group of trusted advisors and investors.

“We all have a story,” says Nyla, “but we all have the ability to choose a different story for ourselves. I had to find a way to turn the loss of my mother into something else. I took all the love I had for her, this leftover love, and created a new story that became Mama Hope.”

The mission of Mama Hope

Instead of a traditional, top-down model of philanthropy where funding groups dictate the projects, Mama Hope takes an eye-level, peerto-peer approach. They work directly with established non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and community-based organizations (CBOs) to understand the needs of a particular community and build partnerships with those already making a difference there.

“Community ownership is the key,” says Nyla. “These leaders know what they need to achieve long-term success.” Mama Hope is there to listen and to help build the funding and operational framework that will make their particular vision a reality.

Mama Hope reports that they now operate in eight countries, including Ghana, Guatemala, Ecuador, India, Kenya, Uganda and, most recently, the U.S. They have trained 117 Global Advocates through their immersive, nine-month fellowship that aims to educate the next leaders in human-centered, sustainable development. Each advocate is paired with one of Mama Hope’s community partners and commits to raising a minimum of $20,000 that goes directly into the hands of the people on the

DANCE CHALLENGE FUNDS NEW CLINIC

Popular musician French Montana was so moved by images of Ugandan children dancing on YouTube that he traveled to Kampala and put them in the music video for his hit single Unforgettable. While there, he visited the Suubi “Hope” Health Center, a Mama Hope partner in rural Budondo. He donated $100,000 for their maternity clinic expansion and, with a little help from his celebrity friends, created the viral #Unforgettable Dance Challenge that raised thousands more for the cause.

Friends and fellow musicians The Weeknd and Diddy have also donated to support the clinic’s expansion—allowing the clinic to expand services to a population of 300,000. Most recently, Adam Levine of Maroon 5 has joined the movement by committing his proceeds from his collaboration with French Montana.

Visit youtube.com/watch?v=rrZsK0bOvtk

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Mama Hope helped Bernard Mukisa and his family to open the Suubi Health Center in 2014 — bringing vital healthcare services to an underserved rural community in Uganda of 56,000 people.

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ground. More than $2.1 million has funded 151 projects that have provided access to healthcare, education, food, water security and livelihoods for 817,068 people (and counting).

Sustainability from the start

As Mama Hope marks its 10-year anniversary, Nyla finds time to appreciate the legacy she and her team have been able to build in her mother’s honor. They are now looking at ways to make their funding models and training programs more scalable.

“Mama Hope has always been about transforming lives while transforming the sector,” says Nyla. “We were among the first to talk about sustainability, and now we’re looking at ways to help our global advocates and partners share their knowledge and reach even more people.”

As long as there are problems to solve and people willing to work together to solve them, it’s clear that Nyla’s story, as well as the story of Mama Hope and its community-based partners, will continue to be written and reimagined well into the future. ■

CHALLENGING MEDIA STEREOTYPES

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PHOTOGRAPH BY NINA MENCONI

Part of Mama Hope’s mission is to challenge people’s perceptions of those living in developing countries. Their “Stop the Pity, Unlock the Potential!” media campaigns, available on YouTube, use humor, music, popular culture and everyday anecdotes to dispel stereotypes and show us how much we have in common with those living continents away.

Visit youtube.com/user/MamaHope

Nyla with Anastasia Juma Sinawa at Our Lady of Perpetual Support (OLPS), Kisumu, Kenya

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Please donate at redcross.org

The Snow Queen of the Sport of Kings

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BY SUE WEAKLEY

hen polo takes to a converted, snow-covered Aspen rugby field in December, Melissa Ganzi will be perched aboard a polo pony and poised to claim another title in the St. Regis World Snow Polo Championship. The first woman to win the world snow polo crown in 2016, Ganzi is a professional player and one of the top ambassadors for the game of polo, also known as the sport of kings.

She and husband Marc Ganzi, along with pro polo player and Ralph Lauren model Nacho Figueras, will co-host the final stop on the world snow polo tour for the sixth consecutive year in Aspen, Colorado, December 18-20. The tournament attracts top polo players as well as high-profile fans and celebrities from around the globe who gather in heated tents to enjoy the action. Play begins with the first round-robin match December 18 with the finals slated for December 20.

