4 9 V O G U E L I V I N GBy YEONG SASSALLFusing craft, CREATIVITY and a flair for the unexpected,Danish luxury house GEORG JENSEN enters a thrilling new eraunder the masterful guidance of creative director Paula Gerbase.
hen Paula Gerbase first moved to Denmark she was warned about the winters.Famously long, chilly and barren of sunlight, there is nothing quite likea Scandinavianwinter, and it certainly didn’t help thatshe landed in Copenhagenunder the hedonistic gaze of summer. “I arrived at the perfect season,” sherecalls. “Everything was light, everyone’s out on the streets and cycling, the cityis glorious… it’s like Narnia in summer! People said, “You’ll see, you’ll see’ andI was like, ‘I don’t believe you, it can’t be that bad’. But it really was.”These ‘people’ were perhaps underestimating the rare, chameleonic quality of Gerbase’stalent. For it was this same tenacity and spirited curiosity that led the fashion designer toaccept the creative director role at renowned Danish silverware brand, Georg Jensen.Nordic winters aside, Gerbase confesses to knowing little about Georg Jensen at first, butthe opportunity to explore new creative expression in a different medium was an impulseimpossible to ignore. Her design sensibility, rooted in a deep and thoughtful appreciationfor the tangible world, has found its surest footing at this very Danish house.It’s a role perfectly suited to Gerbase’s naturally inquisitive and itinerant nature. “I’mBrazilian. Most people don’t know that,” she says. “My dad worked for the UN, so I livedeverywhere, and grew up in the US and in Switzerland.” Prior to Denmark, Gerbase splither time between London and Paris, but her most formative years were spent in theEnglish capital. Studying at renowned talent incubator Central Saint Martins and trainingon Savile Row as a second-year student cemented Gerbase’s commitment to her craft.“I studied classical dance for most of my life, so I really found myself in the rigour of SavileRow — this idea that you’re always learning and continuing to push yourself,” she explains.Gerbase spent seven years honing her tailoring skills before launching her own fashionlabel, 1205, in 2010. “Not labelled men’s or women’s, it was just a series of garments,” sheexplains of its genderless appeal. “A collection where the objective was cut, proportion,quality, fabric and intimacy,” 1205 quickly garnered a crowd of discerning stockists andadmirers, from Japan’s Dover Street Market to American Vogue’s Sarah Mower. The label’ssuccess evolved in tandem with consulting gigs for brands like Burberry, Sunspel andWoolrich, and a stint at Hermès-owned British shoemaker John Lobb. Gerbase eventuallystepped away from 1205, after finding a partner to oversee the brand, and in early 2024when she got a call from Georg Jensen, she was perfectly positioned to take the leap.“It was really compelling to take on the guardianship of a house, not a brand,” shereflects. “I took the job thinking, ‘Okay, it’s jewellery, it’s homewares, it will be interestingWIMAGES COURTESY OF GEORG JENSEN
51 V O G U E L I V I N GThis page, from leftPaula Gerbase; Artisans Series Ice Cream Coupe, Ice Cream Orb Spoon (in coupe) and Ice Cream Beaded Spoon. Opposite page, from leftArtisans Series Orb Cup (part of a pair) and Affogato Spoon; Ice Cream Cup and Ice Cream Beaded Spoon. Previous page key pieces from The Artisans Series.to evolve these collections and be in people’s intimate spaces in a wider way’. But onceI came in, it challenged my perceptions of the job and what I needed to do. It became muchmore interesting and broader, [deepening] the emotional connection I have to the brand.”For Gerbase, Georg Jensen’s strong ties to Copenhagen and its legacy of Danishsilversmithing are indelibly linked to the preservation of these time-honoured crafts.“I always want to make sure that the projects I take on have an authentic quality at thecore, not just the way things are made, but quality of thought, integrity and intention,” sheexplains, pointing out the brand’s strong apprenticeship program as a pertinent example.“This is how I was trained at Hermès,” she continues, “to work with artisans to bringinnovation into age-old traditions of making, while always retaining a level of quality andintegrity to the founding values of a company.”Gerbase’s meticulous approach involved delving into the house’s extensive history.“There’s such an eclectic quality to archival Georg Jensen,” she shares. “There’s a strength,a real kind of a daring spirit. It’s not as minimalist as what you see now. When you lookbefore that, there’s an Art Nouveau period with so much maximalism, sculpture, texture,materiality and colour. That is something we’ll lean into much more heavily now.”With a new chapter marked by Gerbase’s first two collections — a range ofmultifunctional silver accessories that can be worn on the body or hung on a keychain orbag; and the Artisans Series 2025, which was unveiled at Milan Design Week — there isa self-assuredness to her stewardship. “Silver is generally perceived to be very traditionaland perhaps almost untouchable,” she says of the Artisans Series. “The idea [was] to launcha contemporary silver homewares collection that would frame small, everyday moments— having a coffee or an ice cream — I wanted to make those mundane moments precious.”Beyond that, the designer has plans to expand the house’s lifestyle categories and buildon its collaborative legacy with designers like Arne Jacobsen, Patricia Urquiola, MarcNewson and Zaha Hadid. For her part, Gerbase has found solace in her own quietevolution as a designer, and the switch from garment to object. “Interestingly, I would saythere’s no difference between doing this with a shirt or a glass. The only difference is theactual object itself,” she finishes. “And that’s also kind of comforting, right? To findfamiliar gestures and processes that you know in your bones.” georgjensen.com
