Lady GaGa is a fashion icon for our times. Love her or leave her, the girl loves fashion and pushes the envelope. But apparently, even she realizes that you can’t wear meat EVERY day, and occasionally she wears things that are fairly normal. While I still couldn’t wear this dress, you have to admit it is very conservative for The Lady, and I love the color. So how would her outfit translate into a Dreamwalls kitchen installation? Clean lines, a bit of asian-inspiration, and neutrals with lime as the feature. Perfection!

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I attended the 2012 Chick-Fil-A Leadercast™ event last week, and Angela Ahrendts was one of the interviewed speakers. She is the CEO of legendary English fashion house, Burberry. It is credited with inventing the trench coat in , and it’s iconic plaid pattern is recognizable he world over.

Angela Ahrendts is, an American with a background as VP of Liz Claiborne, Inc. and and was President of Donna Karan International. She has been CEO of Burberry since 2006, and is considered one of the most influential business people working today. Under her leadership, the company has been rigorously evolving as an “young/old company” that is very digital and into social media,…while still retaining a firm grasp of it’s “British-ness”. As you can see from this video, Burberry World Live, in Taipei from April 26th, 2012.

British Heritage, Fashion, Music and Weather to celebrate the opening of the Burberry Taiwan flagship store at Taipei 101. Combining an eight-part 360˚ film, a live musical performance and digital weather experience, Burberry World Live will eventually tour cities globally including London, Hong Kong and Chicago later this year. This experience just goes to show how Burberry is a company that can still be modern and fresh using amazing digital experiences – but the viewer always knows it’s still Burberry.

What struck me the most about Ahrendts segment was how her company wasn’t strict about strategy. In a casual interview format conducted by John Maxwell, Ahrendts spoke about trust and intuition being the keys to her company’s success. They have a Chief Creative Officer and a Strategic Innovation Council,….and their sole purpose is to dream of possibilities. In her opinion, ‘intuition’ is the manifestation of trust. As she pointed out, you can’t prove something that’s never been done before. “We value feeling over knowing.”

“Don’t get intimidated by how fast things (technology/social media) are moving. At the end of the day, a corporate culture of trust is what makes a great company.” Ahrendts concluded. So hire the best employees you can, but then trust them to make the decision that is best for the brand. A beautiful idea, indeed.

Filippa K _ Spring 2012 Striped Maxi Dress

Today’s Fashion Friday looks at this relaxed maxi dress from Scandinavian designer Filippa Knutson, of her Filippa K design house. It represents a beautiful pattern, a relaxed cut, and a lifestyle that I aspire to.When translated into this hospitality lobby, the strong horizontal stripes create a focal wall that draws the eye. The modern color palette and simple geometry add to the casual vibe. The use of antique mirror within the horizontal stripes is key to keeping the feeling relaxed.

Proenza Schouler Spring 2012 Collection

Today’s fashion friday comes from the Proenza Schouler Spring 2012 Collection. It’s geometric, retro, with interesting texture and pleating. I love it! We’ve translated it into an office lobby using some backpainted textural glass in the front panel of the reception desk. (which doesn’t show up great in the photo below, but it’s there…I’ll do a post that shows more backpainted textural glass soon. )

Marc Jacobs Spring 2012 New York

“The Great Gatsby” is coming out later this year, and I, for one, can not wait. I loved the book, I loved the Robert Redford movie, and I love the fashion of that era. Today’s Fashion Friday inspiration is from Marc Jacobs’ Spring 2012 collection at New York Fashion Week. This flapper-style dress is so modern because of the metallics, the bright blue color, and the play of the light in the room. To translate it into a kitchen meant to focus on color and reflection, so I knew immediately to use a mirrored acid-etched glass backsplash, and saturate the cabinets with the royal blue hues.

This week, instead of a recipe (because when the weather is this beautiful, why spend time in a kitchen?) we are trying a new weekly focus inspired by fashion and color. We will choose a fashion layout from a magazine or retailer, and translate the color layout into an interior space. This week, I chose this springy and confident outfit from Nordstroms:

I love this woman: confident, colorful, a little edgy and completely appropriate for work. It takes into account the current trends of color blocking, a touch of neon, and staying away from anything that looks like a stuffy suit. But I chose this one specifically just because the colors make you happy.

And now to translate it into a room. Today, we’re using a kitchen since we’ve been talking about backsplashes this week. It seemed appropriate to apply the color using Dreamwalls Color Glass as the backsplash.

BTW, if you’re wondering if we can back paint glass in neon colors, the answer is a resounding YES. We haven’t had many samples requested of it yet but if you need that little “pop” of color, let us know.