ELLE DECOR September 2019

Is it time to upgrade your living room sofa? Consider this Sulley Comfort Sleeper sofa by American Leather, upholstered in a Sunbrella performance fabric with a queen-size gel mattress hidden within. One lucky winner will receive this sofa via white-glove delivery—an $8,200+ value. See page 130 for sweepstakes rules, and visit comfortsleeper.elledecor.com for your chance to win. ON THE COVER Aerin Lauder, wearing Valentino, in the living room of her family’s Paris apartment, which was designed by French architect Antoine Stinco. E-mail: elledecor@hearst.com Follow us on Instagram and Twitter: @elledecor Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/ELLEDECORmag Write to us: Mailbox, ELLE DECOR, 300 W. 57th St., 27th Fl., NY, NY 10019 Visit service.elledecor.com to order a print subscription, pay your bill, renew your subscription, update your mailing and e-mail addresses, and more. Or write to: Customer Service Department,…

EACH SEPTEMBER, THE STYLE WORLD DESCENDS ON New York, London, Milan, and Paris for fashion month. Despite the changing retail landscape, runway shows remain one of the most important ways for luxury brands to communicate their stories. The late Karl Lagerfeld understood the power of this messaging: Just look at the fantastical backdrops he created for Chanel at Paris’s Grand Palais—a tradition that continues with his successor, Virginie Viard, who showed the fall/winter couture show inside a three-story circular library set resembling the British Museum’s original Reading Room. Meanwhile, Louis Vuitton unveiled its cruise 2020 show inside an architectural treasure: Eero Saarinen’s TWA Flight Center at John F. Kennedy International Airport (now a hotel), and Fendi set its last couture show amid the ruins of Rome’s Colosseum. The clothes, too,…

WHEN THE LEGENDARY FRENCH fashion house Louis Vuitton tapped six contemporary artists to design special-edition handbags for its latest collection, Artycapucines, the label searched as far away as South Africa to find the perfect collaborators. But at the recent global launch of the collection in Beverly Hills—and the debut of Louis Vuitton X, a 22,000-squarefoot exhibition of the brand’s history on Rodeo Drive—one person in particular seemed to embody the spirit of the occasion: Alex Israel, the Los Angeles artist whose pop-culture tropes and Malibu-sunset palette epitomizes California cool. In true Hollywood fashion, Israel proved elusive. I had arrived from New York for a few nights of festivities to launch Artycapucines, which also includes limited-edition handbags by Urs Fischer, Tschabalala Self, Nicholas Hlobo, Jonas Wood, and Sam Falls. Fashion and lifestyle…

Vera Paints a Scarf At the Museum of Arts and Design in Manhattan, this exhibit of the work of artist turned textile designer Vera Neumann (above) shows why her printed scarves and boldly colored floral textiles for home and fashion made her an American design icon in the 1950s and ’60s. Through January 26, 2020. madmuseum.org Venice Glass Week A festival celebrating the art of glassmaking, Venice Glass Week encompasses more than 180 events—from exhibitions and guided tours to film screenings and receptions—across Venice, Murano, and Mestre in Italy’s Veneto region. The festival features local artisans, including Amy West, who will be performing live glass-printing demonstrations and offering hands-on workshops. September 7–15. theveniceglassweek.com Correspondences by François Halard A look through interiors photographer François Halard’s lens (below) at Christian Liaigre’s Paris showroom. Through October 4. liaigre.com…

WHEN HATMAKER Nick Fouquet acqui red his Buckm in - ster Fuller – esque geodesic-dome home, he had a fleeting moment of buyer’s remorse. But this modern milliner—whose celebrity clientele includes Pharrell Williams and Lady Gaga—has always been drawn to the unexpected. He grew up in Palm Beach, but after attending high school in Connecticut, he spent several years as a nomad, moving from Patagonia to Australia to New York before settling in Los Angeles. “I’ve led an unconventional life,” he says. “I like things that are different.” So it came as no surprise when he bought his hillside pad nestled on a one-acre plot on the western edge of Topanga Canyon, California. He calls it “an architectural gem”—an apt description, since its gemlike facade consists of dozens of perfectly…

Designer Brady Tolbert knows how to spot a neutral. From the smartest white to a dare-to-do-it navy, he chooses colors that work with the light and create beautifully livable spaces. Here are his Benjamin Moore living room picks, linked by style, versatility, and exceptional quality. Gennex® Color Technology—the exclusive science behind the Benjamin Moore brand—delivers gorgeous hues and ensures exceptional durability, so each one-of-a-kind shade lasts and lasts. GRAY OWL OC-52 The perfect medium gray, this color chameleon has subtle undertones that read warm or cool in a room, depending upon the light. CHELSEA GRAY HC-168 If you are looking for a true “gray,” this hue’s for you. It’s a darker tone—not too cool, not too warm. Neutral nirvana! HALE NAVY HC-154 Go ahead—take the plunge into inky blue. This deep, dark shade features some wonderful jewel tones, but…