Tony Duquette-Inspired Nail Art

 Iconic artist, designer, and LA native Tony Duquette lived "to inspire the individuality and creativity in others". Well, twelve years after his death his philosophy lives on ... in my manicure!

If you are a subscriber to American Bazaar you may remember him from this issue several years ago... There is no way, if introduced, you could ever forget his work! He believed in "beauty, not luxury" and created a fantasy world from simple found objects, or discarded "junk". Back in the 30's and 40's that was unheard of! Mr. Duquette was to my mind the ultimate collector. To get a sense of his feel for interiors take a tour of his Beverly Hills home "Dawnridge", below. 

Tony was discovered by style arbiter and pioneering interior designer Elsie de Wolfe. With Elsie's endorsement he went on to design for the Hollywood elite... He also designed sets and costumes for Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios, designed public spaces like nightclubs and theaters, private jewelry collections and was the first American to have a solo exhibition at The Louvre. One of his final projects was designing jewelry for Guicci under the direction of Tom Ford.

 (images courtesy of tony duquette)

 A couple examples of his jewelry: top, Peridot and coral brooch; bottom, coral black drusy, pearl and sharks tooth.

Tony upholstered ceilings in bed quilts, draped beds with high and low fabrics like blue denim and eighteenth century tapestries and mexican rugs, converted antique English Regency sideboards into sinks, and covered walls in abalone shells! Again, I remind you this was unprecedented in the 30's, 40's, 50's and 60's! 

The beauty of this manicure would not be possible without it's foundation - Peridot by Chanel

See how inspiration can be revealed even in the tiniest forms of expression! Hope you enjoyed learning about another great believer of the "more is more" movement!