Our New York art scene summer walk began under the High Line at the Chelsea Market at 75 9th Avenue, where my blog partner, Ed Baynard, introduced me to his city favorite for lunch in the Lobster Place, located inside the charming peeled brick unrestored garage. We enjoyed their lobster roll accompanied by pink raspberry lemonade. I had never been to the Chelsea Market before, though having lived for 25 years on E 63rd Street (for a week a month, while I fitted my couture customers in Bergdorf Goodman ). I rarely left my gentrified uptown neighborhood -- it was the gay guys favorite pick-up spot in the early '70s.
Following a 20-minute stroll up the High Line through the exotic trees, rare plants and beautiful people, we eventually spotted the top fashionista; a savvy, young man with chrome yellow pants and matching dyed chrome yellow hair... CHROME YELLOW IS THE NEW MELON ORANGE... Every city on planet earth currently has been invaded in 2012 by men and women in the coral pant and orange accessory, a shoe, a belt, or a T-shirt. Orange has even appeared in Target for baby girls stretch tights. This fall get ready: it will all be yellow.
Ed and I took the pale green glass elevator down to 23rd Street, where we saw the "Screw You" exhibit at the Susan Inglett Gallery at 522 W 24st Street. There to behold were rare original '60s copies of Screw magazine with John Lennon's drawings of himself and Yoko having sex with a third woman?
There had been a show in Paris of Lennon's art "The Bed In" at the Denise Rene Gallery in 1970 that did not include this threesome piece. My press attaché, Yanou Collart told me she took Dali and Gala to the opening. Dali was obsessed with John Lennon and wanted to do an exhibit of his drawings and Lennon's poems but John having no interest in Dali turned him down.
Yayoi Katsuma is having her moment in New York from the Chelsea market, to the High Line to the "Screw You" show to The Vuitton shop opening where Katsuma was featured in the 5th Ave windows to the grandeur of a Whitney retrospective. The Japanese polka dot painter is still going strong in spite of living in an insane asylum. Katsura whose live nude women painted in neon dots shocked us in the sixties is appearing today in New York wearing a yellow and black dot peplum suit and a hot pink wig a la Zandra Rhodes at posh Louis Vuitton.
Walking down 23rd Street to the Steven Kasher gallery....was a young brunette in the skirt of the moment, a black sheath, cut mini below her panties in the front, and maxi to her booties in the back, with a delicious side curve.
Mick, Keith, Johnny Cash, Janis, Joni and the Beatles are featured in Jim Marshall photography show at the Steven Kasher Gallery and my dearest beautiful friend Miles Davis outshined them all in a impromptu shot that captured Miles in all his glory. Janis Joplin was another story.
The Pavel Zoubok Gallery at 533 W 23rd St. shows only collage and mixed media and today brilliantly presents a dream world travel logue in the new show, titled "I'll Take You There." It's worth taking yourself to Chelsea to behold the electric colors of the work
Pavel recently had a lady client walk in with a rescued dog, and Pavel and the dog locked eyes and fell in love. They have never been separated since that special moment. Now Dragon, the dog, wears a Louis Vuitton collar edged in neon green one of the popular fashion colors going forward. Dragon is still in shock over his good fortune. Uggie, star of the Oscar-winning The Artist was a rescue dog. I have rescue dogs on my Florida farm we call "walk-ons," and I must admit they try harder in all categories to please.
Barney's downtown opened their first women's store at 150 W 17th St., in 1977. Now located in the store is the Rubin Museum of Art. I remember selling to the Pressman family their first women's couture on the 6th top floor called the Penthouse. Fred Pressman had specialized in men's wear with Barney's Warehouse discount men's clothes. Today religious manuscripts from the 13th century lie on wooden tables, where my hot pants and beaded bras once lay on display and Barneys (minus the "s" ) was sold to a Dubai company and part ownership was sold to Yucaipa (Ron Burkle), that has Hillary and Bill Clinton as it's shareholders and board members.
The Rubin Museum was a quick walk over from the Chelsea art world. The Rubin features Tibetan art and when you walk in you are greeted at the front door by the Mahakala mask, Protector of the Buddhist faith. The mask either African, Oceanic, or Himalayan has become a must -own piece for art collectors to hang opposite their front door. A Dogon mask from Mali has recently reached a price topping one million euros at a gallery on the Rue Visconti near my shop in Paris left bank.
On Wednesday night there are two monks making soulful, Tibetan music on the ground floor that floated up the silver art deco Peter Marino circular staircase to the roof. If only Miles Davis could still be here to share the music with Ed and me.
Vicky Tiel began designing clothes forty years ago in Paris and still owns a boutique there. Her NEW Collection for HSN is available on TV and online, her couture at Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus, and her perfumes are carried in Perfumania. Her memoir, "It's All About the Dress: What I Learned in 40 Years About Men, Women, Sex, and Fashion" was published by St. Martin's Press in August 2011.