A gala, appropriately named The Snow Ball, will be held at the St. Regis Hotel December 22 to benefit The Aspen Valley Hospital Foundation.

Snow polo, introduced in 1985 in St. Moritz, Switzerland, is played on a smaller field than the traditional game and features three players on a team instead of the usual four horse-and-rider combos. The ball, larger and lighter than the white one used in regular polo, is either red or purple to stand out in the winter landscape, and the horses wear special cleated shoes to improve traction.

Melissa Ganzi, the first woman to compete in the St. Moritz Snow Polo World Cup, is poised to layer up under the traditional white polo breeches and again claim victory for her team, Flexjet. She’ll go up against a host of high-profile players, including her husband, who will play on the St. Regis team, and her 20-year-old son, Grant, a member of the U.S. Polo Association team.

“Our entire family plays polo,” Ganzi said. “I have played with and against my husband, son and daughter, and it is truly a family affair. We all love polo and play at every level.”

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Melissa Ganzi, perched atop a polo pony, displays the game face of determination that has helped to earn her a spot as a top player and ambassador for the sport.

PHOTOGRAPH BY KATHRIN GRALLA

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Grant Ganzi is a junior at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida, and 18-year-old daughter Riley Ganzi is a freshman at Georgetown University. “They both started playing polo as toddlers via the PTF, or Polo Training Foundation. The PTF is a wonderful organization. I am on the board of directors.”

In addition to snow polo, Ganzi regularly plays professional high-goal, spring, summer and fall polo and captains Team Flexjet, based at the Ganzi’s Wellington, Florida, Grand Champions Club.

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trailblazer in raising the status of women in polo, Ganzi was named the first female United States Polo Association’s Florida Circuit governor in the Southeastern United States. She was the first woman to win the Monty Waterbury Cup at the Saratoga Polo Club in 2001, just one year after she started playing the game full-time.

In addition, she is one of only a few women in the world to compete in the C.V. Whitney Cup, the USPA Gold Cup and the U.S. Open. She was the first woman to win the coveted Molina Cup at the Bentley Scottsdale Polo Championships, the most attended polo event in the country. She also is the first woman to win the 2017 United States Arena Handicap Tournament.

Ganzi has claimed the Ylvisaker Cup, the Butler Handicap Cup, the Hall of Fame Cup, the Western Badge and Trophy 20-Goal, the Mayors Cup, the Miami Beach Polo World Cup, the North America Cup and the U.S. Open Women’s Tournament.

And as the queen of polo, she has played against Prince Charles, Prince Phillip and Prince Harry.

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A champion of diversity, Ganzi’s vision is to promote the sport of polo among the general public, including women, kids and juniors. In order to mainstream the sport, she played an integral role in introducing ChukkerTV, the leader in livestreamed polo broadcasting of games, highlights and shows around the globe.

“I believe polo, when experienced in a positive manner, has something for everyone,” she said. “Polo can be enjoyed as a player, sponsor, participant, horse lover or spectator. It’s unique in that men and women play together on equal footing, but it’s unpredictable due to the equine athlete teammates component. And, polo can be played in many different venues: grass, snow and the beach, as well as indoors.”

She and her husband maintain The Grand Champions Polo Club in Florida year-round. In addition, they co-founded The Aspen Valley Polo Club in Carbondale, Colorado and created The Polo School in both Florida and Colorado to nurture players at any level.

“Our polo clubs, The Grand Champions Polo Club, The Polo School and The Aspen Valley Polo Club, are full-service clubs,” she said. “They feature our groundbreaking concept of ‘Polo on Demand,’ a turn-key polo experience at any and every goal level.

We can take you from never riding a horse to playing polo with great players of the sport. I truly believe there is something for everyone in polo.”

Ganzi also stages events to increase diversity in polo, including the Women’s Championship Tournament and junior tournaments in the fall, winter and spring seasons.

