Lisa Perry, LISA PERRY: FASHION - HOMES - DESIGN
[0:08]Hi, I'm Zibi Owens, and you're listening to the Webby-nominated podcast,
[0:12]Mom's Don't Have Time to Read Books. This episode of Mom's Don't Have Time to Read Books
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[0:31]Lisa Perry is an internationally renowned fashion designer.
[0:34]Asouline recently released her new book, Lisa Perry Fashion Homes Design.
[0:38]The forward was written by Hillary Clinton, text and photography by Robin Lee.
[0:43]Formerly from Riverwoods, a Chicago suburb, Lisa graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology
[0:48]and went on to work for her family textile business before launching her own fashion brand,
[0:52]Lisa Perry Style. She currently lives in New York,
[0:55]North Haven, and the South of France with her husband. So welcome, Lisa.
[0:58]Thanks so much for coming on Mom's Don't Have Time to Read Books.
[1:01]Thank you for having me. This is such a treat. I've been staring at this coffee table book of yours
[1:05]on my coffee table since it came out and it's so gorgeous and I just love it. This hot
[1:10]thing circle is just the best cover ever. Love. Thank you. I love it too.
[1:15]So tell me what it was like working on this book and collaborating with both Hillary Clinton on
[1:21]the forward and Robin Lee on the photography and the text. How did you even start this book?
[1:25]Tell me the whole story. Okay. It's really been an incredible process.
[1:31]I think I, in the back of my mind, I always wanted to have a book and, you know, to have all
[1:36]of my maybe 20 years of design projects under one cover was, you know, really, would it be
[1:41]a dream? And then there was an event at my home here in North Haven that the Asu Leans were invited
[1:49]to and they were walking around the home and I'm sure as they always do because they have,
[1:54]you know, a ton of incredible books on every subject. They said, oh, you know, this is really,
[1:59]this is really beautiful and interesting and, you know, how much of this did you have, you know,
[2:04]did you have to do with this? And I said, well, I love design and it really is my passion.
[2:10]I love home design and so they kind of peek their interest and then they went to my apartment in
[2:16]the city and then they said, you know, what else do you have? Like, tell me about your world
[2:21]and that's really how it came to be. And they said, we'd love to do a book. So cool.
[2:26]But they didn't know about even your fashion business either or they knew about that too.
[2:30]Yes, they did. They did. The event we were doing was for one of their books called Dinner with
[2:33]Jackson Pollock, which was really, really cool. And it turns out that Robin Lee did that book.
[2:39]And that's how it came to be. So I met Robin and she is, you know, you immediately fall in love
[2:45]with her. She is Australian and so warm and so wonderful. And I wasn't sure if it was the exact
[2:53]right fit because I said, you know, she was doing, she does food and she did these beautiful,
[3:00]beautiful books, but kind of close up shots. And so when Martine, Asulene suggested Robin,
[3:09]it took me a minute, but I loved the idea of working with a woman. And then we immediately connected
[3:15]and it was just the most incredible experience. You know, people said to me, don't do a book,
[3:20]don't ever do a book. It's, you know, it's just it's so much work and time and you don't have
[3:25]any control. Well, it was the complete opposite experience with Robin and with Asulene. It was amazing.
[3:33]Did she sit you down and interview you? How did she get all the background or did you walk
[3:37]her around all of your homes and just explain? I mean, there was a lot of information there.
[3:41]We did all of that. We did all of that. We first started with all the homes. She started with the
[3:46]Hampton's home. We have a home in the south of France that she came to twice. And she came to
[3:53]the city, you know, the city apartments and she was just willing and even and she lives in Australia.
[3:59]So she was just, she was really, really flexible and just a pleasure. And then the added bonus
[4:04]was that she's also a writer. So she helped do all the text. And it was just incredible. I could
[4:11]not have had a, I could not have had a better experience. And I had to recommend it.