By FREYA HERRINGPhotographed by MURIEL CAVANHACJORDY KERWICK opens thedoors to his family home insouthern France, where therenowned Australian artistsculpts and paints mythicalcharacters and pictorial worldsinspired by an imaginedCONTEMPORARY folklore.AN E WL E A S EO FL I F E
5 3 V O G U E L I V I N G
5 4 V O G U E L I V I N Gordy Kerwick didn’t expect to become a painter. But within a few years of pickingup a paintbrush, he became one of the most popular artists internationally — in2021 Artsy pronounced him the second most in-demand artist worldwide. Histalent was innate, and the world took notice.Kerwick was born and raised in Melbourne. “I was the director of a number ofbusinesses that all failed miserably,” Kerwick says of the moment in 2016 when herecognised he needed to change his life dramatically, and his wife, Ces McCully,an esteemed artist in her own right, stepped in. “We had a two-year-old son and a newborn,and I was very stressed and struggling. My wife bought me some acrylic paints andI started painting stuff to zone out of the everyday feeling of failure. As things gotprogressively worse in my career, there seemed to be light at the end of the tunnel withpainting.” By the end of that same year, his artwork began to sell. “I thought it wouldbe much easier than it was, and I was absolute garbage at first. But I became obsessed.We painted every night on the kitchen bench.” Needless to say, he got better.Since then, Kerwick has honed his painting technique — he also works in sculpture —layering acrylic and oil paint with impasto strokes to create textures that need to be seenin person to be appreciated for their full, painterly, emotional resonance. “The wholeprocess is just layering,” he says, self-effacingly. “They’re quite voluminous; they’re far moreinteresting to see in real life.”He creates characters that form a new sort of mythology, sprung from his own mind andinfluenced by his love of literature and music — most recently from bands like Broncho,Greet Death, The Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Kills. “Music, and to a slightly lesserdegree, literature, underpins so much of the work,” he says. “I often find one-liners thatresonate, and that feeling somehow manages to make its way into a painting.”A miniature, two-headed tiger growls in synchrony from a tabletop, the banal vase offlowers beside it highlighting the absurdity of the quasi-surrealistic scene. Cobras wraparound ferns or hiss at a buxom woman with sunbeams radiating from her double-facedhead. Recently, the motif of two drawers has emerged in his mises en scène. “About twoyears ago, I started doing creatures with two drawers, which was a take on the fragility ofeverything — one drawer to give life and love and nourishment, and the bottom drawer totake it away,” he explains. “I think having kids makes you a bit philosophical about life.Before you have kids, you think you have something to live for. And then once you actuallyhave kids you realise how much you have to live for. And it can be taken away so easily.”It’s a take that resonates with the pain of losing someone deeply loved, and the steps andstumbles taken to understand death. Kerwick lost his mother when he was 23.When their son, Sonny, was only five months old, Kerwick and McCully took a trip toFrance. “We jokingly said, ‘Let’s definitely move here one day’.” Then one day, they did.The family of four, which now includes another son, Milo, relocated in 2019 and havespent the last few years renovating an old, 2100-square-metre schoolhouse property in thetown of Gaillac, about an hour northeast of Toulouse. They won’t be moving back homeanytime soon.In fact, their plans for Gaillac span far beyond their four walls. “We’re in the process ofsetting up an artist residency, because we’ve got lots of space,” reveals Kerwick. “We wantto partner with the local mairie and explore the options of opening a public sculpture park.We’ve got lots of great artist friends; some amazing sculptors, and it would be good if wecould give back to our local community through establishing that.” They hope to includework by artists such as Johnny Nietzsche, Raven Halfmoon, Ryan Schneider and BillSaylor — a 50:50 split of male and female artists. Their own home is already teeming withworks by these artists and more, some bought, some swapped.From September to February, he has a show at the glorious outdoor institution that isEngland’s Yorkshire Sculpture Park, though “we won’t be doing anything to that scale,” hequips, referring to his hopes for Gaillac. Kerwick also has a show opening in Venice at theend of November, and another in Tokyo in 2026.Kerwick’s current obsession is the shape of the Christian cross: “I’m not religious, butI want to keep exploring that shape. I love the form; it’s so beautifully balanced.” As anartist, this is his indulgence — to think deeply, intensely, about subjects and transformthem into something that provokes further thought. “I think it’s incredibly stimulating,and so exciting, to get something out of your brain and turn it into something physical,”he muses. “And I like the idea that there are endless versions of things you can make.You can never, ever be able to make everything you want to, but hopefully you’ll make thebest version of something when you do.” piermarq.com.auJOpposite page, clockwise frm top left Gaillac in southern France; Jordy Kerwick and Ces McCully’s homefeaturing artwork by Ces McCully and sculpture by Jordy Kerwick; a living area within the home; the home’sfacade; Jordy Kerwick in the studio.
