Where is it? New York and Los Angeles inspire us, sure, but where's next? Recently I wrote a post about LA, but it got me wondering what other cities offer design galore.
Inspired by flowers and fragrance while in LA, I reconnected with Michael Wollaeger, Contributing Editor of Luxe Magazine (he’s the talented, insightful observer and former editor of Western Interiors).
We swapped stories about travel in, over and through cities between the coasts. I wanted to know if he shared my pick of the next sexy city endowed with art, architecture, design, culture, fashion and style. So, since he lives in Los Angeles and I live in New York, I asked him to tell me what 21st Century Sexy City he sees from his vantage point looking east from Los Angeles, while I look west from New York.
Voila - Dallas. So, fully jazzed about making my third trip there in as many months, I surrendered to being seduced again by its alluring mix of real spring-like weather, asymmetrical accent, flavor al-fresco and flirty fashion.
Don’t be dissuaded by the dated cliches. That’s riiiiight; no big hair here. Scale only describes the spirit. Stanley Marcus taught these girls how to dress, and created a fashion empire right here in the flagship store. Boots may clutter their closets for fun, but Louboutin sells as many stilettos in Dallas as he does in Paris. Carriage-trade retailing almost got its start here in Highland Park Village, one of the most enduring temples of luxury in the country where the ‘carriages’ are now Maserati, Bentley and Aston Martin. No ‘luxury-shame’ either; Dallas knows what makes design’s best the world’s best.
Determined to design, the velocity at which people have begun to architect this urban oasis stems from powerful and purposeful private investment in the city’s cultural past, present and especially its dynamic future. The bouquet includes Richard Meier’s residence for the Rachofskys, Renzo Piana’s Nasher Sculpture Garden, Norman Foster’s Center for the Performing Arts in the Arts District downtown and many, many more stars in the constellations of art and design.
RACHOFSKY RESIDENCE
Shining brightly, some of design’s royalty took the stage during a panel discussion I moderated for Spring Thing in the Decorative Center of Dallas alongside Ron Wommack, a gifted architect, Peggy Levinson, Editor of D Home Magazine and Jan Showers, the doyenne of design. Her new book Glamorous Rooms is so aptly titled, even though she demurs when praised. She is just so glamorous herself. Her interiors epitomize my respect for design, and inspire those too-few occasions to swoon indefensibly.
JAN SHOWERS
So come on Dallas, speak up Texas, let’s hear from all of you in the Southwest. What makes Dallas your 21st Century Sexy City?
Steve Nobel
Founder and principal of NOBELINKS, a consulting practice specializing in the luxury markets for home furnishings and interior design, worldwide.
