Sophisticated with a dash of swagger—these local trendsetters prove that style is indeed a state of mind.
White Cube Senior Director, U.S.
“We’ve been conducting business in the U.S. for some time, and it’s the natural progression to open a proper space in a city that is so integral to the global cultural landscape,” explains White Cube Gallery’s Senior Director, U.S. Courtney Willis Blair, of their first U.S. opening this fall in Manhattan. “I feel that there are things White Cube uniquely does and will be bringing to the U.S. landscape,” she says. “We’re known for being artist-led and working closely with artists through the development and maintaining of successful careers. We have a rigor to our exhibitions that finds us in the same conversations as major institutions. Our taste level and quality of work are buoyed by our global reach and dynamic program.” And the renowned gallery will open with a bang. “We’re incredibly excited for the opening show, Chopped & Screwed, which will include work by David Altmejd, Michael Armitage, Georg Baselitz, theaster Gates, David Hammons, Mona Hatoum, Christian Marclay, Tiona Nekkia McClodden, Julie Mehretu, Ilana Savdie, General Idea, Robert Gobert, Pope.L and Nathaniel Mary Quinn. Following that, the upcoming program includes solo shows by Tracey Emin, theaster Gates and Antony Gormley,” she says. “It’s a knockout schedule.” We checked in with Blair for her current curation.
DOPPELGANGER: Grace Jones
MY AESTHETIC IN 3 WORDS: Chic, bold, timeless
UNIFORM: All black everything and 4-inch heels
CHERISHED ACCESSORY: My 18-month-old Maltese/ Yorkie, Che Nightingale
YOU CAN NEVER HAVE ENOUGH: Books
MOVIE: Daughters of the Dust (Julie Dash)
MENTOR: My mentors are women of color in the business and art space who have taught me how to navigate certain spaces and provide me with strong counsel in all aspects of my career.
STYLE ICON: Robyn Fenty
FALL SHhOE: Loewe's slouchy over-the-knee boots
FALL BAG: Pony hair Luar Weekender
ALWAYS IN THE BAG: Lip balm
SIGNATURE SCENT: Velvet rose and oud
BEAUTY ESSENTIAL: Rosewater
BEST ADVICE: “Don't stoop up," from my grandmother, who showed me the hardest workers are rarely the loudest ones
NEMESIS: Pollen
ESCAPE: A well-worn novel
WEAKNESS: It's like Octavia Butler once said, I'm “an oil-and-water combination of ambition, laziness, insecurity, certainty, and drive."
PHILANTHROPY: The Kitchen
MANTRA: “You want to fly, you gott a give up the shit that weighs you down." (Toni Morrison)
CURRENT OBSESSION: Star gazing
APP: Sonos
CURRENTLY READING: Jack Whitten's Notes from the Woodshed
THEME SONG TO YOUR LIFE: Sister Nancy's “Bam Bam"
Founder and Creative Director, AERIN
“I worked at Estée Lauder for over 25 years, gaining amazing experience in many different departments,” shares Aerin Lauder Zinterhofer. “During interviews, I was always asked what was in my makeup bag and the items I couldn’t live without. After being asked that question so many times, I soon realized that when the modern woman thinks about beauty, she sees beauty as an extension of herself, her home, her wardrobe and her travels. Therefore, beauty and home should live together.”
Fast forward to today, and her eponymous brand is booming. “I felt there was an opportunity in the marketplace for a lifestyle brand based on feminine, modern, and e ortless products with a strong heritage and storytelling,” she says. “In 2012, when I decided to launch AERIN, I expanded the whole concept of beauty to make it part of the way we live today. We did this with what I love the most: makeup, fragrance, objects for the home and accessories.”
Up next, Zinterhofer will launch a new fragrance for the season, called Rose de Grasse Rouge and a holiday pop-up in a destination yet to be revealed. “The fragrance is a bold take on our signature rose scent Rose de Grasse, capturing the warmth and vitality of a perfect red rose just picked from the garden. In a cherry red bottle, complete with a red velvet ribbon around its neck, this is the perfect fragrance for the fall and holiday season.” Celebrated for her expert eye, we asked Lauder for her seasonal selects.
DOPPELGANGER: My father
MY AESTHETIC IN 3 WORDS: Timeless, feminine, classic
UNIFORM: Jeans and a blazer
CHERISHED ACCESSORY: A vintage clutch passed down from my grandmother
YOU CAN NEVER HAVE ENOUGH: Flowers
MOVIE: Out of Africa
MENTOR: My grandmother, Estee
STYLE ICON: Princess Grace
FALL SHOE: AERIN Antibes Ballet Flats
FALL BAG: AERIN Suede Nano Weekender in Chocolate
ALWAYS IN THE BAG: Sunglasses and my phone
SIGNATURE SCENT: AERIN Rose de Grasse
BEAUTY ESSENTIAL: AERIN Rose Lip Conditioner
BEST ADVICE: If you are passionate and true, success will come.
NEMESIS: Tardiness and flight delays
ESCAPE: My home in Long Island
WEAKNESS: Candy
PHILANTHROPY: Breast Cancer Research Foundation
MANTRA: Whatever you do, do it well.