[4:18]All right, we'll do it. Tell me about Hillary Clinton writing the foreword. It was interesting how
[4:23]she said her father had started in the tech style business. You're both from Chicago,
[4:27]suburbs. You've all this stuff in common. Tell me more. I know. It was really, I go back 20 years
[4:33]with Hillary starting on her, um, 98 Senate campaign. I am an incredible fan and admirer. And so
[4:41]she was the person that I immediately thought of. And because the thing that people do not know
[4:48]about Hillary is she also has a love and passion for design. And I, you know, was fortunate enough
[4:55]to visit the White House when she was there as First Lady. And, you know, she would show us the
[5:01]sculpture garden and and the home. And you could tell it was something that she was really interested
[5:07]in. So how cool would it have been if you could have gotten into the White House and made it like
[5:11]Elisa Perry style? Why would it have been the best? Right? I mean, that was, that was a dream in the
[5:19]back of my mind. Absolutely. Absolutely. And so beside the fact that we have that connection to
[5:27]Chicago and our fathers who were both in the textile business. And the fact that we both
[5:33]love Chicago hot dogs, that's very, very important. Just the two of us. And so it was incredible.
[5:43]And I really only thought about Hillary. And I just kept crossing my fingers because, you know,
[5:49]she has her own book coming out. And she had obviously a lot of her fun, a lot going on,
[5:55]always. And so I was so thrilled and honored that she said that she wouldn't write it.
[6:01]And tell me about how you originally got into the textile business. I know this was your family
[6:05]business. It was. That that's exactly how that happened. And I worked, you know, as my brothers
[6:13]and sister did, we all worked in the family business and my mom. And it's just like like
[6:17]from what age, how early did were you recruited to help out? I would say starting in high school,
[6:23]we all kind of helped out. And it was just kind of a natural progression. When I decided to go to
[6:29]FIT, my major was textile technology. It was in fashion. And even though I loved fashion,
[6:35]it was really to learn another side of the business and to learn really how to learn about the
[6:43]dies and the printing of fabric and really a more technical area. And so I left to go to New York.
[6:51]And my parents probably knew in the back of their minds that I wouldn't return to Chicago.
[6:56]And I needed it. And then how did you end up launching your own line? Like how did you go from
[7:03]technology learning the incidents to then this amazing visually arresting unique style that you
[7:09]brought forward? Right. So I think that really it was about the fact that I didn't go back and
[7:16]work in the family business. And then I got married and had twins. And so I there was a long span
[7:25]for me from school to going back to work. And I just started to fall in love with, and I don't
[7:34]know exactly how it happened, but fall in love with vintage fashion. And it was, I actually know how
[7:42]it happened. It was on a trip to Paris. It actually had been on my honeymoon. And I fell in love
[7:49]with the store, Kuresh. And I loved this, I loved this style. And I fell in love with everything
[7:57]about the sixties. I became very focused on this era. And so people would know Pucci and
[8:04]Kuresh and Pierre Cardan and Rudy Gernreich and San Laurent. And these really the greats of design
[8:14]in the sixties. And I became very focused on it. I was first doing the fashion. And then when
[8:21]we bought a new apartment in New York City, I decided to also kind of expand my love to the home.
[8:32]And so we did a very focused apartment. And then we expanded to art. And so it really became
[8:40]my whole world. And then at what point did you open the store in Madison Avenue? Which I'm so sad
[8:45]it's no longer there. Yes, that was really, really fun and a great store. So from my vintage collection,
[8:53]people, they were always commenting on what I was wearing. And, you know, they would mention,
[9:00]you know, what designer is that? And I would always say it's vintage. And enough people said
[9:05]enough times you should really do something because they can't, you know, that you can't find it.
[9:12]I mean, there's, you know, one piece in a vintage store. It's not like I could send somebody
[9:15]back to that store. And so I thought about that. And I kind of, my love of, it went back to my
[9:20]love of textiles and fabrics. And the great designs, my vintage collection, it was really about
[9:28]how incredible the fabric was. And the design, of course, but a very simple designs, very clean
[9:34]and classic. And so I said, okay, let me try it. And this was in about 2006. I decided to
[9:43]call a friend who I knew was also a vintage collector, but may know somebody who could help me
[9:49]make some samples. And that's really how it began. And I wasn't planning on really turning it into
[9:55]a business other than kind of doing it for friends. From...
[10:00]I like loft and so-ho.
[10:02]And instead, a great retailer called Jeffrey,
[10:05]which some people know he has a store in 14th Street in New York,
[10:08]he saw my, you know, 10 samples
[10:12]and he said, I want to carry your collection.
[10:15]And I was like, no, no, no, no, no.
[10:17]I don't know what that means, and I'm not doing that.
[10:20]But he said, you know, I'll hold your hand through it
[10:22]and I'll make it painless.
[10:24]And let's do this.
[10:25]You have a great focus here.
[10:27]And this could be really good.
[10:29]Wow.
[10:30]And that's really how it started.
