“Design wise it is an exciting time. The ubiquity of the Internet has given people unfettered access to every piece of the world. Clients are more informed. Their eye has been educated on a global scale,” says designer Kelly Wearstler.
I mean, what gay boy isn’t obsessed with this design diva? So I spent some time with her, saw some of her work, got lost in her story, stayed at hotels she designed - Proper Santa Monica my favorite, of course.
The world was seemingly waiting for Kelly Wearstler. The glamor of old Hollywood, the daredevil approach to creation and the mixed use of all things fabulous and grand had left the planet with the end of the antecedent golden Los Angeles era. Someone had to revive what was the most magnetic time of the previous century and someone had to remind the world of sultry allure and the magical charm of fetishist elegant glitz. Kelly Wearstler emerged on the uber-minimalist scene of the 90s and brought back that Hollywood Regency style with a little extra drop of noir for good measure. And now her style has gone into hyper naturals, neutrals that as a hotel guest makes you just float…
Her Bel Air home - picture from Architectual Digest who did this gorgeous spread….gorgeous darling
Wearstler is that ultimate Los Angeles hyphenate who seems to be able to do it all and look beautiful in the process: mom - wife - interior designer - fashion designer - ex-Playboy model - Master Class Hostess - TV charmer. And then there are all the businesses: her immaculate Melrose store in Los Angeles, the all-encompassing online store, a line of apparel and partnerships plus collaborations with some of the most interesting brands in the business including The Rug Company and One Kings Lane. Not to forget the applauded hotel designs she did for the Viceroy Hotels and Resorts, her hotels Proper and the restaurant design for Bergdorf Goodman’s 8th floor BG in Manhattan. I mean, there are more…so much more. A long way from home the designer clicked her heels, put in some serious graft, and slowly built her empire.
Born in a small beach town in South Carolina the glamor-inducing designer was first and foremost inspired by her mother; a closet interior designer and antique dealer who would often paint rooms new colors while Wearstler was at school. Today she quotes Peggy Guggenheim and Doris Duke as her ultimate style icons. Two women who have in their own right believed in beauty and surrounded themselves with it, collected art and traveled the world – not unlike the agog Wearstler herself who carries a camera and sketchbooks with her all the time finding inspiration moment to moment.
Here is Peggy now.
And Doris below.
“I’m curious. It’s in my nature,” explained Wearstler. “My process is fueled by a love of history and art and I think museums and libraries are therefore the best places to go for inspiration.” She even collects vintage, out-of-print and contemporary books and brings back bags from New York’s Strand bookstore – partially accounting for her over 2,000 titles. “I believe it is imperative for artists and creatives to stay curious. You have to keep that hunger and continually educate your eye,” she continues. Diana Vreeland, ex Vogue editor and glam woman-around-town used to say “The Eye Must Travel” and Wearstler does exactly that – forever on a trip to Paris - or Round Top, Texas - seeking inspiration and she does so whilst writing about her various experiences and multifarious finds as inspiration for her evangelists.
Proper San Francisco
“I do not have a favorite era or movement. Every movement and time in history inspires me,” said Wearstler. “There are specific nuances and design details that each era of art has to offer. The juxtaposition and sexy tension created through mixing different movements is what informs my aesthetic most.” Although she has been credited as "the presiding grande dame of West Coast interior design" by The New Yorker her style has evolved over the last few years from that ultra-glam to a more layered approach: detailing in chromes and bronzes all the way to combining 20th century French furniture into her interior creations. She’s also taken a turn into jewelry that allows her to infuse some of her love for noir and the macabre. Walking around Los Angeles on a sunny day you’ll spot a gold hand cut off at the wrist dangling around a soy-latte drinking intellectual bombshell’s neck as she carries around some Proust.
And so Los Angeles does play a role in the Wearstler’s world, as for most people with where they choose to settle if it is out of sheer love. “One of my favorite things about LA is that it is a city that is not entrenched in any one tradition. It embraces change and has an affinity for risk takers,” says Wearstler. She sees it like this: the old gets the respect they deserve whilst the new is always welcome. Los Angeles also historically plays into the whole wellness factor that has awoken in parts of the world and she is greatly aware of that: “I am interested in feeding the things that contribute in a meaningful and positive way to the studio, my family, my life.”
A suite at Proper Santa Monica
“The vibe is soulful - laid back cool,” says Wearstler. But besides that inexplicable energy there is also the superb California weather and nature for miles around which Wearstler sees as a prominent part of design: “I always incorporate organic elements into my spaces, from marble and wood to stones and minerals. The easy elegance and raw glamor of the West Coast informs my aesthetic so much.” But she isn’t alone in the love for Los Angeles, some say it is having a heyday yet again and it’s evident with its youthful, yet sophisticated lifestyle that is attracting and converting even die-hard New Yorkers.
Asking Wearstler what her next steps are she smiles. Wearstler could run a country, but right now she’s busy with residential projects and expanding the hotel brand, Proper. The first was San Francisco in spring 2015, followed by Los Angeles, and then will be Austin, Texas opened. “I am also working on a new lighting collection, and more fabric and bedding collections. There are also new furniture collections as well as jewelry and fashion accessories – we have beautiful new limited edition silk scarves that are completely handcrafted and hand-painted,” says Wearstler. By the sound of things the brand is diversifying into all new and exciting avenues and that is what excites the sunny Angeleno: “The cross-pollination between departments at our studio is what keeps me going. It is the greatest thrill to see the different modalities fuel one another creatively.” Oh and then there is the new snake-skin burlesque fridge in partnership with JennAir, which I am dreaming of and so should you.
So take it from Ms. Wearstler: “Take risks, love color, stay curious.” I mean what can I say, I’m in love…