CURRENT OBSESSION: Colored candles from Summerill & Bishop
APP: Instagram
CURRENTLY READING: Man's Search for Meaning
THEME SONG TO YOUR LIFE: "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"
Founder, TooD Beauty
“The business chose me; I did not choose it,” explains TooD Beauty Founder Sharareh Siadat. “After 37 years of feeling shame for having a unibrow and not having euro-centric features, I grew it back so my daughters could witness a woman on a journey of self-love and belonging to herself. What surprised me the most was that the greatest secret in my Pandora’s box, my unibrow, did not have the same hold over me as I thought it did once I faced it as a mother. I realized through this experiment what beauty is. Beauty is your aura. It’s your energy, an intangible quality that says, ‘I belong to me.’ I realized how much I had created a mental prison for myself from constructs and systems of the patriarchy, society, family, friends and myself. TooD is short for Attitude because once I changed my perception of myself, my entire world changed, and while I am a leader in clean, color, high-performing cosmetics, I am actually in the business of freedom. A freedom to belong to ourselves, to self-express in any manifestation we want and to view our entire body, from the hair on our heads and bodies down to our toes, a canvas to paint as we wish.” From creating the world’s first one-swipe, biodegradable glitter to the first mascara made with ocean waste plastic for fully recyclable packaging, Siadat believes clean beauty goes beyond vegan formulations—and extends from sustainable packaging to the mental health of the messaging and marketing campaigns. “We believe that clean beauty should be for all. We share the faces and tell the beauty stories of humans who may never have had a platform in the industry to do our part to create an inclusive and diverse world that the little Persian girl in me always wanted to belong to.”
DOPPELGANGER: The internet tells me it's Lady Gaga, but I don't know about that.
MY AESTHETIC IN 3 WORDS: Vintage, luxury, high-low mix
UNIFORM: Attitude of the day
CHERISHED ACCESSORY: The last gift my Maman gave me before she passed, a pair of gold hoop earrings
YOU CAN NEVER HAVE ENOUGH: Oils for my skin, hair and face
MOVIE: Golden Child
MENTOR: My Maman, Affie, and my Baba, Bahram
STYLE ICON: Michele Lamy and Rihanna
FALL SHOE: Rick Owens Kiss heels
FALL BAG: Anything Fendi
ALWAYS IN THE BAG: My TooD brush
SIGNATURE SCENT:: Never one scent, always many, layered based on mood
BEAUTY ESSENTIAL: TooDSCARA in Blue Mood or Blackest
BEST ADVICE: Do not conform to gain the love and approval of others. Belong to you first.
NEMESIS: The patriarchy
ESCAPE: The ocean
WEAKNESS: Wanting to do everything at once
PHILANTHROPY: Global Empowerment Mission & ABT RISE
MANTRA: I am the one I have been waiting for.
CURRENT OBSESSION: Hot yoga
APP: Threads, @shararehsiadat and @toodbeauty
CURRENTLY READING: All About Loveby Bell Hooks
THEME SONG TO YOUR LIFE: “You Can Get It If You Really Want" by Jimmy Cliff
Founder & CEO, Dr. Barbara Sturm
“As a doctor and scientist, I always aimed for new cutting-edge techniques and treatments. I was fascinated by aesthetics and the combination of art and science that’s involved in the process, as well as the immediate and very gratifying results for patients,” says Dr. Barbara Sturm. As the brilliant brains behind her eponymous brand, the doctor has clearly discovered the secret to creating sellout skincare. “After I invented my first cream for my patients, called MC1, they then asked me to create an entire skincare regimen, and my antiin ammatory line, Molecular Cosmetics, was born.” Sturm recently launched her Make-Up Remover and has more on deck. “New delivery methods for potent ingredients and new compounds, increasingly tailored products and advanced procedures. We have so many exciting things in store,” she reveals. “Helping each customer have the best and healthiest skin possible is one of the driving principles of my work and inventions,” she says. “The skincare market is a jungle of empty marketing promises, and it can be hard to find and then choose what we need. I create products when I see a gap and feel like my clients and customers are not having their skin needs met.”
DOPPELGANGER: My daughter Pepper
MY AESTHETIC IN 3 WORDS: Colorful yet minimal
UNIFORM: White T-shirt and jeans
CHERISHED ACCESSORY: My Jessica McCormack necklace
YOU CAN NEVER HAVE ENOUGH: Cuddles
MOVIE: Pitch Perfect
MENTOR: My amazing mother
STYLE ICON: My daughters, Charly and Pepper
FALL SHOE: Ski boots
FALL BAG: Something small because I like to travel light
ALWAYS IN THE BAG: Lip balm, reading glasses, Mini Glow Drops
SIGNATURE SCENT: Bal d'Afrique by Byredo
BEAUTY ESSENTIAL: My Face Cream and Hyaluronic Serum
BEST ADVICE: Always have both feet on the ground.
NEMESIS: Inflammation
ESCAPE: Mountains
WEAKNESS: I find it hard to switch off.
PHILANTHROPY: We support Baby2baby, Doctors Without Borders and National Park Rescue.
MANTRA: I try not to see problems, only solutions.
CURRENT OBSESSION: Making TikTok videos with Pepper
APP: Pilates by Bryony
CURRENTLY READING: Freedom from the Known by Jiddu Krishnamurti
THEME SONG TO YOUR LIFE: “Heroes" by David Bowie
Photography by: FROM TOP: PHOTO BY MYESHA EVON GARDNER; PHOTO BY DOUGLAS FRIEDMAN; PHOTO BY MATTEO PRANDONI/BFA; PHOTO BY NICK HADDOW