This page Dinosaur Designs Rock plates, Bones bowls, Pebble platter and Flow bowl, all in Lychee. Opposite page Dinosaur Designs 4 Leg Rock Tower tables,2 Leg Rock Tower tables, large Beehive vase, small Beehive Vase, medium Pebble vase, large Pebble vase, Rock Totem vase, Oval Rock vase. Following pages, from leftDinosaur Designs large Pebble vase in Lychee; Louise Olsen and Stephen Ormandy; Dinosaur Designs small Beehive vase in Pollen, medium Pebble vase in Pollen,Oval Rock vase in Pollen and Rose Swirl; large and medium Pebble vases, small Beehive vases, Flat Rock vases and Flow salad bowls.By ANNEMARIE KIELYDAY AND AGE Kicking off of a milestone birthday with a renewedsense of purpose and clarity of VISION, Australian studio DINOSAUR DESIGNSreflects on its monumental success story.
hen asked to reflect on four decades of survival, success and the secret to stayingdoggedly youthful in attitude and output, Stephen Ormandy, co-founder ofthe creatively fluid studio and celebrity-fave store Dinosaur Designs repeats thewisdom of friend and former Vogue Living editor David Clark. “Never makea noise when you sit down or stand up.”The advice issued, as Ormandy recalls it, after lowering himself into a chairand letting out the involuntary grunt that declares a body in decline. “It’s youtelling yourself that you are old,” he says. “I stopped it and still consciously act upon it.”Such cling to vim is laudable, even legible in the sexagenarian’s uber-cool garb,posture-correcting chair and chroma-clash of back-wall art painted by his own lyricalhand. But I remind that one’s thighs don’t lie and nor do adult children who, Ormandyagrees, always flatten cracker jokes with an “I don’t get it” and greet lists of all-timegreatest bands with a blank stare. Though his collection of vinyl records, said to syncgenre and generation in seamless beats at the best Sydney parties and pubs when Ormandyplays DJ — is the space of entente cordial with his artist daughter Camille.“She just loves my vinyl collection,” he says of the mutual enthrallment that comes fromvinyl’s sequential storytelling, warm sound, stylised aesthetics and collectable format.It begs ask of the special alchemy that turns viscous vinyl into a heightened engagementwith memory and the like magic liquidity of resin in which Dinosaur Designs havecollapsed light, time, colour, texture, lived encounter and natural order.Before responding to the rhetorical ask, Ormandy grabs the phone to find his partnerand Dinosaur Designs co-founder Louise Olsen, who will want to weigh in. “She must behaving issues with technology,” he says in nod to a Zoom split screen waiting to host hissignificant other — a modern incarnation of a Modigliani portrait who typically rocksa mix of Milanese fashion and local finds.She suddenly pixilates into view, staff seen faffing with her audio settings, as a loud“Sorry”, sounds. Ormandy brings her up to speed. “Oh, it’s been done to death,” Olsenagrees of the boy-meets-girl brand story that begins at art school, seeds into a side-hustleat Paddington market and ultimately burgeons into a global retail concern callingMadonna, Rihanna, Kate Hudson, Kylie Minogue, Lady Gaga and A$AP Rocky, clients.But for those troglodytes impervious to Dinosaur Designs’ impact on wider culture, itsCV accounts for storefronts in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, London and New York,exhibits in major state and international museums, a 2020 Fashion Laureate LifetimeW
5 9 V O G U E L I V I N GPHOTOGRAPHERS: PERRE TOUSSANT (P56 & 57 P59 LEFT) HUGH STEWART (LOUSE OLSEN AND STEPHEN ORMANDY) ANNKA KAFCALOUDIS (P59 RIGHT)Achievement Award, respective solo exhibitions at Tim Olsen Gallery, features in world’sbest media, a staff of 150, and a counterintuitive name that carries associations withlumbering anachronisms under threat of extinction. What the hell were they thinking?“It was a Friday, we were going to market the next day with a grab bag of different thingsand had no idea what to call ourselves,” says Ormandy, citing a back-then infatuation withBauhaus rigour and Dada ready-mades. “We were a few guys sitting in a no-name spaghettirestaurant in Darlinghurst and I just threw in dinosaur because it related to nothing.”But that blithe “nothing” built on a bedrock of influential people with infectious energy,says Ormandy in his wistful recall of 1980s Sydney — a decade of radical economic reformwhen design declared an anti-bourgeois love of absurdity. “You could be so flamboyant,crazy, and that freedom was pivotal for us. It was like, let’s have a play with rock,” he saysin qualification of the sedimentary kind. “Yeah, that’s funny…in a Flintstones sort of way.”Their Wilma-worthy wearables of prehistoric pebbles struck a chord in the decade of bighair, big tax evasion, big artsy dance clubs and big lavender-coiffed Dames, mention ofwhich draws fond recollections from Olsen of close family friend Barry Humphries. “Heloved big bold jewellery,” and bought for both wife Lizzie [Spender] and alter ego Edna,who matched a customised Dinosaur Designs purple