[10:32]And then I started selling in, you know,
[10:35]burgdorff and Nordstrom and Herads and Blumys
[10:39]and then moved to Barney's where, you know,
[10:43]my line is carried exclusively.
[10:45]Wow.
[10:46]And tell me about your use of color
[10:48]because you would say in the book,
[10:49]how yellow is your favorite color.
[10:51]I don't know if it still is, but that was mentioned.
[10:54]And all of these pops of color,
[10:55]even in those guest rooms in your North Haven house,
[10:58]how each one is like the red or the green
[11:01]and they get, like, each have their own little pop of accent.
[11:04]How color really improves people's lives
[11:07]and what you're thinking is behind your choice of colors.
[11:11]I believe that, you know, through experience
[11:14]and also in having my own stores
[11:17]and really working in the stores and working with customers,
[11:21]I saw that every time I kind of put on
[11:24]and one of my signature colors is like the book cover,
[11:27]that hot pink.
[11:28]I would literally witness a transformation of people's mood.
[11:34]And people, they were resistant.
[11:35]They were like, no, no, no, I can never wear hot pink.
[11:38]You know, everybody in New York walks in in black
[11:40]and gray and, you know, very neutral colors.
[11:42]And I said, just try it.
[11:44]And I would witness that transformation
[11:47]and it was something, you know, very striking.
[11:50]It's not like I didn't know it
[11:51]because I'd always been a lover of color,
[11:54]but it was tested time and time again in my store
[11:59]and with customers.
[12:01]And so I just, I've always, I love,
[12:05]and, you know, kind of moving it to the home space.
[12:09]I love white with pops of color.
[12:12]That really is the best combination.
[12:14]It's just a beautiful white palette
[12:17]and then, you know, adding color.
[12:19]And, you know, more recently,
[12:21]I got into these, you know, primaries.
[12:25]And I love primary colors also.
[12:28]So it's really not a, I call my love of color.
[12:33]It's more pure colors.
[12:35]It's, I was never a fan of like, you know, dusty rose
[12:39]or dusty blue.
[12:41]You know, I really like pure saturated color.
[12:45]And I think that that is something that, you know,
[12:48]we embrace in all of my, in clothing and in home products
[12:53]and in the way I design also, homes.
[12:57]So I've interviewed Ingrid Fatal Lee a couple times
[13:00]both on the podcast and in person.
[13:02]She wrote this book called Joyful,
[13:04]The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things
[13:06]to Create Extraordinary Happiness.
[13:07]And her book and her message have stayed with me
[13:10]and I feel like applied so much here.
[13:11]She was a design student originally
[13:13]and then broke down all these different categories
[13:16]and to how design,
[13:18]the elements of the design, how they affect you emotionally.
[13:21]And she broke it down into things like play
[13:24]and things like circles.
[13:26]And if you have different pops of color and circles,
[13:28]anyway, everything she said in her book is what you do.
[13:31]So anyway, I should have bought you a copy.
[13:34]I'll send you a copy.
[13:35]But it's, it's literally you're like the embodiment
[13:37]of her whole philosophy, which, and she was sort of like,
[13:40]you know, you don't have to go to a yoga class
[13:41]to make yourself happy.
[13:42]You don't have to do all this internal work.
[13:44]Sometimes just your surroundings are enough
[13:47]to create the kind of happiness
[13:48]that people strive for their whole life.
[13:50]I love that.
[13:52]I definitely want to read that book.
[13:53]And I agree.
[13:55]I don't know about not needing any.
[13:58]Well, I mean, you can't be like, okay.
[13:59]I mean, I took it too far.
[14:01]I took it too far.
[14:02]But if you're a thought.
[14:03]I'm a legend.
[14:04]Sad, no yoga, no exercise.
[14:05]No, no, no.
[14:06]I'm not saying, oh gosh.
[14:07]Anyway.
[14:08]Well, I, right.
[14:10]I think that it was still good.
[14:12]Yes, okay.
[14:13]Okay.
[14:14]We love all you, all that don't keep doing yoga.
[14:16]I just mean if you put a hot pink circle
[14:19]in your room, you won't be happy.
[14:21]She's absolutely right.
[14:24]And it has been my philosophy.
[14:26]And I don't know even know where that came from.
[14:29]But I do have this passion for circles and geometric shapes.
[14:34]And I think that I, again,
[14:38]I think that it's about feedback from my customers
[14:43]and people who love my design, who say
[14:45]that they just put my circle placements
[14:50]with the words, happy, fun, joy, love on their table.
