The September 2016 issue of Architectural Digest has a reminiscence of Horst P. Horst and the celebrity homes he photographed. One of them: Gloria Vanderbilt's 'famous' patchwork bedroom, photographed back in the Seventies.
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| Check out the September AD to see true colors on these -- they were much more vibrant than this graphic. |
I feel sick.
I swear to you-- I don't think I'd ever heard of or seen this room up to this point. (Maybe I wasn't paying attention -- blame it on teenage airbrain. I graduated from high school in 1976.) Not only were perfectly good quilts (or at least what seemed to be in excellent condition) chopped up and glued to the walls -- the floor was layered with them, too.
And then they were varnished.
Other magazines fawned all over themselves on how distinctive and special Gloria was to do this. (In fact, Valentino based his 2015 fashion collection on the memory. No doubt more quilts were sacrificed for that cause, as well.)
Normally, I am not that averse to wearables and home dec items made from quilts -- PROVIDED those quilts were too damaged to preserve in other ways, and the items are treated with respect. It is clear, however, based on the photos, that quilts in excellent condition were used for this fiasco.
All I can think of are the quilts chopped up, gutted, vandalized and, no doubt, discarded so Ms. Vanderbilt could show off.
Respect for antique textiles? Hardly.
Shame on you, Gloria. You should know better.
"Decorating is autobiography...All the rooms I have ever lived in reflect the evolving taste of my hopes and dreams."
--- Gloria Vanderbilt
2 comments:
How horrible! All those lovely quilts destroyed. Shameful!
Can't help but agree, Maggie...
And I doubt this opinion was expressed when Ms. Vanderbilt's room was first photographed. Shame on the people who didn't speak up, either!
Thanks so much for writing.
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