Thanks to Rafael for stopping by TheBoldWay!

Rafael de Cárdenas is one of the most singular designers of his generation. Born and raised in New York, he started out in fashion at Calvin Klein before branching into production design, architecture, and then interior design, almost by accident, as he likes to put it. Since 2006, he has led his studio, Rafael de Cárdenas, Ltd., an international practice spanning residential and commercial interiors, architecture, furniture, art advisory, and brand development, across the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Nike, Kenzo, Baccarat, Skims, Cartier, Piaget, Nordstrom, AWAKE NY... his work was the subject of a monograph published by Rizzoli in 2017. He's here to tell us why he never gives people what they want, how algorithms drag culture down to the lowest common denominator, what America without guardrails produces at its best and its worst, "it gives you Andy Warhol, it also gives you Donald Trump", and why, at 51, gratitude has become the true center of his life.

Timeline

05:35 — Introduction: who Rafael de Cárdenas is, and his zigzag path from fashion to interior design, "almost by accident"

10:20 — 1980s New York: growing up concealing his homosexuality, and how that lens sharpened his read on culture

14:40 — Algorithms vs. culture: Madonna vs. Taylor Swift, the end of taste-makers, the reign of the lowest common denominator

24:30 — The Calvin Klein years: branding, the spectacle of fashion, and the realization that pushed him to leave clothing behind

28:30 — UCLA, Sylvia Lavin and Greg Lynn: Bilbao, the Muschamp essay, and the birth of his design thinking

36:00 — America without guardrails vs. French rigor: "anything is possible," the best and worst of a culture without rules

48:00 — Building the practice: Nike, Baccarat, Skims — no style, just the best version of the brief (the "temple" flagship next to Cartier)

53:00 — Traditionalism as a political act: why fetishizing the past in design has consequences — "I don't want to go back in the closet"

1:23:50 — Why Paris: opening the office "by accident," more recognition in France than in the US, Alexandre de Betak as a hero

1:28:50 — In praise of French rules: how you cut cheese, rigorous elegance, against the "beige + avocado toast" syndrome flattening Paris

1:30:45 — Language as essence: the Paris Olympics, the Camus quote, and his love of 1980s French pop songs (Niagara)

1:37:30 — Future, health and accomplishment: "I've exceeded my expectations," comparison to others as poison

1:38:50 — Gratitude as discipline: Richard Powers, "who needs science fiction?", wonder at the real

1:54:00 — LinkedIn the lie, and carte blanche: the closing broadside on social media, then dream guest Avi Loeb — "see you in Paris"

Distribué par Audiomeans. Visitez audiomeans.fr/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.