“Our clubs offer many programs for children and youth polo,” she said. “We have patient horses available for lessons, club chukkers and games. In addition,

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PHOTOGRAPH BY KATHRIN GRALLA

An exuberant crowd is all cheers as the players mount up and battle it out on the frigid field at the St. Regis World Snow Polo Championship, hosted by the Aspen Valley Polo Club. Melissa Ganzi raises her mallet in celebration of a team victory. Crowd pleaser and teammate of Ganzi is Ralph Lauren model, Nacho Figueras, who along with Melissa and husband, Marc Ganzi, will co-host the final stop on the world snow polo tour for the sixth consecutive year in Aspen, Colorado, December 18-20.

The Polo School runs a Ladies Polo League, which runs January to May.”

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n an effort to introduce the game to more people, she launched PET (Polo Education Tour), where she traveled to various libraries in south Florida educating adults and children about polo with a full display of polo equipment in tow.

“It was a wonderful way for me to educate the local community about polo,” she said. “We had a few different nights, and one evening was specifically for children. Everyone who attended loved seeing the equipment and hearing about the equine athletes.”

She is also the president and top fundraiser for the National Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame Board of Directors, as well as the secretary-treasurer of the Polo Training Foundation. Her longterm impact on her community and her desire to bring polo to the public make her passionate about the sport of kings.

“I am passionate about the sport of polo and wish to share my enthusiasm with others,” she said. “I believe it’s important to give and make an effort to do so in various aspects of my life.”

But when it comes down to it, for Ganzi, it’s the partnership with her horses that keeps her enthused about her sport.

“For me, polo is more about the relationship with one’s equine athlete teammates and less about who else is playing against my team,” she said. “It is important to have a good working relationship of trust with your teammates; the gender or ethnicity doesn’t matter.” ■ Editor's Note: VIP packages to the St. Regis Snow Polo Championship in Aspen can be booked through Journeys Equestrian Travels/equestriantravels.com.

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IMAGES COURTESY VALCARTIER

Hôtel de Glace, the ice hotel

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eing constructed out of ice, the Ice Hotel must maintain temperatures that are, well, freezing. To stay firmly on the icy side, guest rooms feature a sub-zero (Fahrenheit) atmosphere. Visitors are typically not accustomed to such conditions, so the slate of suggestions—including extensive recommendations on various layers of clothing to promote a safe and comfortable night’s rest—is essential.

Yes, it’s very cold, but the Ice Hotel promises guests an experience that’s both accommodating and luxurious. Before more on those

THE PERFECT ESCAPE, LIKE FINE CHAMPAGNE, IS BEST SERVED COLD.

BY BAKER MAULTSBY

details, it would be understandable if you are wondering: Just what, exactly, is this ice hotel, and how did it come to be?

The Ice Hotel has been around since 2001. Sort of. That is to say, a version of the hotel is built each December within the Village Vacances Valcartier, a popular recreation destination located a few miles outside Quebec City. Metal frames support a mixture of man-made snow and ice that a crew of roughly 50 workers construct into a fully realized, breathtaking structure ready for a January opening.

While certain components are constant—44 rooms with one, two or three queen-size beds—each year’s edition features original, meticulously crafted sculptures by local artists, based on a unique theme and showcased with dazzling colored lights. Past themes have incorporated circus imagery and Native American history.

There’s an ice chapel, a dramatic destination for a one-of-akind wedding, as well as an ice bar, where bartenders prepare delicious and decidedly frosty mixed drinks (one popular creation is the vodka-based Snowmobile Accident with a “tree branch” for stirring). In addition, there is a dance floor. Dancing might seem precarious in a hotel made of ice; staff members rake the floor, producing a powdery, textured surface safe for visitors to put on their boogie shoes—OK, boogie boots.

Before turning in for the night, guests enjoy a sauna and outdoor hot tubs under the stars. Then it’s off to bed in “mummy-style” sleeping bags designed for camping out at, say, the North Pole or Mt. Everest.

Packages range from $495 for a standard room to roughly double that price for the hotel’s premium deluxe suite. Ice Hotel guests are also assigned a room in the Val Cartier Hotel, a more traditional venue, for showering, storing luggage and, if need be,

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getting some good rest.

It’s not necessary to book a room in the Ice Hotel in order to experience its splendor.

