Today I did something that all designers should do, just for the fun of it- I went to see The September Issue, the documentary about Vogue and Anna Wintour. It was actually about the yin/yang of Anna and Grace. By now everyone knows who Anna Wintour is, but this film was also an introduction to Grace Coddington the creative editor extraordinaire of Vogue.
courtesy zimbio.comIt was amazing to watch the business (Anna) and art (Grace) sides as they collided into that one big feature of Vogue- the telephone directory of all fashion mags- the September Issue.
I have always been much more inspired by fashion than anything else when it comes to designing tiles. People seem always surprised by that. However, whenever I go to Cersaie - the world fair of tiles held every year in Bologna- I spend more time in the fashion boutiques around Northern Italy, than at the fair.
When in the midst of designing tiles, I find my color palettes in fashion magazines, my ideas for textures and shapes while shopping at Barney's or smaller fashion boutiques that have become more prominent as art galleries than art galleries, themselves.
While watching this very fun and gossip-y film, at some point Grace pulls off the most luscious fashion shoot at the Versaille. When seeing the models, clothes, setting, photographers and equipment come together into a single stunning photograph filled with fuschia's, teals, turquoises and golds- I remembered that very photograph was taped to our blackboard in our design studio.
Grace's Versailles photo shoot by Stephen MeiselWe referenced that exact photo when creating the color palette named- Casa Grande in our Hearst Castle Collection by Tilevera. This color pallette is named after the main house at Hearst Castle and is offered with or without a metallic gold stain. I was taken over by that photo, and wanted to offer that same eccentric mix of very old world colors to our Hearst Castle Collection.
How fun it was to see how those royal Versailles colors became even more magical in that photo, and then floated through our own brushes onto our tile collection. Fashion is much more powerful than we all imagine. It's what has kept me inspired for many, many years. I applaud the Vogue ladies for their passion, commitment, and mostly their inspiration.