Bloomie's blends East and West
Presentation puts fresh spin on contemporary
By Carole Sloan -- Furniture Today, April 28, 2003
New York — Bloomingdale's looked around the design world of home furnishings this year and saw a major statement in the meshing of Asian, European and contemporary influences.
"When we started to identify trends, we felt we needed a significant Asian-inspired core. And looking further we found we had a list of Asian influences on our furniture floor already," said Joe Laneve, senior vice president, home, at the Federated Department Stores unit.
At the same time, he added, "We had a strong fashion offering pure clean contemporary."
As a result, the furniture floor, long a trend director, became the centerpiece for the home furnishings division's just-launched fashion program, "East Meets West — a Fusion of New Design."
"When we began to develop furniture and the rest of home we had Zen, shapes and a lot of elements that were the core of the theme," Laneve said.
The color statement is directional with celadon (making a fashion-forward statement) plus red and white, he added.
Celadon goes well across the fusion direction, he said. "It's calming and works well with red, which pops, and white is both a centerpiece and background. We've got the yin and yang."
Red is interpreted in a variety of lacquer pieces and decorative pillows. White is a key focal point in an all-white room with a white silk sofa. "It's all very fresh," Laneve added.
He said the furniture created for East Meets West uses a "lot of very bamboo looks," including an exclusive Only at Bloomingdale's collection made in China and an exclusive group from Zichele.
Upholstery includes designs from Highland House, Century, Nicoletti, Directional and Meyer Gunther Martin.
Those four rooms were designed by Ray Brandt, vice president, furniture, as was a fifth.
This special room was created with the cooperation of Maxim magazine and was introduced by Trista Rehu, star of the reality TV show, "The Bachelorette." Called The Bachelor Pad, the room mixes sofas from Preview, an eclectic, retro collection of accessories and wall art, and offbeat items fashioned into functional furniture. The room was created for the adventurous, young and affluent bachelor — a consumer Bloomingdale's has not been attracting, Laneve said.
The flagship store launched the dual-themed style directions at an event in March that drew some 400 potential customers.
A New York-only ad followed the next week.
The Bloomingdale's home division's 68-page book dropped this month for all stores with furniture, as well as those with home departments not including furniture, Laneve said.
