Posted by Leonard Steinberg on May 6th, 2012
Yesterday was one of those rare and wonderful days where I could take off some time in the afternoon to enjoy a CITY DAY: I met a good friend for lunch at Jean Georges (exquisitely renovated in ONE week – all contractors and designers take note – by the inimitable Thomas Juul Hansen). Then it was a leisurely walk past the stores of Time Warner to the Museum of Arts and Design, one of my favorites.
After taking in some rather remarkable works involving dust, dirt, glass, ceramics and more, we strolled along Central Park South, and thats when things turned ugly…… firstly we stopped into an ‘Art Gallery’, presumably one catering to the new-rich-lottery-winner or tourist-with-big-cash: several of the garish works of ‘art’ appeared to have been constructed with the same sparkly Michael’s MJ Designs puff paint that the ‘artist’s’ Mom’s had used on her home made T-shirts. It made me yearn for my wonderful West Chelsea 24th Street block jam-packed with some truly great art. Then it was on to the Plaza, where a new Men’s boutique has opened, Angelo Galasso. Does this exquisitely appointed store only cater to super-rich fat Russians or any tacky Guido who wishes to differentiate themselves from the masses with layers of Alligator and excessively detailed fine Milanese tailoring? The excess was blinding.
Exiting the Plaza, walking past the layers of glitzy Bentley’s, Ferraris and the kind of cars people notice, we walked past Bergdorf Goodman. The windows at Van Cleef & Arpels were littered with large, abrasive watches embellished with diamonds, colored stones, snakeskin and possibly every other deign thought all planned to be caked onto the wrist of whom…..Snooki? It was at that moment that I realized the world is being Snookified. After that it had become obvious how so much of the retail world was showcasing product whose design teams were obviously in some way beholding to the JERSEY SHORE ESTHETIC, something that has seeped into design culture in the most horrible way. Some of the most refined stores were definitely being influenced by these new Kardashianesque Reality TV ‘style icons’. UGH!
We settled at the Peninsula for tea, a wonderful haven from the throngs of tourists who obviously came to our little town to buy a piece of Snookiville, whether on Fifth Avenue or Canal Street (they are beginning to look rather similar!). Picking up the Financial Times, I read a story how the BRIC countries’ esthetic may start influencing the West. They have already, but lots of the jazzy, flashy, tacky, massive-wrist-watch-culture we are seeing can proudly be attributed to our own cultural icons. And how will this impact New York real estate? My friend pointed out how a good volume of the people buying this tacky crap usually don’t save their pennies and rather buy things they can easily display such as watches and cars….
Just like a virus, Snooki is in our system and I’m afraid, she ain’t leaving soon.