Legends 2023: America’s Favorite Design Festival Returns
Designers tailor famed windows and talks around the foundation of decorating: dressing a room
The La Cienega Design Quarter’s much-awaited annual LEGENDS event kicks into high gear in 2023 with an expanded membership, an enticing “The Fashion of Home” theme, a nod to fashion royalty, and the announcement of the inimitably fashionable – and absolute forces in design – Ken Fulk and Alexa Hampton as the recipients of LCDQ’s Living Legend Awards.
LEGENDS 2023 runs from May 9 to 11 and registration for America’s Favorite Design Festival is now open!
The window displays of the LCDQ member showrooms have always been the crown of LEGENDS, and along with Mr. Fulk and Ms. Hampton, a coterie of talented designers have committed to designing this year’s windows, including Jake Arnold, Paloma Contreras, David Frazier, Amy Meier, Breegan Jane, Noz Nozawa, and Studio Heimat. A more complete list is below and will continue to grow.
Fashion is the directive this LEGENDS – its influence on home design, designers, and even architecture. To that end, a perfect representation: Sarah Jessica Parker’s designer, Eric Hughes, is planning the re-creation of part of her dressing room in the window of Mecox.
The core of LEGENDS’ two days of programming is the eight keynote panels, four on Wednesday, May 10, and four on May 11, along with several discussions planned by the various showrooms in the LCDQ.
The opening keynote, Chic Is Chic! The Powerful Pull Between Interiors and Fashion with Galerie magazine managing editor, Jill Sieracki, in conversation with designers Jeremiah Brent, Adam Bram Straus, and lighting designer Scott Richler of Gabriel Scott, will begin programming events.
Mr. Fulk will present “The Movie in My Mind,” a fascinating illustrated journey through his extravagant design endeavors – and also the title of his new book – at the Rug Company, on Wednesday, May 10. Mr. Fulk’s presentation will be followed by a book signing.
Other Keynote and discussion highlights at LEGENDS 2023: The Fashion of Home include:
· The Ever-Evolving Intersection Between Fashion and Interior Design – California Home+Design’s Editorial Director Lindsey Shook and renowned fashion and interior designer Erin Fetherston discuss major brand collaboration.
· Interior Tailoring – Paul Wiseman, Michael Cox, and Madeline Stuart review the key pieces every home needs to dress the part for real life.
· Fashion’s Home Passion – An insider’s talk on the seamless connection between fashion and interior design.
· Creating a Livable Work of Art – Estate architect Richard Landry presents a contemporary reinterpretation of a classical French chateau with Philip Nimmo, and California Home Editor-in-Chief Susan McFadden, at Renaissance Design.
· Whisky Watercolor Club Reunion – Five esteemed architects who have been meeting on Zoom during and since the pandemic – Thomas Kligerman, Michael Imber, Doug Wright, and Steve Rugo (Ankie Barnes is unable to attend) – will share how painting has served their psyche and their work. Paintings from each will be offered for sale, with proceeds going to charity. Plus, a book signing for “Shingle and Stone: Thomas Kligerman Houses”.
· Uncommon Kitchens – A look at imaginative and fashion-forward kitchens around the world, moderated by Sophie Donelson.
· Art Enhancing Design – An insider talk with Gagosian Gallery Director Harmony Murphy and Source Art Founder MaryLinda Moss at Michael-Cleary.
· Get Over It! – A talk on how collaboration can save a business, with The Design Trust and Circaphiles.
Social events and special programming will abound this year at LEGENDS:
· Ms. Hampton and Mr. Fulk will receive the Living Legend award at the LEGENDS 2023 Opening Party on May 9 at Catch Steak. LEGENDS will take over the chic new restaurant in the LCDQ.
· “Golden Hour Social” with AAPI Design Alliance on Wednesday, May 10, in Collective Form’s LCDQ courtyard, celebrates the makers, creatives, and AAPI design community with Asian-inspired small bites and crafted cocktails.
· The rollicking “Design Dating Game” returns to ALT for Living with House Beautiful’s senior style director Robert Rufino, followed by mariachis and a taco truck.
· “Roses and Rosé” – An enjoyable afternoon learning how to build your own bouquet with a leading L.A. florist at Gracie. The gift bag will be a joy for any Gracie-Weezie fan!
· A fashion pop-up with a special selection of garments, complements, and jewelry by Atacama Home’s artisans and a brand-new jewelry collection.
· Parachute’s Chief Creative Officer, Amy Hoban, and interior stylist Scott Horne will show how to best style a bedroom. Followed by a reception.
· Closing Disco Party will be hosted by Ben Soleimani in the new showroom.
· Mecox’s outstanding “Class of 2023” Author Group:
· Gray Malin, Coastal, Italy, Escapes
· Suzanne Kasler, Edited Style, and Extraordinary Interiors
· Michael Cox, The Language of Home
· Joseph Marini, Mastering the Art of Entertaining
· Barbara Sallick, The Ultimate Bath
Bookending the LEGENDS 2023: The Fashion of Home keynotes, cocktails, lunches, book signings, and experiential offerings is Hollywood at Home’s Welcome Breakfast on the first day of programming (Wednesday, May 10), and an invitation-only excursion to Una Casa Privada, Una Malan’s private showplace in the sky (Thursday, May 11).