rock necklace to her extra-largeChanel suit. “He was a really beautiful person in my life,” she says of Humphries fit in thegalaxy of stars orbiting her late artist father John Olsen. But special mention goes to herartist mother Valerie Strong, “a quiet achiever”, at one with nature who “would talk aboutthe poetry of shadow and put rocks around native orchids, so we wouldn’t tread on them.”Of the superstar milieu that was Olsen’s normal, Ormandy still marvels, makingmention of an early invitation to lunch with Olsen’s father. “You know that classic interviewquestion: if you could invite anyone to dinner who would it be? Well, oh my God, therethey all were at Mario’s — and I’m sitting opposite Brett Whiteley. I could barely speaka word, but that was a moment I will never forget… we all got terribly drunk.”The art life chooses you, not the other way around, he says of the compulsion to create.“You know Louise has been saying lately that artists are explorers; we just wake up andwant to continue the exploration”, which for the Dinosaur Designs duo transcends allmaterial prejudices and picturesque. “The rigour is really what it’s all about,” adds Olsen ofswinging between the perceived polarities of art and commerce. “If we’re not happy withsomething, no matter if we think it will sell, it doesn’t go ahead. We’re just still havinga great time with it all.” dinosaurdesigns.com.au
61 V O G U E L I V I N GPHOTOGRAPHER WANG XU STYLED BY XU PEPEI AND XIAOYUf all the treasures Christopher Young has come across in the Tiffany & Co.archives, the discovery of an appointment book from legendary Tiffany designerJean Schlumberger felt particularly resonant.“When we decided to renovate The Landmark store in New York, we had tocompletely empty the building, I mean top to bottom. That hadn’t happened sinceit was [opened] in 1940. And in the back of a shelf, someone found theJean Schlumberger original salon journals. Someone had recorded the comingsand goings of the clients, what Mr. Schlumberger was doing from day to day,” says Young,who is Vice President of Creative Visual Merchandising, Events and the Tiffany Archives,and has worked at Tiffany for 14 years.What it revealed was an extraordinary slice of history as told through those who hadvisited Schlumberger’s studio (replete with his own private lift) in the Tiffany flagship onFifth Avenue. “We have this incredible treasure trove that is a kind of record of what tookplace. Elizabeth Taylor comes in with Richard Burton to try on a few suites of jewellery.You have the Duchess of Windsor coming by. You have [philanthropist, socialite andhorticulturalist] Mrs Bunny Mellon shopping with then Senator Kennedy on ChristmasEve trying to find the perfect gift for Jacqueline Kennedy.”The evolution of taste and Tiffany’s definition of it can be seen in the diary. So too thearchives that Young oversees, and his curation of exhibitions such as Legendary Legacywhich was held in Bangkok in August. It was the first time the American jeweller hasstaged an exhibition dedicated entirely to the work of Schlumberger, and for Young itcaptured Tiffany style, one that moves through time.“One of the things that I love about Tiffany is that the natural world continues to bea seemingly unlimited source of inspiration,” he says. “We see that in the very early workof designer Paulding Farnham who did spectacular orchid brooches in the 19th century.And then later examples of archive pieces, which include the work of Paloma Picasso andElsa Peretti. That interpretation of nature is a through line… I think [it] sets us apart.”Throughout the exhibition there is another element too, one harder to define. “I alsothink that there’s a surprise, a creative twist that when you see the work of Tiffany, it’ssomething you didn’t know you needed,” says Young.Schlumberger created such pieces. French and first plucked from the Paris art scene bythe fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli, he became one of the most impactful jewellerydesigners for Tiffany & Co. in his tenure from 1956 to the 1970s. His pieces — inspiredby nature but in a quite fantastical way — were commissioned and worn by the likes ofBabe Paley (of Truman Capote’s famed Upper East Side ‘swans’) and former AmericanVogue editor Diana Vreeland. Schlumberger’s Bird on a Rock brooch, debuted in 1965, hasbecome one of Tiffany’s most recognisable and resonant designs. In September the curiouslittle Schlumberger bird was the inspiration for a new collection from Tiffany ChiefArtistic Officer Nathalie Verdeille, Bird on a Rock by Tiffany. The collection includeshigh jewellery expressions of the bird, as well as figurative and abstract fine jewelleryversions in diamonds, platinum and rose and yellow gold.Young sees Schlumberger as a dreamer drawn toward the optimism and whimsy ofTiffany. Another dreamer was Gene Moore, the Tiffany creative director and window >OBy ANNIE BROWND R E A MC A T C H E RTiffany & Co. has always attracted DREAMERS, says Christopher Young,the man in charge of archiving reveries for the American jewellery house.
