BRIDAL issue
aRUDE comment
ONLINE content
ART & ARCHITECTURE
Questions for Bassam Fellows interview Iké Udé
BON APPÉTIT
Lucien interview Danielle Brown
BUSINESS OFF THE WALL
Questions For Aaron Schwartz
FASHION
Badgley Mischka interview Iké Udé
La Vie En Rose photography Andrew Matusik
FASHION LINGERIE
Suite 1940 photography Ben Oliver
KULTURE & ART CINEMA
Anthony Hopkins Not Brain Surgery interview Brandon Judell
KULTURE & ART PAINTING
talking with Marlene Dumas interview Odili Donald Odita
Johan Falkman A Dance-Macbre Around The Autopsy Table interview Magnus Sjöholm
KULTURE & ART PHOTOGRAPHY
Daniel Malcolm interview Koan Jeff Baysa
SHELTER & DESIGN FLORAL DESIGN
Questions for Olivier Guigni
TRAVEL & LEISURE
"Brazil? With my hair? Never!!" Diane von Furstenberg
aRUDE comment
bridal_issue_dvf.php
ONLINE content
ART & ARCHITECTURE
Questions for Bassam Fellows interview Iké Udé
BON APPÉTIT
Lucien interview Danielle Brown
BUSINESS OFF THE WALL
Questions For Aaron Schwartz
FASHION
Badgley Mischka interview Iké Udé
La Vie En Rose photography Andrew Matusik
FASHION LINGERIE
Suite 1940 photography Ben Oliver
KULTURE & ART CINEMA
Anthony Hopkins Not Brain Surgery interview Brandon Judell
KULTURE & ART PAINTING
talking with Marlene Dumas interview Odili Donald Odita
Johan Falkman A Dance-Macbre Around The Autopsy Table interview Magnus Sjöholm
KULTURE & ART PHOTOGRAPHY
Daniel Malcolm interview Koan Jeff Baysa
SHELTER & DESIGN FLORAL DESIGN
Questions for Olivier Guigni
TRAVEL & LEISURE
"Brazil? With my hair? Never!!" Diane von Furstenberg
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG "Brazil? With My Hair? Never!!"
Diane von Furstenberg photography courtesy of subject click image to enlarge "Brazil, With my hair? Never!!"
I was referring to the humidity of the climate and my hair being curly...Years have passed, I have long accepted my curly hair...and I was back in Brazil this month. The purpose was to launch my line of precious jewelry for and by H. Stern in Brazil.
I arrive in Sao Paulo on a sunny Sunday morning. Olivier, my old-time friend, colleague, and co-author of the books, The Bed, The Bath, and The Table, picks me up at the airport and stays with me during my whole Brazilian stay. We settle in the very small and elegant Hotel Fasano located in the chic neighborhood of Jardins. Sao Paulo is a very large city with 18 million inhabitants, high in altitude, and 60 kilometers from the sea. It extends for miles and miles with islands of luxury neighborhoods with large houses and gated gardens. Starting with the coffee traders in the 19 th century, the houses once built on Avenida Paulista have now been replaced by huge buildings. The industrial revolution of the '20's and '30's attracted a huge immigration from all over the world. There are, for example, 2 million Japanese in Sao Paulo.
Salvador was the first capital of Brazil and was then replaced by the glamorous and aristocratic Rio de Janeiro until President Kubicek decided to move it to the center of the country. Helped by the visionary architect Oscar Niemeyer, he created the city of Brasilia, now the capital of Brazil.
Sao Paulo was always the business center and now represents about 25% of the economy of Brazil. A quick and worthwhile visit to the Pinacoteca do Estado Museum of Brazilian Art makes me discover an extraordinary building freshly restored for its 100 th birthday this year. It is a custom in Brazil to give "palestras" (Brazilian word for conferences) and share your knowledge and your work experiences...