LCDQ has extended its western boundary on Melrose Avenue to include a design-rich block of showrooms west of San Vicente: Dennis & Leen, Formations, Michael-Cleary, The Rug Company, Saatva, the Shade Store, and Walker Zanger recently joined the LCDQ. And antiques and contemporary decorative arts dealer Carole Decombe has reopened a gallery on Melrose Avenue, but this time with a new name – Loulou by Galerie Carole Decombe – celebrating her fashion and design collaboration with her daughter, Lorraine Decombe.
General registration for the 2023 event is $150, and VIP Registration $495. VIP registration offers access to exclusive special events (the Opening Party, Ken Fulk’s “The Movie in My Mind,” a visit to Una Casa Privada a wine tasting at The Luxury Kitchen, and other invitation-only events, to be announced), with the best opportunity for some facetime with some of design’s brightest luminaries.
Part of the proceeds from the sale of LEGENDS 2023 registration will go to Habitat for Humanity Los Angeles. Since the LCDQ’s inception in 2009, approximately $300,000 from LEGENDS event registration fees have been donated to Habitat for Humanity Los Angeles to help low-income families get into starter homes.
Please continue to check LEGENDS 2023 and LCDQ’s social media for further updates. Stay connected on Instagram for all the latest @lcdqla.
Several area hotels have special rates for LEGENDS 2023 attendees.
For a complete list of LCDQ member showrooms, visit: https://lcdqla.com/shops/
LEGENDS 2023: The Fashion of Home – Window Designers
31 design firms, 36 designers total (additional windows to be confirmed)
- 1. ALT for Living/Remains: 1818 Collective (Kristin Fine and Analisse Taft-Gersten)
- 2. Atacama Home: Breegan Jane
- 3. Cache: Rydhima Brar
- 4. Collective Form: Peti Lau
- 5. Compas: CarbonShack Design
- 6. Farrow & Ball: Meg Lonergan
- 7. Fireside Barbecue Appliance: Lucas Browning (Katie Browning and Heather Lucas)
- 8. Gracie: Alexa Hampton
- 9. Harbinger (3): Amy Meier, Noz Nozawa, Jaqui Seerman
- 10. Jamal’s Rug Collection: Madeline Stuart
- 11. Loulou by Carole Decombe: Richard Shapiro
- 12. Marc Phillips (3): Studio Heimat (Eva Bradley and Alicia Cheung); Augusta Hoffman; Edel Legaspi
- 13. MASH Gallery: Eddie Maestri
- 14. McKinnon and Harris: Meg Joannides
- 15. Mecox: Eric Hughes
- 16. Mehraban (2): Michael Cox, David Frazier
- 17. Modern Rugs (2): Daelen Cory & Paul L’Esperance and Jen Samson
- 18. Parachute: Studio MTN
- 19. Philip Stites: John Ike
- 20. The Rug Co: Ken Fulk
- 21. Serena & Lily: Georgia Tapert Howe
- 22. Una Malan: Kristine Paige
- 23. Visual Comfort: Paloma Contreras
- 24. Waterworks: Studio Life/Style (Shannon Wollack and Brittany Zwickl)
- 25. Woven: Jake Arnold for The Expert
- 26. Renaissance Molding and Design: Nicole Gordon
Sponsors
Aspire Design and Home, California Home+Design, California Homes, Galerie, Luxe Interiors + Design, Benjamin Moore, Circaphiles, Decorative Furnishings Association, Fisher & Paykel, Gracie, The Design Trust
More About LEGENDS
The most sought-after event on the national design calendar, LEGENDS is an annual design festival in its 13th year that brings thousands of influencers, enthusiasts, editors, and purveyors of design from across the U.S. and from around the world to the La Cienega Design Quarter for three days of keynotes, open houses, discussions, book signings, exhibitions, personal appearances, social events, and networking. The hallmark of LEGENDS is the transformation of the windows of the LCDQ shops and showrooms on the theme of the event.
About LCDQ
The La Cienega Design Quarter became known in the 1950s when many interior designers lived upstairs from their design studios in the fashionable apartments lining La Cienega Boulevard. In those days, the likes of William Haines, Elsie de Wolfe, Frances Elkins, Tony Duquette, and Michael Taylor trawled the boulevard looking for unique finds. Some of those buildings remain, uniquely preserved and often inhabited by antique shops and design showrooms, and The Quarter continues to draw the designer who is looking for the rare and unusual. The LCDQ covers one square mile around the intersection of La Cienega Boulevard, Melrose Place, and Melrose Avenue, including a cluster of design showrooms from San Vicente to almost Robertson Boulevard. Membership totals 45 design businesses in 2023.