Hasta La Ideas

(Photo: New York Public Library)

WWD has confirmed our exclusive report of Chanel’s imminent pop-up shop partnership with Paris boutique Colette. The temporary store, opening Tuesday in a former garage on Rue Saint Honoré, will stock items ranging from gritty (graffiti-covered handbags, scooter helmets) to glam (spring looks from Chanel, Eres maillots) as well as a few extraspecial offerings, including nimble-fingered Lemarié craftspeople demonstrating how to create a camellia (house artisans supply Chanel with approximately 20,000 of the blooms each year). Book that Air France flight tout suite, because the shop is only open for ten days. All of which brings us to our Friday Photo: the dust jacket for Paris Is a Woman’s Town, a 1929 lady’s guide to the City of Light written by Helen Josephy and Mary Margaret McBride, described on the inside flap as “well-known newspaper women.” The worldly pair, who may or not have resembled the rather stout figures depicted on their book’s cover, dispense plenty of advice for the Paris-bound, as “the average woman on her first trip is abashed and even frightened by the unfamiliar language and scenes about her.” Lesson one: watch out for that evil-looking guy with the cane!

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(Photos: Paul Kasmin Gallery)

Record snowfalls have turned New York City into a pure white canvas for Will Ryman‘s bright pink and red rose sculptures, now in full bloom along Park Avenue between 57th and 67th Streets. The writer turned artist (who, as the son of Robert Ryman, knows a little something about all-white surfaces) created the monumental flowers as a kind of tribute to his hometown. “With these roses I wanted to do something that was larger than life and site-specific,” he said in a statement. “In my work I always try to combine fantasy with reality. In the case of ‘The Roses,’ I tried to convey New York City’s larger than life qualities through scale; creating blossoms which are imposing, humorous, and hopefully beautiful.”

For this, his first public art exhibition, Ryman used stainless steel, yacht-grade fiberglass resin, and automotive paint to create 38 giant pink and red roses that range in height from three to 25 feet. Each of the eight sturdy clusters harbors a similarly outsized brass ladybug, aphid, beetle, or bee. Meanwhile, melting snow will reveal 20 accompanying sculptures of individual rose petals, which have been “scattered” (as much as steel slabs can be) along the Park Avenue Mall between 63rd and 65th Streets. We suggest a Valentine’s Day stroll, “he-loves-me, he-loves-me-not”-style. On view until real buds can take over on June 1, “The Roses” is presented jointly by Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York City’s Department of Parks & Recreation, and the Fund for the Park Avenue Sculpture Committee.

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(Photos: Diane Bondareff)

Don’t you dare call it a dessert. Artist Marina Abramovic has transformed the good ‘ol Baked Alaska into “a multisensory culinary intervention” now thrilling more adventurous diners at New York’s Park Avenue, the AvroKO-designed restaurant that overhauls everything from its menu and wine list to its interiors and name with the seasons. Executive chef Kevin Lasko (at far left) collaborated on the food experience, “Volcano Flambé,” which includes an exclusive take-away collection of Abramovic’s Spirit Cooking Menus, a recorded reading by the artist guiding diners (who use the headphones and digital audio device placed at their seats in wintry bleached-wood boxes) through the experience of the dish through sound, and the decadent dessert itself, set ablaze as it is served. We hear that the fiery treat is a journey through sensory contrasts: hot and cold, soft and hard, dark and light, sweet and savory. The project came about thanks to Creative Time, and the organization hopes that restaurant patrons have an appetite for more artist-chef collaborations. Janine Antoni, Paul Ramirez Jonas, and Michael Rakowitz will debut their delicious works, also whipped up with Lasko, later this year. Meanwhile, Abramovic’s Volcano Flambé will be available at Park Avenue Winter through March 20. And the best part? You don’t even have to stare her down for the last bite.

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(Courtesy Claridge’s)

What do you get when you mix a swashbuckling designer, a famed Parisian fashion house, an iconic London hotel, and a squad of shimmering starfish? Dior creative director John Galliano‘s Christmas tree for Claridge’s. Unveiled yesterday in the lobby of the Mayfair landmark, the ocean-themed creation replaces a traditional holiday fir with a giant (papier-mâché) branch of pink coral ornamented with silver leaves, opalescent anemones, and shiny seahorses. “I wanted to create an underwater fantasy,” said Galliano, who first worked with Claridge’s last year on a more climatically appropriate “frozen” tree that combined icicles with chinoiserie. This year’s “Under the Sea”-themed design is a tropical tour de force that brings a bit of Palm Beach to the hotel’s art deco lobby. “Both Claridge’s and Dior are synonymous with with timeless glamour and impeccable heritage,” said Thomas Kochs, general manager of the hotel. “And we look forward to celebrating the festive season together.” Santa, however, is expected to keep his distance from the Dior tree, for fear of being impaled on its coral spikes. The tree will be on display at Claridge’s until January 5.

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We challenge you to browse the stunning (and beautifully photographed) objects on offer at Wright‘s upcoming Scandinavian Design sale and not consider acquiring a lifestyle for which you’ll have regular use—not to mention ample space—for a sleek teak colony of Arne Jacobsen ant chairs. The November 18 auction, 223 lots strong, features an array of classics from established masters along with a few surprises. “I continue to be drawn to Scandinavian design,” says Richard Wright, director of the Chicago-based auction house. “It represents great value to me. I think it’s underappreciated in the market. I think there’s an honesty and directness to the material that is refreshing.” After seriously considering building an UnBeige steam room to properly accommodate the Antti Nurmesniemi sauna stool, we headed straight for the Poul (Henningsen and Kjaerholm). We think Hr. Henningsen’s got the sale’s real stunner: this PH 22 Piano lamp. Designed for Louis Poulsen in the early 1930s, the swoop of bronze, Bakelite, and glass is the flowery and attentive cousin of Henningsen’s iconic Artichoke lamp. Wright estimates that it will sell for between $20,000 and $30,000. And it likely will—if the healthy results of the house’s first Scandinavian Design sale (in which 90% of the lots sold) are any guide. Stay tuned for more. Noted Wright, “We want to continue doing the Scandinavian Design series, because there’s a lot of material to explore.”

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