[14:55]In a house that it probably is mostly neutral.
[14:58]And they put this on the table and not only, you know,
[15:01]every time somebody walks through their kitchen
[15:03]or their dining room, people smile.
[15:05]And their kids decide every night
[15:07]which different place to sit at.
[15:09]I want to be happy tonight.
[15:10]I want to be, you know, at fun.
[15:14]And so I think that these small elements,
[15:18]it can be a small thing.
[15:19]It doesn't have to be, you know, a whole environment.
[15:22]And I think that we see that it definitely brings joy.
[15:26]And I think that Ingrid, you know, is, you know, absolutely right.
[15:31]Yeah, it's very good.
[15:32]But in kindred spirits, we should probably meet.
[15:34]You should meet.
[15:35]In New York and it's so neutral in the room we're in right now.
[15:38]But in New York, we have our house is like full of color.
[15:41]And I find most people who come over say to me,
[15:45]you're so brave.
[15:46]Right, because I have all this hot paint.
[15:48]I'm like, why am I brave?
[15:49]I don't even understand.
[15:50]Like, thank you.
[15:51]Thank you.
[15:52]Because I have pink in my living room
[15:54]and I used to have this hot pink bathroom.
[15:56]And I don't know.
[15:57]Like, Kyle, my husband loves color.
[15:58]And we're just like, it does.
[16:00]And you see people.
[16:01]But it is true.
[16:02]Respond to it.
[16:03]Yes. And you use the word brave.
[16:06]And I think that it is about it is a fear.
[16:09]It's a fear in people of going out of their comfort zone
[16:15]in everything in life.
[16:16]And so it translates to home as well.
[16:20]And so I think that it's very safe to stick with neutrals
[16:25]and it's brave to add color.
[16:28]And so we're brave.
[16:30]We'll take it.
[16:31]So tell me about this new thing you're working on
[16:35]where you're designing homes.
[16:36]Tell me this whole, where you're taking your home design
[16:39]passion now.
[16:41]So it's a very exciting project.
[16:43]I feel like in my book, it shows six different projects
[16:49]that I've worked on for myself and my family.
[16:54]And I felt at this point, it resonates a lot with people.
[17:00]People love the style.
[17:02]And not everybody knew that I had this passion.
[17:07]But most people know about my fashion business
[17:09]and my tabletop accessories and other home accessories.
[17:12]But this is something that I have always loved.
[17:16]And I feel that I think there's enough people now
[17:21]over the years that have said, I love your style, I love your style.
[17:25]And I think that when you hear that enough,
[17:28]and you have this entrepreneurial spirit that I have,
[17:32]and you love, and I love working, I think that I said,
[17:37]OK, what can I do now?
[17:39]And so I decided to go into this, kind of do
[17:43]these Lisa Perry branded homes.
[17:47]And so I'll find a home that is kind of my style
[17:52]to begin with, although I know I'll be
[17:53]going to be changing it a lot, as I always do.
[17:55]But it has to have some good kind of the bones, which
[17:59]is I love a flat roof.
[18:02]And I love symmetry.
[18:04]And I love big open spaces.
[18:06]So I feel like that's kind of been my signature
[18:10]to get into a house.
[18:11]And if it has lots of walls and small rooms,
[18:14]I'll immediately take all the walls down and open it up.
[18:18]And that's kind of where I start.
[18:19]That's my blank canvas.
[18:21]And so I feel like this business is something
[18:24]that uses all of my skills, everything that I love.
[18:28]And so I'll buy a home, and I'll renovate it.
[18:34]And then if it has some existing, cool features,
[18:38]like a beautiful, like, travertine floor,
[18:40]I'll work with that.
[18:41]If it has some moldings that are interesting,
[18:44]I'll work with that.
[18:45]If it doesn't have anything interesting,
[18:47]I'll start from scratch.
[18:49]And so far, I've looked in many cities
[18:53]and bid on a lot of things, but I really
[18:56]have just found one that I wanted to start with.
[18:59]And so I have a prototype now, almost ready, and Palm Beach.
[19:03]OK, Palm Beach, Florida.
[19:05]And I think that in the next couple of months,
[19:09]anybody listening can buy it.
[19:11]Wow, that's so cool.
[19:13]Yeah, yeah, it's really been fun.
