A couple of years ago I photographed Ian Schrager at his home in New York City for the Financial Times in London. He was co-founder of the infamous 1970s Studio 54 nightclub and is now a boutique hotel magnate. He had a beautiful home, but the most interesting room was the glass enclosed terrace that is the exclusive play area of his son. I also shot some interior photography to accompany the At Home feature.
A snippet from the story written by Julie Earle-Levine:
The co-founder of Studio 54 and boutique hotel pioneer gives a tour of his most personal project
Ian Schrager, the creative force behind some of the world’s most stylish hotels, is in his entertainment room, a stunning glass house perched on top of his Manhattan penthouse, with jaw-dropping views of the city in every direction.
He’ll do the photos, “but not with him,” Schrager says, pointing to Elmo, a grimacing soft toy version of the Sesame Street Muppet. “Our son has free reign in the house. He’s slowly taking it over,” he says of Louis, his two-year-old son with wife, Tania.
A quick look around the room confirms that Louis has made this rooftop space his own: the floor is scattered with blue foam matting, trucks, blankets and toys – even the 5,000 sq ft wrap-around terrace has playhouses and a sand and water table. Not that Schrager, who is 67, minds. “We love it so much downstairs we don’t get to use upstairs very much.”
Other notable people I’ve made portraits of for the Financial Times include UN Deputy-Secretary General Jan Eliason and Council on Foreign Relations President Richard Haas.
