"I think it's a great advantage for a bachelor to have a woman decorator."-Bill Blass circa 1972 . In this case Blass had two women- the firm of MAC II- Mica Ertegen and Chessy Rayner. Blass and the pair forged a great decorating friendship and a personal one as well. That Blass referred to them as the Girls - testifies to the type of man he was- can't call him a guy. "The legwork the Girls do is remarkable." There are signs of the Classical Blass we know from his later iconic MAC II rooms: the sable heads as well as the animal skin fabric on the massive banquette. The animal print was a hand stencilled suede. Now that's CHIC- and perhaps proof that the glut of animal prints we have before us today was nonexistent when MAC II redid the apartment in 1972. The Girls were charged with redoing the apartment when Blass purchased the adjacent apartment and opened it to join his existing digs- making for a large open living space with white walls, beautiful dark floors and dynamic paintings. The sable heads that dominate the space are mounted on silver and displayed on acrylic pedestals and tables
a Herb Schiffrin painting, animal print and sable antelope skulls
a Chinese screen over a leather banquette with a Parsons table covered in a Turkish textile.
the Dining Room- a skirted table with banquette covered in a bright yellow Chinese print
The dark brown lacquered Blass bedroom was full of a mix of modern fabric, tables along with orange pillows, animal skins- Sound familiar? What's old is new again as always. Some how the Blass bedroom manages to be rich in content -while some of its predecessors today do not.
"It's more than just a bedroom for me. I read there, have a fire there. I have a few friends in-
I can't explain why but it's the room that really expresses my character...It's the room I live in." Bill Blass
BLASS with his Girls
In my profile I write- "one of my loves is the perfectly edited world of the late Bill Blass-" this apartment reinforces that admiration. His ability to edit and never bore- is unmatched and he couldn't have done it without the Girls.
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