6 2 V O G U E L I V I N GPHOTOGRAPHER VRGNIA ROEHL (GENE MOORE WNDOW DSPLAY) IMAGES COURTESY OF TIFFANY & CO ARCHVES.< dresser who changed the art of window displays. In a career spanning 1955 to 1994 hedesigned some 5000 windows. Rather than piling jewellery onto mannequins, he broughtin elements of theatre and visual arts, juxtaposing jewels with pieces by artists AndyWarhol, Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns. Audrey Hepburn famously nibbleda croissant in front of one of Moore’s window displays in Breakfast At Tiffany’s.“He wanted to bring that same level of storytelling, of composition, of theatrical lightingto the world of visual merchandising. And he was the first to do it,” says Young, who washired by Moore in 1995 to work on a series of Tiffany windows. “That was the beginningof a lifelong obsession with doing this work.”Young has adopted the way Moore collaborated with artists, including working withVerdeille. Just that morning, he’d shown her a photo of a piece he’d acquired at auction andshe immediately zoomed into its detail. “There’s a level of trust and openness,” says Young.In his role at Tiffany, Young has also worked with Australian filmmaker Baz Luhrmannand costume designer Catherine Martin, most notably when the couple were researchingjewellery for Luhrmann’s 2013 film The Great Gatsby. “When Catherine Martin won hertwo Oscars for The Great Gatsby, she was wearing a Jean Schlumberger brooch. They get it.They’re real researchers. I think that that’s what makes a great collaborator.” A more recentproject was working with director Guillermo del Toro on his reimagining of Mary Shelley’sFrankenstein where Mia Goth wears rare jewels from the Tiffany archive.Deciding what to archive, what will best represent Tiffany’s impact in the world ofjewellery and beyond, is something Young considers carefully. Part of his job is treasurehunting. As with the Legendary Legacy exhibition, it can often be a case of looking back tolook forward. “We hope that through taking a step back and understanding our history, itallows us to make good choices when we’re determining what to acquire,” says Young.That, and permission to dream. tiffany.com.auThis page, clockwise from left 1955 Christmas window display designed by Gene Moore; sketchfrom 1893; Jean Schlumberger’s Bird on a Rock brooch featured in the Blue Book (1976).
6 4 V O G U E L I V I N GPHOTOGRAPHER ANNKA KAFCALOUDIS (STUDO TAL ROTH AND OGÅLL PROJECTS) EXCHANGE RATE CORRECT AT TME OF PRNT SUBJECT TO CHANGEClockwise fromtopleftLucid Dream 2025 Gummy Hand Painted 01 armchair, POA, and Gummy Hand Painted 02 armchair, from $30,500 by Faye Toogood,from The Future Perfect, thefutureperfect.com Palamós carafe, $129, and goblets, $119 for a set of 2, from Maison Balzac, maisonbalzac.com Magen modular sofa, $32,000for 5-piece, and $12,800 for 2-piece, from Studio Tali Roth, studiotaliroth.com Seven Sister solid silver spoons, from $1650, from Yesmina, yesmina.world Valence jewellerybox, $640, from Erede, eredeofficial.com Nico (2025) artwork by Peter D Cole, POA, from Oigåll Projects, oigallprojects.com side bowl, $100, side plate, $130, and breakfastbowl, $150, all from Softedge Studio, softedge.studio Breville the Oracle Dual Boiler coffee machine, $4295, from Harvey Norman, harveynorman.com.auCoco Republic x Rachel Donath Napier side table, $1295, Sierra console table, $4595, Omaha book console, $3295, Sierra side table, $1895 and Freya round ottoman,$1395, all from Coco Republic, cocorepublic.com.au Barracuda table, from $35,610, from Garcé Dimofski, garce-dimofski.comCompiled by SANDY DAOTHE VL EDIT
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74 V O G U E L I V I N GBy LINDYL ZANBAKA Photographed by GIULIO GHIRARDIRHYTHM AND BLUES Built on Istanbul’s Bosphorus Strait, thecontemporary home of a young bachelor is ENSOULED by Pierre Yovanovitch,who gives vivid expression to the littoral location and art collection within.
