If you consider yourself a fashionista and have never heard of Kelly Wearstler you can be forgiven for now. For the last 20 years the 44-year old mother of two has made a name for herself with one of fashion’s closest relatives, interior design and in the decorating world everyone knows her name. Wesrstler’s impressive decorator’s resume includes the Viceroy hotel chain, Maison 140, the prestigious Avalon hotel in Beverly Hills and countless celebrity mansions and villas; beyond that she has released a home furnishings line with Bergdorf Goodman, her own brand of sheets and rugs, and penned three popular titles on the subject of decor Modern Glamour, Domicilium Decoratus and Hue.
“My motto in life is take risks; you don’t have a voice if you don’t. You have to venture outside your boundaries. That’s what life’s all about,” Kelly told the Wall Street Journal earlier this month while being interviewed about her latest departure from the boundaries of decor: a ready-to-wear women’s fashion line and jewelry collection that will hit shelves in less than six weeks. When asked about her inspirations for the line she explained that it was to be in the same vein as her signature decor brands, a mixture of modern chic with the classic and opulent aesthetic of 1940s through 1960s Hollywood. When asked about her favorite contemporary designer Wearstler named Sonia Rykiel and added that her all time style icon was none other than the opulent and elegant Peggy Guggenheim.
While it is impossible to accurately predict how the line will be received by shoppers when it appears in Neiman Marcus, Net-a-Porter and Holt Renfrew at the end of next month it is fair to say that the fashion world has already taken note and is eager to see if Wearstler’s venture into style will be anywhere near as successful as her career in decor. If so then it will not be long before not knowning Kelly Wearstler’s name will be as big a faux pas in fashion as it already is in design.
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