Guided tours are available daily and popular for travelers who prefer a more standard indoor climate. Meanwhile, visitors to the Village Vacances Valcartier are treated to a park that’s billed as the “largest winter playground in North America.” There’s plenty of fun to be had: inner tube slides, iceskating, snow rafting and more.

The Ice Hotel is open each year until the end of March, when temperatures begin to inch above freezing. Reservations for a night’s stay come with a detailed preparation guide. It’s good to plan ahead and plan thoroughly. For more information, visit hoteldeglace-canada.com. ■ Guests can stay in one of forty-five themed rooms and suites, where the interplay between fire and ice creates a magical ambience. Hôtel de Glace also features a night club and bar where you can enjoy a variety of frosty concoctions served up in a glass made of ice.

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Amanda Boulus reshapes stories of her LebanesePalestinian up-bringing in the painting, In the Morning, part of her series In Memory of Mabid, which won the Royal Bank of Canada Painting Competition.

COURTESY ROYAL BANK OF CANADA

Narratives: Under (re)Construction

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BY MAKAYLA GAY

manda Boulus is no modernist. The Toronto-based artist balks at the white-on-white pieces that line modern galleries and has exploded onto the scene with brooding abstract narrative pieces dripping in sultry hues and surrealism.

Boulus’ narratively dense pieces have been described by the judges of the RBC Canadian Painting Competition as being “brave, nuanced and powerful.”

Her work reflects the instability of historical and political narratives in which she draws from for her pieces. She says, “I am able to take their

THE PAINTING PROCESS “ REALLY ALLOWS ALL OF THE

SECRETS TO SPILL OUT . . .

AND I CONSTANTLY DISCOVER STARTLING NEW THINGS ABOUT THE NARRATIVES.

”

incomplete parts and construct a space for myself.”

“The narratives I have inherited are very fragmented. They each come in the form of a single sentence or a blurred or incomplete memory.”

Many of the oral narratives aren’t accompanied by a solitary image, so Boulus can take the liberty of filling in the gaps with her imagination while still letting these fragments transform in their own right.

“I wanted to retell these stories, but I did not want to piece them together or make them coherent. Instead, I wanted to preserve their fragmented nature and explore how I could transform them or see where these stories naturally wanted to fall.”

Breaking away from traditional cultural expectations is constantly on the Lebanese-Palestinian artist’s mind. The male figures in her paintings and videos are gentle, supple and vulnerable which goes against the stereotypical depiction of Arab.

Growing up in a predominantly Arab community of Mississauga, in greater Toronto, Boulus was surrounded by family just a few apartment buildings away and neighbors from Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and other Arab countries. Boulus stops short of claiming to be influenced by her Lebanese-Palestinian background but rather, considers it as an integral part of her work.

“Even if I lived and grew up here in Canada, there is no part of me that is separate from my family and my Palestinian identity.

Every decision I make, every relationship I form and every action I take is coming from a Palestinian woman.”

The art world is taking a step towards more inclusivity in all senses in the narratives that are told, which Boulus finds a boon.

Boulus observes that galleries and opening nights are filled with

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family members of the artists, from cousins to grandmothers, that are proud of their artist relatives. She finds it refreshing to see these close knit communities meshing in a public art gallery. “The more inclusive the art community gets, the more sharing and caring takes place in the spaces, which is what the art world desperately needs and should be striving for.”

With inclusion of new narratives finally taking the stage in the art world, Boulus feels that artists should also be seeking different methods and mediums for exploration and communication. Aside from painting, Boulus incorporates

Portrait in Forest, 2016.

Right: Jewels For Not, 2018.

Opposite page: Portrait in Forest, 2015.

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found family footage into video pieces to create an alternative narrative of her family’s history, a method she wishes she had more time for.

Although her paintings are rich in metaphor and steeped in symbolism, Boulus sometimes yearns for a more direct dialogue with the audience.

“My videos are always a little more on the nose than my paintings. When I use found footage, the viewer can’t avoid recognizing a politicized landscape or body. As a result, the videos tend to be more easily interpreted, which I appreciate at times.”

Still, she finds comfort in the ingenuity and ambiguity of her memories explored through painting.

“The painting process really allows all of the secrets to spill out, all my true feelings to show, and I constantly discover startling new things about the narratives as I work.”