7 8 V O G U E L I V I N Gierre Yovanovitch’s latest residential opus is a total solar eclipse: every roomis seismic in scope and naturally breathtaking. The house, a contemporarystyle structure in Istanbul, basks along the Bosphorus Strait, a passage thatboth connects seas and charts a boundary between Europe and Asia.“Being on the Bosphorus inspired the aesthetic of the home,” the designerconfirms, and indeed all that separates the interior from the blue beyondare walls of glass. At first, the water outside appears on the peripheryas a shimmering, blurry-edged dream, but stand still and the view coalescesinto something lifelike and vivid.Yovanovitch, whose interior architecture and design studio is based in thevelvety elegance of Paris, “deeply connects” with Istanbul “through its water,light and cultural layers”. It was a connection renewed the first time hearrived at the house by boat — “moving through the city as much by wateras by land felt poetic and vital to shaping the residence’s mood.”Lucid in its limpid minimalism, the house was commissioned by a young bachelor “whoseparents own a classical wooden home nearby”. Traditional houses like theirs are quite commonon the Bosphorus, Yovanovitch explains, “some very grand, some more modest but sharingsimilar craftsmanship and organisation”. Though this new build departs from the domesticvernacular, it assumes the dimensions of the 1960s apartment block that previously occupiedthe site “which itself was inspired by traditional shapes”.Completed by a Turkish architecture firm, the exterior “embraces contemporary form anddiscreet elegance” via expansive glass surfaces. Combined with extensive contextual woodcladding, the house appears thoroughly at ease with its neighbours.Conceiving interiors that would adapt just as gracefully defined the designer’s role.Yovanovitch describes a “deeply cosmopolitan owner with art-collecting interests” who neededa home to host friends in now, and to raise a family in the future. “My focus was wholly oninterior transformation — introducing sculptural elements, making the interior architecturemore rigorous, fluid and less angular, and layering natural materiality and textural warmth.”Yovanovitch’s instinct for authoring narrative-driven spaces unfurls over four floors;his strategically zoned layout “prioritises open living — there’s ample space for entertaining,but with nooks for introspection”. The entrance is located on the living room level, wherethe home’s finely composed dramatic arc crescendos in the form of a rippling double-heightwood ceiling. “Its curvature and rhythm mimic the motion of the watery waves and softenthe volume, visually and acoustically,” he explains.“The constant presence of water — from veranda levels to moving vessels — inspired fluidlines, reflective finishes and layered materials,” says Yovanovitch, pointing to a console in theentrance that mirrors the swell of the ceiling, and the pattern in the warm-grey Ceppo stonefloor, which “evokes the region’s ever-changing sky” through its imperfections, unpredictabilityand expressiveness.Across the living area, the designer’s crescent-shaped banquettes, ceramic-top side tables andAsymmetry armchairs are arranged in sumptuous sighs on a custom continent-sized rug.Their placement encourages fluid lounging and gathering, “yet can easily transition into moreprivate family modes or social sub-zones”. Because natural light refurbishes the room everymorning, the direction of the sun also informed where the designer decided furniture shouldgo, as well as the material selection. On the outskirts of the central living space is a patinatedmetal and textured glass bar with a wall of Oregon pine joinery behind it, the wood chosen “forits veins and warm colour”.Whirlpools of cobalt blue, paintings saturated with colour and the teetering ice creamscoops of an Annie Morris sculpture burst forth from the living area’s off-white plaster walls.“I needed a bright colour to liven up the architecture, and blue seemed right because of the sea,”Yovanonitch says simply. “Once I had used it on the steel columns, which are necessitated bythe architecture, it spread to other areas — the Kapoor mirror came later.” He is referringto a reflective artwork by Anish Kapoor, hung at the head of a long Pierre Yovanovitch-designeddining table that can be separated into two or three smaller settings. The mirror’s gravitationalpull draws guests towards the dining area, where female figures (painted by Alex Katz) arepoised to sit in one of Yovanovitch’s blue Mr. Oops chairs.Working with art on such a vast scale, Yovanovitch says, “lets the narrative breathe andtransforms interiors into curated, contextual worlds that feel lived-in yet gallery-like —simultaneously personal and powerful”. Most pieces are from the client’s collection, a fewmore were selected during the design process, and all have been placed to punctuate thearchitecture — works by Anselm Kiefer, Chantal Joffe and Jack Pierson surface “near staircases,atop consoles, along glass-framed views and settled within conversational zones”.The home’s office and four bedrooms, each with an adjoining bathroom, “are intimate refugeswithin the larger structure”, says Yovanovitch, who employs quieter detailing and gentlermaterials as instruments of slowness and calm. Here, views reattune one’s attention to the day’sunfolding and interiors are oriented towards life on the Bosphorus. >
8 4 V O G U E L I V I N G< On the top floor, the main bedroom and office sit directly beneath multifaceted ceilings.An “interesting roof shape” informed the smooth, angular planes, which the designer hopedwould both maximise spatial volumes and retain a sense of intimacy. He further ensouls thebedrooms with his more comforting designs, including Flare floor lamps, Ball cushions andthe just-right Mama Bear armchair.In the bathrooms, Yovanovitch reframes light “as living art” — the heavens spill througha skylight above the main bathroom’s Verde Santa Lucia stone shower. In the guest ensuite, artpresents in a more literal sense — Yovanovitch co-designed its mosaic floor with contemporarymosaic artist Delphine Messmer, drawing on Turkish tile motifs “in an abstracted, modernform”. The sunburst-like strokes, he says, “reference Iznik tradition while offering a fresh,rhythmic pattern that aligns with the water’s movement”.Staircases are the “backbone” of Yovanovitch’s multi-storey projects, and in this one, a steelspiral links all four levels in one sweeping kinetic gesture; an oculus-style skylight at thesummit steers the eye upward. The design looks a bit like a double helix, though when asked ifthe stairs are part of the home’s DNA, Yovanovitch demurs. “It’s the house’s ‘colonnevertébrale’,” he counters.The French philosopher Gaston Bachelard’s belief that “it is better to live in a state ofimpermanence than in one of finality” finds full expression in this home for all seasons, andthese days Yovanovitch, too, seems more open to change. “Over time, I’ve shifted from stricterminimalism toward more textured, playful storytelling — embracing material richness, colourinterplay and dynamic forms,” he says. Is this what building a legacy looks like? “Perhaps,”he says in answer. “I build for clients, and for myself. Through interiors, art, scenography andfurniture, I’m weaving stories that, hopefully, endure.” pierreyovanovitch.com
8 8 V O G U E L I V I N GA cosmopolitan Sydney couple tapped the CREATIVE wizardry ofFLACK STUDIO to reawaken the interior of a heritage Darling Point mansion.By YEONG SASSALL Photographed by ANSON SMART Styled by JOSEPH GARDNER
This page in the entry hallway of this Darling Point home,Natural Beach Stone stool by Hans Severin Jacobsen fromStudio Gardner; hall runner from Cadrys; ceiling light byOscar Torlasco for Lumen from Nicholas & Alistair;walls and ceiling in Maldon from Porter’s Paints; steps inOpus marble from Artedomus; Conjure/Condense (2019)artwork by Gemma Smith. Details, last pages.