[19:16]And I've searched for, you know, a year and a half,
[19:20]done vintage furniture, found vintage furniture,
[19:23]did some new furniture.
[19:25]I have done all the art.
[19:28]And I had a focus on women artists
[19:31]to start for this first project.
[19:33]And some are artists that people have heard of.
[19:35]Some are some new artists that I discovered.
[19:38]And I'll put in some, you know,
[19:41]Lisa Perry accessories.
[19:43]And it's been, you know, really, really fun.
[19:46]So in people, they can see pictures, you know,
[19:49]on my Instagram.
[19:50]So that's really neat.
[19:52]Have you thought about decorating,
[19:53]like not buying the house to begin with,
[19:55]but decorating for other people who already own their houses?
[19:58]I have thought about that.
[19:59]And I...
[20:00]I've been asked and that is like a straight out no, because I guess I don't like people
[20:08]to, I make very quick decisions and it's something that's like really important to me and
[20:13]that's not something that a lot of people do.
[20:16]And so it's not, I don't think it's a process that I would love.
[20:23]I really would like to do it and have somebody walk in and fall in love with it and
[20:29]kind of, and all they have to do is hang the clothes out in the closet.
[20:33]Wow.
[20:34]That's so cool.
[20:36]Maybe you should sell the clothes.
[20:38]Well, I mean, I should come with, yeah, well I've already, I've curated the closet with
[20:44]some of, with some like really fun vintage clothes and yeah, they can have that too.
[20:49]Oh my gosh.
[20:50]They can have that too.
[20:51]I'm coming to see this house.
[20:52]If you don't sell it within two seconds, it's really, it's really, really been fun.
[20:57]That sounds great.
[20:58]So is that one of your sort of secrets of success here?
[21:02]It's just everything that sounds fun, throwing yourself into it and trying it?
[21:05]It sounds like that might be what it, that sounds like a theme.
[21:09]Yeah, it, you know, it actually has been.
[21:11]It actually has been something that I feel when, you know, a woman puts yourself out there
[21:19]to work.
[21:20]It's a big, you know, it's a big deal to work and, you know, build a career.
[21:27]And so if you can, it should be something you love, especially it's your own brand.
[21:34]I mean, it's not that you're just out there, you know, working for, yeah, yeah, that's
[21:38]true.
[21:39]You know what I mean?
[21:40]It's like your building, it's all you.
[21:41]Yes, it's my name.
[21:42]It's your name, it's your vision, it's like, yes, yes, yeah.
[21:46]And I think that that's one of the most interesting things that I found out about this,
[21:52]whole business and I don't want to jump too far ahead, but this thing about, you know,
[21:58]what I would, what advice?
[21:59]Yeah, no, let's go right there, yeah, yeah, yeah, what advice, you know, it's great.
[22:05]Yeah, I think that and, you know, I've had to think about this a lot because it is a question
[22:10]in different, you know, articles and stuff that I've been interviewed for.
[22:15]Having a focus, having a, the thing I'm most proud of over the years is I built a brand
[22:24]DNA.
[22:25]If somebody said, and not everywhere in the world, mostly in New York, if somebody says
[22:30]Lisa Perry, an image comes to their mind and it's a very, it's something that is important
[22:37]in a brand.
[22:38]So young people starting out, if they have a focus and they have something that they,
[22:45]you know, whether it's, whatever, if they like, you know, the 20s or they like the 50s or
[22:50]whatever era, you know, they like and design.
[22:53]If you stay focused and you're not all over the place, you will become known for something.
[22:58]And then I think that it's, you know, as long as it's not too narrow and I'm also willing
[23:03]to branch out, I, you know, it's not like I, in my 60s design, it's not like I'm still
[23:09]doing like a little, you know, shift dress with white go go boots and, you know, long
[23:14]earrings, you, you make it modern for today.
[23:17]But this is a great way to be able to build on a brand because I know already what my,
[23:24]you know, if I was going to design a bicycle, I know what that's going to look like.
[23:28]If it was, you know, whatever it is, an iPhone cover or anything, lighting, because
[23:34]it stays within a focus and we have a, we have a strong DNA.
[23:38]So I, I think that is really important advice to kind of narrow in on something and
[23:46]stay with that.
[23:47]Love it.
[23:48]Well, thank you so much for coming on the podcast and sharing your experience and for the
[23:53]production of this beautiful book, which is really like mouth-watering.
[23:57]No.
[23:58]Thank you.
[23:59]It was my pleasure.
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