Spring 2012 | World White Webb Design Log | White Webb, LLC

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Spring 2012
Jackie Kennedy at the Carlyle A few years back we were commissioned to design the banquet rooms at the storied Carlyle Hotel. We of course knew the Carlyle was the center of glamorous life in New York City since 1930, but we wanted to know more, so we started learning about what went on within its walls (lots, by the way!). As hotels go, it’s an American legend, and there have been more than a few legendary people who have trod its halls. One being Jacqueline Kennedy. Click here for more images It just so happens that she lived there for more than a year when she returned to New York after her husband’s assassination, years before marrying a certain Mr. Onassis. In fact, her apartment is now a suite within the hotel. That said, the space no longer reflects her taste, so we took it upon ourselves to re-imagine these amazing rooms, just for fun. We started by looking at the lady herself, and how her personal style riveted a generation (or four). Our first stop was to look again at the stellar exhibit where her modern, yet classic style was beautifully displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years, May 1-July 29, 2001 was by itself a huge inspiration for the space we wanted to reinvent. The simple lines of her clothes, all in fresh, clear colors made “Jackie” a style icon, even in her early 30’s. This was our starting point. Another source for inspiration was the sale of her possessions at Sotheby’s, in April of 1996. This sale shared with the world many of the beautiful things she collected and lived with over the years, creating a more complete picture of one of America’s most stylish First Ladies. By the way, these once-in-a-lifetime exhibits and auctions are just one reason New York is such a fantastic place to be. In our redesign of her former apartment, we took into account these rare visuals and compiled them into a design that we feel reflects both legends beautifully ~ Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and the fabulous Carlyle Hotel. Click to see more photos Doris Duke Twelve years old and $80 million to burn. No, it’s not another episode of MTV’s “My Super Sweet Sixteen,” but rather the true headlines from 1925 concerning Doris Duke, heiress to the American Tobacco Company fortune. Armed with her father’s deathbed advice (“trust no one”) and an unfathomable sum of money (over $1 billion in today’s terms), Little Doris set off to discover the world. Click here for slideshow Although she encountered some pitfalls and unscrupulous types along the way, Doris blossomed into a woman of style and grace, a committed philanthropist and a keen student of the decorative arts. Through her frequent globetrotting, she developed an appreciation for foreign cultures and an unerring eye for the best in art, fashion and design. Although she had numerous homes that showcased this passion, the one that stands out among all the rest is her Hawaiian masterpiece, Shangri-la. For her 1935 honeymoon with hubby #1, James Cromwell, Doris visited the Middle East and became entranced with Islamic art. Upon returning to the States, she decided to build a home inspired by the finest architecture witnessed on her travels. On an incredible stretch of Oahu’s coastline, she set about building Shangri-La, her very own earthly paradise, which included grounds modeled after Pakistan’s Shalimar Gardens and a guest house inspired by the Chihul Sutun in Iran. Her love affair with Islamic art lasted her entire lifetime during which she amassed one of the world’s most important collections. Today, you can grab a glimpse into the world of Doris Duke and her artistic passions by visiting Shangri-la – now open to the public as the Center for Islamic Arts and Cultures. As Salamu Alaykum, Doris.	Gloria Vanderbilt To be a stylemaker, you clearly need to make a splash, but there are a gutsy few who actually blaze trails. Gloria Vanderbilt is just such a woman, whose inimitable style has been leaving a path of stunningly scorched earth behind her for nearly nine decades. Click here for slideshow As befits a style icon, Gloria Vanderbilt has been capturing the world’s attention from the moment she was an infant. At only 18 months, she was cast into the public eye upon the untimely death of her father and subsequent inheritance of the Vanderbilt fortune. Her early years were not particularly happy ones as she was continually uprooted by her peripatetic mother and later embroiled in an epic custody battle, resulting in her being wrested from her mother and ensconced with her powerful and controlling aunt, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney. Like a fine wine, however, Gloria seems to have turned hard conditions into her favor. Fascinated by design and art, she threw herself into both worlds, studying at the Art Students League, and modeling before the cameras of Avedon and Horst. What she learned from her art and her travels, she subsequently incorporated into her fearless designs for clothing and interiors. Whether it’s designer jeans, fragrances, household products, or Anderson Cooper, Gloria’s creativity is boundless, mold-breaking and stunning. For an amazing read about the unparalleled life of this tireless swan, we highly recommend Wendy Goodman’s book, The World of Gloria Vanderbilt. Mrs. James Ward Thorne and the Thorne Rooms The word “amateur” has taken on a very negative connotation in our culture, which is a shame. It used to mean someone who had passion for a certain field, and studied it to such a degree that they were exceedingly adept, almost approaching (and sometimes surpassing) a professional proficiency. Amateurs were often women of means who, because of societal strictures, were not allowed to work. Click here to enlarge Mrs. James Ward Thorne was both a lady of means and passion. She studied with great interest historic interiors and adored miniatures. Her way of bringing historic interiors to life was to create tiny and exceedingly precise models of them. In this rather odd, yet fascinating, endeavor she worked for decades with miniature makers in her own workrooms, overseeing every detail of these Lilliputian rooms. The early 20th century was a time when there were very few historic interiors in American museums. The Decorative Arts was something that the wealthy collected, but was largely cut off to those who had the interest but not the funds to buy. It was also a time when Americans had a growing interest in these beautiful objects and the sumptuous, historic rooms that held them. Mrs. James Ward Thorne decided she would create them from whole cloth, and in a sense, she created a unique way to time travel and look at historic spaces. Click here to enlarge From the moment she opened the doors to the public to see her first set of rooms in 1933, there was an enthusiastic response. She continued making these miniature miracles into the early 1960’s. Today, many of these rooms survive, sixty-eight now beautifully exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago. To see these tiny settings in person is to transport oneself to eighteenth century England, 1930’s Paris or colonial America while simultaneously being let into the tiny world of Mrs. James Ward Thorne’s very large imagination.

Acknowledgements:
We want to thank our clients for their generosity in allowing us to show their projects. Each one represents a wonderful experience for us. Thank you!
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