Michael Bierut Pops Up on CBS Evening News Talking About the Design of the USDA’s New Food Plate

The big news from the US Department of Agriculture, of course, is their move away from the familiar and iconic food pyramid and into their new plate-based system of showing us how much of each type of food thing we should be consuming (full disclosure: this writer’s wife works somewhat directly with the group that creates these pyramid and plate guidelines for the USDA and certainly wouldn’t appreciate his use of “food thing” to describe types of food). And with the transition from pointy to round, eventually the media was going to have to turn to a design expert. We were both surprised and pleased as punch that CBS Evening News went directly to Pentagram‘s Michael Bierut for his commentary. It’s the nightly news, so of course he only gets a few words in, but nice to hear from someone outside of the food world or government sharing their insight. Here’s the clip:

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Sneak Peek: Eight Reasons to Watch Bravo’s Million Dollar Decorators


Pictured from left, Kathryn Ireland, Martyn Lawrence Bullard, Mary McDonald, Nathan Turner, and Jeffrey Alan Marks. (All photos courtesy Bravo Media)

Tonight is the premiere of Bravo‘s newest docu-series, Million Dollar Decorators, and if you can make it past the unctuous opening montage and obligatory round of sassy, arms-akimbo introductions (“I don’t follow trends, I set them,” says Jeffrey Alan Marks, smoothing a lushly textured rug and plopping down on a coordinating settee), you’re in for an entertaining peek into the lives of five Los Angeles-based interior designers: Marks, Martyn Lawrence-Bullard, Kathryn Ireland, Mary McDonald, and Nathan Turner. These high-charisma characters offer plenty of reasons to watch, but having previewed the series (thanks, Bravo!), we offer eight additional enticements to tune in.

UnBeige’s Eight Reasons to Watch Million Dollar Decorators

8. The designers’ offices. Not up for watching the beat-the-clock challenge of furnishing Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne’s new apartment? Cut the sound and delight in the glimpses of the designers’ workspaces, including McDonald’s glam/mod aerie and Ireland’s Provence-infused pool house. And while Lawrence-Bullard’s home teems with exotic rugs and Hermès Balcons Du Guadalquivir china, his offices are dominated by white lacquer and inspired accents—fur-covered task chairs, anyone?

7. The seersucker blazers. We’re suckers for seersucker, and the premiere episode doesn’t disappoint. For those inclined to TV-based drinking games, take a sip anytime someone wears a seersucker or a plaid, or says “madness.”

6. The birthday parties. This series runs for eight episodes, and there are about as many elaborate parties. Tonight’s premiere features a birthday bash for Ireland, whose three teenage sons offer to do the cooking (weak-stomached viewers may want to turn away during this portion of the program). The trio gets waylaid by preparing tortilla chips from scratch, so the dinner menu is abridged. No worries, says Ireland. “Give [the guests] enough tequila and we can skip the middle course and go straight to the cake…if there is cake.”

5. The design concepts. “I’m kind of thinking of doing antlers, but in a hip way. There’s nothing ski house about it,” says McDonald of her concept for a new project. Meanwhile, Marks advises, “You should always decorate a room and then put one thing in there that’s an accident.” [Cut to: the wooden rowboat suspended upside-down from the ceiling of his living room.] continued…

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Ten Things You Didn’t Know About Ralph Lauren

With only a handful of shows left before she decamps to cable, Oprah Winfrey devoted the entirety of yesterday’s episode to a profile of fellow mogul Ralph Lauren. He welcomed her on horseback (as one does) to his 17,000-acre Double RL Ranch, located just outside Telluride, Colorado, and then promptly dismounted to whisk Winfrey away up the main lodge in a perfectly patinated 1948 Jeep. Here’s what we took away—besides a craving for mountain views and a collection of vintage Navajo blankets—from Lauren’s first in-depth television interview in nearly 20 years.

The Top Ten Things You (Probably) Didn’t Know About Ralph Lauren
10. Parts of the 1969 Western True Grit, starring John Wayne, were filmed on the sprawling property that is now known as the Double RL Ranch (named for the shared initials of Lauren and his wife of 46 years, Ricky).

9. Why Polo Ralph Lauren? “I couldn’t call [the company] ‘Basketball,’” he told Winfrey. “I like sports. I felt that Polo represented, sort of, an international sport. It was a little more sophisticated.”

8. His Double RL Ranch includes five handpainted teepees that are tricked out with lushly appointed beds, cozy couches, Navajo blankets, and meticulously arrayed Western ephemera.

7. With 452 stores in 80 countries, he often feels that he is representing America to the world. “Whenever I go to China or wherever, I feel like an ambassador,” he said. “I’m not President Obama, but I feel like his assistant.”