These pagesin the kitchen, island in crown cut walnut timber;benchtop in Rosso Levanto marble from Artedomus; cabinetryin brushed stainless steel, and partition frame in Black MildSteel from Alustain, all joinery by Jonathan West; Perrin &Rowe Ionian bench-mounted tapware with porcelain levers andspray rinse from The English Tapware Company; 13 Cubicchandelier by Gaetano Sciolari from Castorina; Cylinderdownlights by Apparatus from Criteria; partition glass inClear Sparkle Textured Glass and Amber Tanami TexturedGlass from Axess Glass Products; Second edition (Panel H)(2023) artwork (on left wall) by Esther Stewart; Urchin palettes(2024) artwork (on back wall) by Lara Merrett fromSullivan+Strumpf.
9 2 V O G U E L I V I N Gt only takes a moment to intuit the appeal of Mindaribba, a 1906-built minimansion perched on the crest of one of eastern Sydney’s most desirabletree-lined streets. The Darling Point property features a north-west-facingterrace that glances over Rushcutters Bay, and during the evening’s golden hour,casts rays of dappled sunlight throughout the house’s rear living area. “You neverget tired of it,” sighs the impossibly chic homeowner, who traded a belovedopen-plan family home in the eastern suburbs for this six-bedroom, heritageprotected beauty. “We came from a very white home…” she explains. “Verymodern. Very Sydney,” finishes her husband, whose pride and enthusiasm for hisnew home extends to every corner — man cave, gym and laundry included.As a couple with two adult sons largely out of the nest, the owners’ version ofdownsizing began predictably, with plans for a neat little high-rise. “[My wife]originally wanted to move me to an apartment,” explains the husband, “butevery place I went, I got a bit of claustrophobia”. Before long, they had flippedthe script entirely and were falling for Mindaribba’s Queen Anne Federation architectureinstead. “There’s something about this era of homes that don’t date,” states the wife, whorealised partway through her house hunt that she “just wanted a home that was lived in.”The couple’s deeply rooted appreciation for design and interiors is palpable, and the houseawakened the wife’s desire to pin down a designer she’d long had her eye on: David Flack. “Itwas Troye Sivan’s place in Melbourne and a house in Middle Park,” she recalls of the initialcreative spark. “He was so different to everyone else.” A tour of Flack Studio’s previous projectin Potts Point effectively sealed the deal, and the couple were soon dining with the designer inSydney, visiting hisMelbourne studio and diving into Flack’sMilanese maximalist dreamworld.Despite a renovation by the previous owners in the 1980s, Mindaribba’s heritage statusmeant that very little could be altered structurally, but Flack delighted in the house’s early20th-century bones. “I immediately fell in love with it,” he says, “I was quite fascinated by theseries of rooms.” Taking an “honour what is there, but amplify it” approach, the designerdescribes each insertion as “rich in material detail” but respectful of the home’s past. “We didn’tbuy intending to make elemental changes to it,” confirms the wife.Graced with 2.4-metre high ceilings adorned with decorative mouldings and heritageprotected original timber floorboards that Flack Studio simply sanded back, the house wasunwieldy at best. Ostensibly a four-year renovation that included a one-year delay from councilapproval, there were many hurdles to clear, and end result was a complete transformation.“There’s not one centimetre of this house that hasn’t been touched,” says the husband.Improvements, while arguably cosmetic, range from a recreated Queen Anne-style staircaseredesigned with a contemporary twist, to what Flacks calls a “Mondrian-esque” steel-frameand-coloured-glass partition separating the kitchen and dining room and a transporativePorsche green entrance hall. Even the backyard — with its Florian Wild-tended gardens thatcascade down to a stainless-steel-fenced pool area — scored a major facelift.