First things first, I'm participating in the Mama Monday series over at Ava Grace's Closet today. Head over and check it out!
You see, Liz took Harper's Bazaar to another level back in 1992 when she took over as Editor-In-Chief. Way back in the late 80's/early 90's Bazaar was sort of a garish, cluttered, very dated magazine. I should know, I was a subscriber (well, my Mom subscribed for me - ha!). It was never quite as sophisticated as Vogue. It had cheesy features, the one that stands out the most was it's annual "50 Most Beautiful Women In The World", which while lovely felt so forced. But when Liz took over she brought in some amazingly creative people (like Fabien Baron and photographer Patrick Demarchelier poached from Vogue), and in September 1992 this issue arrived in my mailbox and proceeded to blow my mind.
(and yes I still have it)
She and her team had created the most beautiful, well-designed magazine that felt both modern yet familiar in an almost retro way. It was the best of every world. So sophisticated. I remember holding that issue up and saying to no one in particular "Well, things just got interesting." I was obsessed. Obsessed with every photo, model, layout, just everything. It was genius in every way. Her magazine created instant buzz in the publishing world, picking up award after award. Every month a new beautifully designed fantasy landed in my mailbox. Her Editor Letters were fun and familiar (though not as good as Linda Wells at Allure - she writes the best ones in the business), she was enchanting and I was under the spell. Liz was my girl!
And to me, nothing seemed quite the same. Certainly not at Bazaar, where Kate Betts (formerly News Director of Vogue) took over as Editor-In-Chief and changed everything, including the Bazaar logo (!), so much so that it felt like some weird publication that seemed to slant to a very young crowd. I like Kate Betts, but it was just an ill fit. But honestly, no magazine felt the same, the models all but disappeared from covers, the celebrity culture took over and the fantasy seemed to be pushed to the background. It makes me sound old, but I do miss those days.
Images via Amazon.com
Big Bird and Diane Von Furstenberg
Vera Wang and Abby Cadabby
Derek Lam and Thakoon Panichgul with Bert and Ernie
Francisco Costa and Grover
Carolina Herrera and Elmo
Kate and Laura Mulleavy (Rodarte) with Cookie Monster
Oscar the Grouch and Oscar de la Renta
What caught my eye was: #1 it was Manolo Blahnik (BIG fan), #2 it had Scottish Terriers on it (I collect interesting vintage Scottie knick knacks) and lastly I had seen these pillows in magazines and knew they were very hard to come by. Manolo had sold some in his stores, but mostly they were given as gifts for certain occasions. As you can see this one was clearly meant for Christmas 1997-98. I made note of the listing and kept my eye on it. When it was initially listed, it was a bit pricey. I checked on it a few times a week, hoping that no one bought it and that maybe it would go on sale. A couple of months later the site had a massive clearance to make room for new stuff. Behold my (I already considered it to be mine) pillow was on major sale - below 3 figures!!! I purchased immediately. A week later it arrived and it did not disappoint. It is a lovely pillow, you can tell it isn't cheaply made. The fabric is a lovely butter yellow linen, stuffed with feathers and has some very nice fringe. The image is carefully silk screened on the front - it's beautiful, the picture doesn't to it justice. I had my pillow and didn't think of it as anything more than a lovely item for my home, until...
I love seeing creative people's working spaces, I find it fascinating. I really admire the late Ms. Tilberis. She reinvented Bazaar into a very graphic, fresh and visually stunning fashion magazine. The layouts, graphics and typography really made an impact (thanks to Fabien Baron - a genius that way). Sometime after I purchased the pillow, I was looking through one of the binders when this page caught my eye. If you look closely at her office you will notice (I know it's hard) 4 yellow Manolo Blahnik pillows - the same as my pillow - right on her sofa!! I did a double take. Now I'm not saying that I may have one of those pillows that once resided in her office (I'm sure more than 4 were made), but I can dream that it was. Right?! I can imagine in my head that the pillow I have once had a more glamorous life in NYC and had been a part of a very exciting time at that magazine. It may have overheard some very interesting conversations between very interesting people.