6. His greatest design challenge to date? Creating a wedding dress for his daughter, Dylan, whose nuptials are planned for next month in Bedford, New York. “I had to do something that was better than ever before,” Lauren said, his eyes welling up. “I was terrorized, in reality, that’s why I’m crying.”
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Ralph Lauren to Appear in Rare, On-Camera Interview as One of Oprah’s Final Guests

If you’ve ever wanted to see fashion mogul Ralph Lauren outside of designing clothes or not driving his expensive car collection, tomorrow will be your chance. As if you weren’t already watching the last few remaining episodes of “Oprah” (yesterday and today the show’s namesake has been busy filming her last two episodes in front of 20,000+ people at the United Center), Wednesday’s episode is set to feature two firsts in the Lauren legacy: it’s the only time he’s allowed camera crews access inside his home and it’s the first sit down, on-camera interview he’s done in nearly 20 years. But when Oprah calls, especially when she won’t be calling anyone again anytime soon (at least until the once-quarterly, then monthly, then weekly specials start), you answer. Here’s a bit about what to expect…

From riding around the RRL Ranch in Lauren’s vintage 1948 jeep, and a private tour of the property that includes tepees furnished with antiques and whimsical artifacts, the hour is sure to make television viewers feel as though they have stepped inside a Ralph Lauren advertisement with the breathtaking views of the mountains of Telluride as the backdrop.

Oprah also sits down with Lauren’s wife Ricky, and the couple’s three children Andrew, David and Dylan.

Okay, so you’ll get to watch him drive a Jeep. We take the second part of our opening sentence back.

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Back on Bravo: Jeff Lewis, Project Runway Alum Chris March, Brad Goreski

Andy Cohen and his burgeoning stable of “Bravo-lebrities” are going strong. Fresh from last night’s Top Chef finale, the cable network has announced that its fall 2011 season will include 11 new series, many of which feature faces that are familiar from Bravo shows past. Hilarious house-flipper Jeff Lewis will be back, this time channeling his design sense and deadpan wit into Interior Therapy with Jeff Lewis. The docu-series follows Lewis and his assistant, Jenni Pulos, as they move into someone else’s home, redesign the space, and&#8212wait for it&#8212judge the owner’s flaws. And fear not, Flipping Out fans, housekeeper Zoila will be along for the ride. Another charismatic Bravo veteran, Project Runway alum Chris March, gets his close-up in the new series Mad Fashion. According to Bravo, each episode follows March and “his eccentric crew of fashion misfits” as they create designs for clients including actress Jennifer Coolidge (in need of the perfect look to wear on a Mardi Gras parade float) and Met Gala-bound model Chrissy Teigen. Another series to watch for stars dapper stylist Brad Goreski, formerly the right hand man of Rachel Zoe, as he goes into business for himself. The show’s tentative title? It’s a Brad Brad World. Meanwhile, we’re crossing our fingers that Million Dollar Listing‘s ubercharismatic Josh Flagg is the next breakout Bravo-lebrity to get his own series on the network.

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Mullen Makes Mouths Water, Eyes Widen with Mesmerizing Yogurt Commercial

The most innovative thing to happen to yogurt advertising in recent years has involved celebrity-deployed euphemisms for “regulating your digestive system”—until now. Greek yogurt maker FAGE (prounced “fa-yeh”) tapped Boston-based Mullen to create its first television advertisements in North America. The lead spot (below), which debuted last week, is pegged to Fage’s foray into non-fat flavored yogurts (think Mango Guanabana and Blueberry Acai). Mullen collaborated with Psyop to develop this poetic and painterly 48 seconds, awash in slow-moving liquids that are reminiscent of some recent and similarly hypnotic video works by artist James Nares—with the addition of a whimsical bit of verse, a cow, a Grecian goddess type, and a voice-over by Willem Dafoe. It’s anything but plain.

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Sundance Channel Rolls Out Design-Focused Programming for 2011

(Left to right) Garo Sparo, Ben Kaufman, David Nadelberg, Sarah Barnett, Lynn Tilton,  Joe Zee, Evan Shapiro, Krissy Lefebvre, Neil Katcher, and Ludo Lefebvre. (Photo courtesy of Albert Ferreira for Sundance Channel)

Although Sundance Channel is fresh off its first ever Golden Globe win for the scripted mini-series Carlos, it’s doubling its hours of reality television or “nonfiction TV” (a clever name change from the network) for 2011, to cater to its “poptimist” audience — that in-the-know friend whose water cooler talk is sprinkled with pop culture references.

