by Jordan Carlyle | Photos by Marcos Fecchino
Transforming a New York Penthouse
It’s no secret that behind the glamorous and glitzy curtain of the fashion world hides a teething battleground of executive tenacity. Some of the strongest artists and most visionary professionals have risen from the milieu of its throes. Building a career from the ground up in one of the fiercest industries on the planet is no small achievement. Add the triumph of a small boy from a little Californian town in the middle of nowhere moving to the capital of the fashion world—the ever-harrowing city of New York, and you’ve got the story of one of the most remarkable fashion showmen working today: the illustrious Joey Giuntoli.
After making his debut in the fashion industry seventeen years ago, Giuntoli has garnered massive amounts of success and gone on to boast a remarkably thriving career. His work in Corporate Showrooms as President of Sales featured partnerships with numerous top brands and designers for many years before the fashion guru eventually went on to implement his incontrovertible business knowledge and signature style to create his supremely upscale, highly exclusive, and wildly successful project entitled Joey Showroom.
Giuntoli and I recently teamed up to design his immaculate one-of-a-kind Chelsea penthouse. Giuntoli’s vision for the space encompassed a relaxing retreat from his all-too-hectic schedule. The penthouse is located nearby Joey Showroom in New York, from which he manages multiple showrooms.
Established in 2004 with an original location in the heart of the trendy and chic Meatpacking District of New York City, Joey Showroom is a boutique-style showroom that caters to the fashion-forward trendsetters and style makers of the modern world. After years of rapid growth and development, the boutique-style showroom has expanded to include locations in both Los Angeles and Dallas, evolving Giuntoli’s vision to the national scale.
Preeminence of design and meticulous passion for customer service has secured this brand’s lofty presence in the international market. Included in the company’s ventures is the presentation of clients worldwide such as Barney’s, Bergdorf Goodman, Intermix, Beyman, Ron Herman, Matches, Neiman Marcus, Holt Renfrew, Opening Ceremony, Henri Bendel’s, Harvey Nichols London, which have allowed the boutique to house an array of thirteen labels including Suboo, Black Halo, Rebecca Vallance, and a growing set of emerging designers. Through an uncompromising professional vision, Joey ensures that the collections offered at Joey Showroom have a consistency of aesthetic across all brands under the Joey Showroom umbrella.
Currently, Joey Showroom operates out of a newly converted and custom-designed 6,100 sq. ft. space in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York. The Los Angeles Showroom is located in the Downtown fashion district, and features an elegant mid-century inspired interior by Flow Modern Design specifically tailored to house the collections of Joey’s designers. The company’s latest venue: the beautiful Dallas showroom, is located in the Fashion Industry Gallery in the Arts District of Downtown Dallas.
By honing his business philosophy and focusing on the highest level of showroom-to-client communication within the three boutique showrooms which showcase products ranging from ready-to-wear women’s and men’s apparel to various handbags, shoes, and accessories, Giuntoli and his team have created one of the most fashionable and exclusive examples of bi-coastal sales management on the market today.
As we mapped out the plan for Giuntoli’s penthouse, finding the perfect balance of modern lines and soft colors was essential. This exquisite design covers 6,000 square feet and includes original desk, chair, and lighting pieces from my most recent collection, hand painted and upholstered to match the house’s overall movement from light neutral hues covering the furniture and wallscapes to deep variants of light blue, deep aqua, cerulean, and turquoise shimmering on the upholstery. Sculptures and paintings adorn each of the stunningly diverse, yet modernly nuanced rooms, delicately arranged to allow the flow of energy through the home.
Our recent collaboration has included a matching set of original paintings from his collection of fine art. Pastiches of women’s hands, skulls, smoke, and vibrant round patterns and bright silver colors offset the blues and subdued tones of the room and harken to the simplicity in modernity of New York. This new penthouse allows Giuntoli the ease of convenience to walk up the west side to his showroom. The resulting effect evokes simplicity, taste, and opulence all at once, allowing Giuntoli an escape from the tumult of the extreme pace of New York.
