I had the pleasure of photographing a portrait of legendary avant-garde furniture designer Vladimir Kagan, whose famous clients include Marylin Monroe, Tom Ford and others. I photographed him at home for the Financial Times. Read the story here. View the At Home feature slideshow here.
From the story by Shannon Bond:
“Vadimir Kagan’s elegant mid-century furniture has graced the home of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, Tom Ford’s Gucci stores and a Giorgio Armani restaurant in Italy. But the German-born designer’s Upper East Side apartment is a far cry from the “less is more” philosophy that inspires his work.
In the living room, his sculptural chairs and zigzagging green sofa compete for space with a collection of Buddha heads, several large statues, a smattering of plants and candles, an upright piano and a birdcage big enough to hold a man – home to Conrad the canary. “I’m supposed to be a minimalist – I’m a maximalist. So I say, ‘Do as I say, not as I do,’” the 85-year-old laughs. Today is no exception: he is dressed in a pink striped shirt, red corduroy trousers and crimson braces.
His colourful attire fits in with the living room’s vibe: rainbow-hued Haitian paintings and African masks hang on deep green walls with gold-trimmed mouldings, while Mexican animal figurines trot across the mantelpiece. In the dining room, china and glass fills floor-to-ceiling cabinets, while the entryway and halls are dotted with paintings, some by Kagan’s son, Illya, and others from his father’s collection of works by German expressionists. There are also intricately embroidered pillows and textiles by Kagan’s late wife, Erica Wilson, all around the apartment.”