Sometimes, a story works better as a memory, and it isn’t until the culmination of memories that Boulus feels one can truly read the story. “When all the paintings sit together on a wall, that is when you can really read the story. You can pick and choose what you want to listen to and what you

just want to feel. You really start to understand the power of nonverbal communication.”

In the wake of her $25,000 prize from the RBC Painting Competition, next on the horizon for Amanda Boulus is a residency at the Banff Center for Arts and Creativity as another part of her prize. Boulus looks forward to unplugging from her busy life in Toronto to focus on the next direction of her practice.

“I plan on doing a lot of reflecting, minimal talking and a lot of making. I can’t wait.” ■

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EXCLUSIVE GIFTS THAT INSPIRE. Shop the entire collection online: readelysian.com/shop

ALL THAT GLITTERS IS GOLD! ELYSIAN magazine had the honor of attending the Night of Stars 2018 presented by The Fashion Group International at Cipriani Wall Street. Hosted by Simon Doonan, the dinner and awards banquet honored some of the most influential protagonists in the fashion industry.

The Fashion Group International is a global nonprofit organization that has been dedicated to benefiting and uplifting the fashion industry since 1930. With more than 5,000 members and chapters all over the world, the FGI is the preeminent authority on the biz and works to advance professionalism and career opportunities for its members.

Clockwise from top right: Hair & makeup artist Tiffany Brown and Lily Webster • Lily Webster • Vera Wang, Calvin Klein, Donna Karan • Lily Webster, ELYSIAN Publisher Karen Floyd, and ELYSIAN Inspiring Woman Faith Hope Consolo • Lily Webster

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This year, the FGI honored some of our favorite names: legendary bridal designer Vera Wang; Balmain Creative Director Olivier Rousteing; print-loving global icon Anna Sui; Carol Lim and Humberto Leon, the creative team behind Opening Ceremony and Kenzo; luxury lifestyle giant Moncler; legendary septuagenarian model Maye Musk; philanthropist Barbara Bradley Baekgard; Robin Standefer and Stephen Alesch, the architecture team that started Roman and Williams; New York Times Chief Fashion Critic Vanessa Friedman; Deirdre Quinn, founder and CEO of Lafayette 148; and perfumer Frédéric Mall.

We at ELYSIAN believe in bringing young women up, which is why we accompanied the very talented and beautiful Lily Webster to this event, the cover model for this issue. ■ Clockwise from top right: Lily Webster • Raising a glass to the honorees • Rachel Castellani, Cassi Sherbert • ELYSIAN magazine Team: Karen Floyd, Gloria Taggart, Jean Hughes, Katherine O’Neill, Nancy Cooper, Rachel Castellani, Cassi Sherbert, Angie Woodard, Eboni Williams, Lily Webster • Lily Webster with Olivier Rousteing, creative director of Balmain • Lily Webster and model Sean O’Pry

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n the cover of each issue, ELYSIAN finds a new face as the featured model, offering a platform for discovery and the opportunity to launch a career. ELYSIAN serves to elevate the next generation of young women in hopes of making dreams come true.

Gracing the cover of this issue is aspiring model Lily Webster, a pre-med student at Washington and Lee University in Virginia. Lily’s drive to make a difference in the lives of others influences all aspects of her life, extending beyond her aspirations of becoming a medical doctor. Since a young age, Lily has been actively involved in community service projects and earlier this year, she was honored with an invitation to Paris’s 25th Annual le Bal des Débutantes in support of the Seleni institute and Association Enfants d’Asie.

In addition to helping Lily build her modeling resume, ELYSIAN paired Lily with the iconic Faith Hope Consolo, Chairman of Douglas Elliman Retail Division and an Inspiring woman in this Winter issue. With keen words of wisdom captured on video, Faith encouraged Lily to discover the best qualities about herself and pursue life with those characteristics at the forefront of decision making. A former model herself, Faith Hope Consolo, “paid it forward” by including Lily in Fashion Group International’s Night of Stars 2018.

The ELYSIAN Circle continues to change lives. ■

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Wishcase, 2005

Janet Orselli re:Visions January 17 – March 3, 2019

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