At Manhattan’s Gansevoort Hotel Park Avenue Tuesday morning, we previewed its 2011 non-scripted programming lineup.

According to Sundance General Manager Sarah Barnnett, the prevailing theme among their seven new unscripted shows is “business is personal.” The channel is in active development on Diva of Distressed, a series following self-made billionaire Lynn Tilton as she buys and rebuilds dying businesses, and Ludo Bites America, a look into French chef Ludo Lefebvre’s pop-up restaurant concept that brings gastronomic food to middle-America.

It’s hard not to notice that the network is leaning towards the fashion and design space. But, unlike that other network — yes, you Bravo — Sundance’s offerings won’t have the typical staged contests or challenges.

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Michael Kors Aces His Martha Stewart Show Cooking Demo, Showcases Resort Collection


(Photos: David Russell/The Martha Stewart Show)

Should Michael Kors ever want to abdicate his burgeoning fashion empire, he could ace a screen test at the Food Network—and probably start a craze for black cashmere aprons (so basic, luxurious, and modern that wearers will gladly forgo all recipes involving flour). The prospect of the dapper designer joining the one and only Martha Stewart in her TV kitchen was all the convincing we neeeded to throw on a Kors-designed ensemble, hop in the UnBeigemobile, and join the bright-eyed studio audience for yesterday’s taping of The Martha Stewart Show (the episode will re-air today at 1 p.m. EST on the Hallmark Channel).

For even a veteran chef, the combination of Monday morning, live television, and the eagle eye of Martha Stewart could be a recipe for disaster, but Kors expertly walked viewers through the preparation of the pineapple upside-down cake perfected by his Grandma Bea, a junior high school principal and fashionista who “always wore a lot of jewelry when she cooked.” Kors divulged that he had spent Sunday in the kitchen whipping up a practice cake. “I wanted to make sure that I was going to be Martha-ready,” he told Stewart, who was dressed in a moss green Michael Kors ensemble. “Unfortunately, I had an I Love Lucy moment. Sugar flying everywhere, it was crazy.” No such problems on set. After Kors inverted the pan to reveal an immaculate glistening ring, Stewart pronounced his cake a delicious success.

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Bravo Retools The Fashion Show, Adds Iman as Judge

Bravo‘s The Fashion Show is back. The second season, which premieres tomorrow night, aims to further differentiate the reality competition series from Project Runway and move it closer to Survivor territory, but without the bandannas and rice hoarding (or at least much less of it). Twelve designer contestants from around the country are divided into two teams that battle it out weekly—not only to create cohesive collections but also to produce live fashion shows in which to best exhibit them. In store for the designer of the “ultimate collection” of the show’s new subtitle is a feature in Harper’s Bazaar (which has lately dabbled in Jersey Shore makeovers and odd Barbra Streisand-themed editorials) and $125,000.

This season’s competitors include Calvin Tran (we hear he emerges immediately as a troublemaker), who operates three boutiques and has dressed the likes of Drew Barrymore, and best friends Cindy Ayvar and Golnessa Farmanara, the designers behind the Goci label. They’ll be joined by designer and fashion photographer Mike Vensel, glam-loving Houston native Cesar Galindo, and recent FIDM grad Dominique Pearl David, the youngest of the dozen at 21. “I think that the level of talent for the contestants has really risen sort of exponentially,” said returning Fashion Show host and judge Isaac Mizrahi in a recent call with reporters and editors. “They are, let’s say, temperamental and interesting in their interaction because they’re more passionate about clothes.”

And speaking of temperamental and interesting, fashion icon Iman has joined The Fashion Show judging panel, along with Laura Brown of Bazaar. Mizrahi and Iman are also among the show’s executive producers. “Season two is much-watch TV simply because you have her,” said Mizrahi of the veteran model and entrepreneur. “I mean, just to figure out exactly what she’s saying, because half of the time you can’t understand it, and I’m sure there’re going to be subtitles…Just that alone is like fabulous.” All joking aside, Mizrahi praised his co-host for her ability to gauge the response of the models, guest judges, and studio audience for the episode-culminating fashion shows. “Iman is a great barometer of what is happening in the room,” he noted. “She’s extremely objective.” Our fingers are crossed for more of the impeccably styled imperiousness featured in Bravo’s ad for the show: “This is a fashion emergency,” proclaims a runway-ready Iman. “And it needs an evacuation!”

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Banksy Goes to Springfield, Directs Simpsons Intro

In case you missed it last night, Banksy directed and storyboarded the intro to last night’s The Simpson. Says Wooster Collective, its making was “one of the most closely guarded secrets in TV history.” Here it is in all its dark, very funny glory:

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