Architecture and design have always strongly informed Silvia Tcherassi’s artistic perspective. As someone who began her professional career in the interior design sphere, her connection to space is an exceptional one. A few years back when searching for the optimal place for brand headquarters in Miami, she arrived upon a stunning spectacle of a location on the second floor of a building in Coral Gables. The noteworthy contrast of geometric volumes in the exteriors, striking mosaics with a degradé effect and theatrical floating columns in the lobby immediately caught her masterful eye. It came as no surprise that the structure was the labor of American Postmodern architect Morris Lapidus in the late sixties. Silvia had first come in contact with Lapidus’ work in her early childhood, spending family vacations in the Hotel DiLido in South Beach—one of his most memorable projects along with the Fountainebleau and the Eden Roc. Making the newfound treasure the creative and operational dwellings for the brand seemed like a natural choice.
For the constant creator, surroundings provide inexhaustible inspiration, and two years later, Silvia’s entire Spring-Summer 2022 collection was conceived and developed in this locale, drawing on some of the remarkable elements of the building as well as others of the architect’s authorship. The outcome is a thoroughly modern one with the presence of classical components similar to those of the MiMo (Miami Modernisn) movement, where stylistic conventions, chronologies, or geographies are expertly blended—not at all different to Tcherassi’s own creative tendencies. Cut-outs and exposed shoulders evoke Lapidus’ explorations with circular shapes and stand out in a surprising color palette that echo the jewel-toned hanging glass lamps he also designed. Some of the prints pay homage to the characteristic waves present in his buildings and the black-and-white floors over his iconic Lincoln Road project. Intricate details in the clothing and accessories honor his perfect balance of tasteful flamboyance and bring back his famously celebrated line: Too much is never enough.
