occupations: victoria- artist and founder mackenzie-childs and emprise and shaun- director of print and digital media production, PR, and web design for Victoria & Richard Emprise and shaun’s link
There has been a lot of connectivity as the community of people on this site increases, but this story is worth telling. I met Victoria in the Mac store in the Meat Packing District, immediately drawn to her rainbow hair, who wouldn’t be? Shaun, was referred to me by my new web designer, for tech support for Stylelikeu. He broke my stereo type of techies, by the daily eye candy of a guy who dons clothes in a very unique combination of ways, and has an almost singular fetish for the genius of Prada. Victoria, open and warm as could be when I approached her at Mac, told me that she lived on a boat on the Hudson. Shaun, not too far into our many days together working, started to tell me about how he lived with this astounding woman, on a boat on the Hudson. It turns out, they live on the same boat, Shaun rents a room from Victoria and her husband, Richard (who is himself, so stylish, including his full scottish regalia). Not only are Shaun and Victoria individuals in very different ways style-wise, but I have never been in a living environment as aesthetically enchanting and while floating on the water. Shaun is all about the high quality pieces, each thing he owns is critical and indispensible. He hunts down what most men don’t end up buying from Prada because of what a “stretch” it is in the realm of what’s “acceptable” for them, like the button down shirt backwards or the Thom Browne shirt/jacket that Shaun refers to as the “anti-suit”. Victoria on the other hand, couldn’t name a designer. She is about as unlabel conscious as a person in this culture could be. Victoria makes all of her own clothes from fabric swatches laying around or anything that she has that is not being used. Her designs garner her a lot of attention, on the rare occasion that she wanders into a store like Bergdorfs, the sales people chase her asking her “who” she is wearing. The fact is she is wearing all “Victoria”. Her clothes are literally pinned together or hand sewn, usually done in the middle of the night or while on the road with her very successful china company. Victoria is so filled with a purity of life force and positive energy, that she can find herself in the most dangerous places and her freshness will quell anything negative, she claims to have resolved many a dangerous situation with her presence. It’s as if her colorful curls and clothes are the mere surface reflection of how completely unpolluted and unfiltered she is. I was expecting something wonderful, out of this world when I went to film them, but it was more like out of this universe.
Shaun from Stylelikeu.com from Stylelikeu on Vimeo.
Victoria from Stylelikeu.com from Stylelikeu on Vimeo.
August 21st, 2009 at 3:08 am
SO amazing!!
August 21st, 2009 at 8:42 am
This is the BEST post ever. My grandmother is obsessed with Mackenzie- Childs furniture and I grew up always having to touch the whimsical pieces- the shape of Victoria’s stuff if so unconventional and I would feel like I was in a fairy tale. No surprise that she is SOOOOO cool. (And that she lives in such a fabulous place with fantastic guys)
August 22nd, 2009 at 6:06 am
wowee. best post yet. so many photos, and halfway through, at every photo i told myself it was the last one i would look at, but i went through them all in the end=] enchanting,, to say the least
August 22nd, 2009 at 10:26 am
so good its unreal. my mom too loved mackenzie childs furniture
August 22nd, 2009 at 4:51 pm
Truly Gorgeous spirit….
Beautiful artistic imagination to be savoured….
August 26th, 2009 at 10:59 pm
i want to move onto this boat.
September 21st, 2009 at 12:38 pm
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January 26th, 2010 at 8:36 am
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February 3rd, 2010 at 1:06 pm
What a terrible shame that MacKenzie Childs is now owned by a couple of money hungry men who know NOTHING about art …but instead ONLY want to cash in on what WAS real. There new patterns are ridiculously sad. Have you seen the new Garden Awning pattern. Seriously- it looks like the “One Stroke Painting” patterns you can pick up templates at Micheal’s Crafts to paint. Where is the “art” and originality in that?! So, here is a toast to Victoria and Richard and hoping someday they return to their rightful place—Aurora! Until then….the current MacKenzie Childs is just a “wanna be!!!”
February 17th, 2010 at 7:57 pm
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