I was therefore asked to hold a "palestra" at the private University of Sao Paulo, FAAP, located in a monumental building in the Hygienopolis neighborhood. The crowd was mostly composed of professional women and it was very easy to address them.... We definitely identified with one another. The big cocktail party at the Oscar Freire store was the culmination of all events. The room was bursting at the seams with a very enthusiastic crowd.... Olivier, Roberto, and I left at mid-party to take the commuter plane to Rio de Janeiro, where we found the same excitement and warm welcome.
To rest, Olivier and I had decided to go to Fernando de Noronha, an island in the Atlantic Ocean one hour west of Recife, by plane. We arrive there the next day, delighted and amazed by so much beauty. The island is 7 kilometers long, a paradisiacal landscape, and an ecological refuge where you can swim at large with dozens of dolphins or in transparent natural pools with all kinds of colorful fish. Strategically situated, it was for a long time a military base and is equipped to get back to that in case of danger. There are a few small hotels called pausadas... We stay in the most beautiful one, Pousada da Maravilha. Our stay there is quite wonderful and simple.... I sleep long hours; have daily massages, many swims, and an early morning hike in the rain along the rough landscape. We feel very far from the rest of the world... and we are.
photography courtesy of Diane von Furstenberg click image to enlarge We go to the H. Stern headquarters where thousands of tourists visit the gem museum daily, learn about the rich Brazilian mines, and eventually succumb to the temptation of buying something. It is quite an operation that Hans Stern, a refugee from Nazi Germany, has created in Rio and I am very impressed to visit it all. I am especially struck by the workrooms where all the jewelry is hand made by skillful hands. Another cocktail, another "palestra" and another enthusiastic crowd... Brazil is nice to me and I like it...I am, however, exhausted.
I have an afternoon to discover Recife before my plane back home. Daniela, a very pretty journalist for the local paper El Diario, picks me up at the airport with another Daniela, the manager of H. Stern Recife. Recife is a large port, a city of 1.8 million people, with two major rivers, Rio Caparibe and Rio Beberibe. Because of its many bridges it is called the Brazilian Venice, and, like Venice , was a huge trade center. First they take me to this extraordinary place, park, museum, tile factory of Francisco Brennand. Brennand is one of the most respected living artists of Brazil. An acclaimed painter and sculptor, he is a recipient of the most prestigious prize of South America , The Gabriel Mistral. His wealthy family has manufactured tiles for a long time, and at the death of his father in 1971, Brennand had a vision of turning an old manufacturing building into an artistic center, with a museum, a theater complex, and, of course, his studio, as well as a tile factory. The result is quite spectacular, as his very proud daughter and curator Nene confirms. The sun down, Daniela, Roberta, and I drive to Olinda, this nearby exquisite old Baroque town full of colorful houses and very old magnificent churches. Olinda is famous for its 4 day carnival of dancing. We stop for a tapioca of coconut and cheese, drink some coconut milk and joke with the crowd. Recife is also a modern city, with elegant shops, restaurants, and bookstores. The Paso Alfondiga, first a monastery, then a customs agency, is now a shopping center.
Back home, I look at the pictures I took in Brazil, cherish the memories, and will keep a warm spot for this country that looks into the future with so much optimism.
Diane von Furstenberg photography courtesy of subject click image to enlarge "Brazil, With my hair? Never!!"
I was referring to the humidity of the climate and my hair being curly...Years have passed, I have long accepted my curly hair...and I was back in Brazil this month. The purpose was to launch my line of precious jewelry for and by H. Stern in Brazil.
I arrive in Sao Paulo on a sunny Sunday morning. Olivier, my old-time friend, colleague, and co-author of the books, The Bed, The Bath, and The Table, picks me up at the airport and stays with me during my whole Brazilian stay. We settle in the very small and elegant Hotel Fasano located in the chic neighborhood of Jardins. Sao Paulo is a very large city with 18 million inhabitants, high in altitude, and 60 kilometers from the sea. It extends for miles and miles with islands of luxury neighborhoods with large houses and gated gardens. Starting with the coffee traders in the 19 th century, the houses once built on Avenida Paulista have now been replaced by huge buildings. The industrial revolution of the '20's and '30's attracted a huge immigration from all over the world. There are, for example, 2 million Japanese in Sao Paulo.
