Misstropolis

Monday, November 16, 2009

Jonathan Adler’s Radical Happy Chic

by Robin Hauck

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Stepping into his new boutique on Newbury Street in downtown Boston, you might not immediately think of Jonathan Adler as a mad rebel. Outrageous perhaps. Bold, wild, optimistic. But a rebel? On first glance the store appears full of gleaming nods to preppy kitsch and pretty domesticities. What’s radical about bone white and bright colored pottery? What’s badass about needlepoint pillows?

One only need wander into neighboring stores to see that some sort of a rebellion is in full swing at 129 Newbury Street. While somber colors dominate other windows and desperate discounts beckon passersby, a bright sunny tomorrow seems to be for sale at Jonathan Adler. Adler denies the restraint and humbleness following the economic collapse and buries it with an irrepressible high contrast gloss, signature to his furniture, pottery, rugs and pillows.

You might get drunk on all the color. It hits you like the fragrance from a lilac bush in bloom, flowing from shelves of pottery, piles of pillows, books of wallpaper. With all this optimism, all this joi de vivre, it’s harder to buy into the doomsday sentiments of the times, the bleak determinations of the daily news. No, the longer one nestles into the cocoon of happy chic merchandise, the more obvious it becomes that Adler is rebelling, just in his own upbeat, accessible way.

“Happy chic” Adler’s lifestyle ideology as described in his book “My Prescription for Anti-Depressive Living” and experienced in his stores, subverts the status quo as boldly as any punk rock or nihilistic philosophy. There is more optimism in a small corner of his shop than in all of the Boston Globe this past season. What could possibly be more radical than confronting the gloomy outlook dominating the current culture than a full room of happy? Take that Brian Williams, take that Lou Dobbs, take that Ariana Huffington and Rupert Murdoch! Adler is choosing a different outlook on life and damned if it isn’t a festive one.

This is a man for whom brights are a starting point: “used throughout a room, orange can become surprisingly neutral, and yet it can be bright and mood-enhancing” and who forged a recent collaboration with Barbie. His dog is named Liberace. In 1968 rock critic Richard Goldstein wrote “exhibitionism is the quiet side of violence… it aims to provoke.“ and this is what is so contagious about Adler’s milieu… It provokes by asking why not be completely unabashedly happy?

Adler has a knack for stealing ideas from grandma’s Palm Beach house. His wallpaper calls to mind country clubs of the 1960’s and his pillows and rugs twist classics in his signature bold way. He loves contrast, never afraid to use stark white to highlight design elements, the way he does with a huge anchor on a navy blue rug.

“If anyone is trying to be modern, it’s a cliche” Vivienne Westwood told the New York Times in 1994.  At his best Adler avoids cliche - the needlepoint backgammon board and pillows sporting a Q and a T arranged on a silver couch are anything but expected. However with his pottery becoming more and more available and his books in Barnes and Nobles, the threat of cliche becomes more real.

Adler was in town last week for the opening party at the store. He is witty, charming, irreverent and stylishly in keeping with his products. Simon Doonan was not with him, but the president of his company and head of stores were, as were Boston’s most stylish trendsetters.

Jonathan Adler and Simon Doonan have made a living merchandising personal style and the “pointlessness of a life lived without a dab of daring panache.“ If their is any possibility of consumerism inciting revolution, it just might start on Newbury Street in Jonathan Adler’s store.

Exclusive to Misstropolis readers, Jonathan Adler is offering 10% off all purchases during the weekend before Thanksgiving, Nov. 21/22. Just mention Misstropolis and join the rebellion at a discount.

Jonathan Adler
129 Newbury Street, Boston
http://www.jonathanadler.com