“It’s not a sun-filled house,” Flack points out, “it has beautiful light towards the back, but youknow, it’s got this darkness to it. I think that plays into its gothic Queen Anne essence — it’salmost telling you that it can take colour, take rich material, and take detail, which it does.”To that end, Flack luxuriated in the home’s formality and enclosed floor plan, adding slabs ofdramatic Rosso Levanto to the kitchen walls and island bench, matched with crown cut walnutjoinery by Jonathan West, and bulbous lighting from Flack Studio’s collaboration with VolkerHaug. There are pockets of functionality hidden in every room; from secret storage spaces inguest bathrooms to a tiny office nook built into a quiet kitchen corner.The big swings don’t end there. In the main bedroom, floor-to-ceiling Arabescato Rosabeckons beyond the bathroom threshold and draws you into a space where a spherical stone tubis paired with a striped black-and-white Bisazza-tiled wall that hugs the curves of the bath.Positioned next door is a four-metre high shower recess, complete with a waterfall, which Flackinsisted on. “I said, ‘Dave, I just need the one shower’,” laughs the husband, who happily atteststo Flack’s need to look after his clients and curate every last detail.Other thoughtful gestures prevail, including amber glass insertions above the doors — a nodto the original pink glass panels positioned above the rear patio doors, which are heritageprotected. Likewise, the fireplaces on each floor, which had to be restored and tilingpainstakingly replaced, or the vintage Barovier & Toso chandeliers in the dining room, whichrequired five hours to reassemble, and another six months to wait for broken glass replacementsfrom Italy. For Flack, finding creative ways of working around these constraints was the reward.“They become this beautiful thread of detail,” he notes, while crediting his clients’ incredible“patience and resilience” during the renovation’s many roadblocks and plot twists.It is, by all accounts, a top-to-bottom Flack-ification. More incredibly, it’s a home thatrequired little to no housewarming. “[Flack] makes your bed and hangs all the artwork, so youwalk into a completed house with your suitcase,” explain the owners. “I think that’s so special,”says the wife. “I walked in and I started crying because I couldn’t believe [how] it instantly feltlike home.” David Flack’s book Flack Studio: Interiors is out now; flack.studio
This page in the living room, Square 16 sofaby Piero Lissoni for De Padova; Costelaarmchair by Tacchini; Fountain side tableby Glas Italia from Space Furniture; Luarcoffee table by Ross Littell for ICF DePadova from Nicholas & Alistair; modularstone plinths by Remy Pajaczkowski-Russelland Large White Sculpture (2023) by PatrickCrulis from Studio Gardner; Corymbiadeserticola Gumnut Spheres (2023) by MariaFernanda Cardoso and Inflatable Crown(regency) (2014) sculpture (on coffee table)by Alex Seton from Sullivan+Strumpf;vintage Persian rug from Cadrys; OrientalBamboo Weaves blinds in Earth from Blindsby Peter Meyer; Fleur (Me and You) ceilinglight by Flack Studio x Volker Haug Studio;artwork by artist unknown.
These pagesin another view of the living room with a viewof the dining room, So Good armchairs by Studiopepe for Baxterfrom Space Furniture; Corymbia deserticola Gumnut Spheres (2023)(on coffee table and floor) by Maria Fernanda Cardoso fromSullivan+Strumpf; Fantasma floor lamp by Tobia Scarpa for Flosfrom Castorina; Beam dining table by Van Rossum; vintage Cab412 chairs by Mario Bellini for Cassina from Castorina; shelvingunit in walnut and walnut burl; bar in Antique Brown granitefrom Artedomus; vintage Barovier & Toso ceiling lights fromCastorina; Bruce (Me and You) wall light by Flack Studio x VolkerHaug Studio; Table Lamp #5 (2023) lamp (on middle top shelf)by Yona Lee from Fine Arts, Sydney; Yes, That’s Me All Right!(Goha) (2024) sculpture (middle shelf, on left), Postcard #2 (2023)sculpture (middle shelf, on right) by Tim Silver and FromThe Fire sculpture (right helf) by Lynda Draper, all fromSullivan+Strumpf; Motivation yellow vessel by BrendanVan Hek; artwork by artist unknown.
9 6 V O G U E L I V I N GThis page in another view of the kitchen, rangehood surround inhammered aged brass from Alustain and produced by JonathanWest; frame in Rosso Levanto marble from Artedomus; splashbackin Sud MEL tile from Viúva Lamego; joinery in crown cut walnuttimber with Black Japan stain; Perrin & Rowe pot filler tap fromThe English Tapware Company. Opposite page in the main ensuitebathroom, vanity, walls and floor in Arrabescato Rosa fromArtedomus; joinery in crown cut walnut timber with Black Japanstain; Astra Walker Olde English vertical heated towel rail fromCandana; Natural Beach Stone stool by Hans Severin Jacobsen fromStudio Gardner; glass insert (above door) in Amber Tanamitextured glass from Axess Glass Products.
9 8 V O G U E L I V I N G