Salvador was the first capital of Brazil and was then replaced by the glamorous and aristocratic Rio de Janeiro until President Kubicek decided to move it to the center of the country. Helped by the visionary architect Oscar Niemeyer, he created the city of Brasilia, now the capital of Brazil.
Sao Paulo was always the business center and now represents about 25% of the economy of Brazil. A quick and worthwhile visit to the Pinacoteca do Estado Museum of Brazilian Art makes me discover an extraordinary building freshly restored for its 100 th birthday this year. It is a custom in Brazil to give "palestras" (Brazilian word for conferences) and share your knowledge and your work experiences...
I was therefore asked to hold a "palestra" at the private University of Sao Paulo, FAAP, located in a monumental building in the Hygienopolis neighborhood. The crowd was mostly composed of professional women and it was very easy to address them.... We definitely identified with one another. The big cocktail party at the Oscar Freire store was the culmination of all events. The room was bursting at the seams with a very enthusiastic crowd.... Olivier, Roberto, and I left at mid-party to take the commuter plane to Rio de Janeiro, where we found the same excitement and warm welcome.
To rest, Olivier and I had decided to go to Fernando de Noronha, an island in the Atlantic Ocean one hour west of Recife, by plane. We arrive there the next day, delighted and amazed by so much beauty. The island is 7 kilometers long, a paradisiacal landscape, and an ecological refuge where you can swim at large with dozens of dolphins or in transparent natural pools with all kinds of colorful fish. Strategically situated, it was for a long time a military base and is equipped to get back to that in case of danger. There are a few small hotels called pausadas... We stay in the most beautiful one, Pousada da Maravilha. Our stay there is quite wonderful and simple.... I sleep long hours; have daily massages, many swims, and an early morning hike in the rain along the rough landscape. We feel very far from the rest of the world... and we are.
photography courtesy of Diane von Furstenberg click image to enlarge We go to the H. Stern headquarters where thousands of tourists visit the gem museum daily, learn about the rich Brazilian mines, and eventually succumb to the temptation of buying something. It is quite an operation that Hans Stern, a refugee from Nazi Germany, has created in Rio and I am very impressed to visit it all. I am especially struck by the workrooms where all the jewelry is hand made by skillful hands. Another cocktail, another "palestra" and another enthusiastic crowd... Brazil is nice to me and I like it...I am, however, exhausted.
I have an afternoon to discover Recife before my plane back home. Daniela, a very pretty journalist for the local paper El Diario, picks me up at the airport with another Daniela, the manager of H. Stern Recife. Recife is a large port, a city of 1.8 million people, with two major rivers, Rio Caparibe and Rio Beberibe. Because of its many bridges it is called the Brazilian Venice, and, like Venice , was a huge trade center. First they take me to this extraordinary place, park, museum, tile factory of Francisco Brennand. Brennand is one of the most respected living artists of Brazil. An acclaimed painter and sculptor, he is a recipient of the most prestigious prize of South America , The Gabriel Mistral. His wealthy family has manufactured tiles for a long time, and at the death of his father in 1971, Brennand had a vision of turning an old manufacturing building into an artistic center, with a museum, a theater complex, and, of course, his studio, as well as a tile factory. The result is quite spectacular, as his very proud daughter and curator Nene confirms. The sun down, Daniela, Roberta, and I drive to Olinda, this nearby exquisite old Baroque town full of colorful houses and very old magnificent churches. Olinda is famous for its 4 day carnival of dancing. We stop for a tapioca of coconut and cheese, drink some coconut milk and joke with the crowd. Recife is also a modern city, with elegant shops, restaurants, and bookstores. The Paso Alfondiga, first a monastery, then a customs agency, is now a shopping center.
Back home, I look at the pictures I took in Brazil, cherish the memories, and will keep a warm spot for this country that looks into the future with so much optimism.
