Why Hollywood Mirrors Are So Expensive

Why Are Hollywood Mirrors So Expensive

This article will discuss why are Hollywood mirrors so expensive.

The Santa Monica boulevard designer was "void of meaning"

Director Alexandre O. Philippe wrote in an open letter to J.Crew (he'd been contacted about photographing mirrors at some of the company's locations) that "most of their mirrors were either shit or meaningless. Or both.

They are a trademarked fabric of cheap glamour, with a beautiful pay-for-attention quality...They're an insult to the artists and designers who made them." He added that they were "sophisticated backdrops from a near century ago."

Coincidentally, I heard about O. Philippe's findings right around the same time that I stumbled upon this window at Nohra Haime, a showroom in Beverly Hills. The window looked very classy (with two large shades to block out sunlight), but I wanted to know more.

As I was driving back to San Francisco, I decided to swing by Nohra Haime, which, unsurprisingly, is in a very fancy neighborhood. It's all high ceilings and dark walls, with a single ginormous mirror standing alone in one corner.

The mirror was $24,000. Even for the sort of stuff that is not readily available in San Francisco (yet!), that seems steep.

A Nohra Haime spokesperson had no comment for me, and referred me to Nohra Haime's lawyer.

He said that "the Mirror, a magnificent artistic object, commissioned by Nohra Haime, was manufactured by a renowned French luxury company (SotaFondue) for an internal fashion exhibition at their offices in Paris in 1995. It was used for a second time in 2005 by a celebrated fashion designer as the title piece for a solo show in Paris."

He said that "the Nohra Haime designer and art director for the exhibition commissioned the mirror on the understanding that the mirror would never be re-sold, displayed or exhibited on any platform outside of the exhibition."

The Mirror was designed to feature "An individual scene"

"The Mirror" was originally commissioned by designer Pierre Cardin for a solo show at Nohra Haime in Paris in 1995, after his global success for dressing up Liz Taylor.

The mirror was used as a background for "a series of fashion sculptures of unusual and exciting shapes," according to Nohra Haime.

In 2011, the art directors at Nohra Haime met with "the original art director for the Cardin exhibition" (who had since passed away), to "discuss the possibility of developing the Mirror to take its design further and see it used as a source of inspiration for a number of new Nohra Haime pieces," Nohra Haime said.

The original art director created what they called a "surgery" to "create the ideal setting for the Mirror to visually support the sculptures and to highlight the form of the piece," Nohra Haime said.

At first glance, the mirror, which has two sections to it, looks like it's being divided in half and can be viewed in the same fashion. But upon closer inspection, I noticed that the glass separates not into halves, but in three planes, giving it an uneven look.

"The Mirror," the Nohra Haime spokesperson said, "was designed as a static unit but when the curved sections are closed, it feels like you are looking through three distinct pictures in three different spaces."

Nohra Haime said that the pieces are separate, but "when the viewer looks through the curved sections, the illusion is that the pieces are connected and when the curvature is closed, it's a very fluid and seamless effect."

The Mirror is "A production of spectacle"

According to Nohra Haime, when "The Mirror" was originally commissioned in 1995, the project was put together by "a prominent French design house, with long experience in working with the finest artisans in the field."

The Mirror was made by "the world's leading manufacturer of luxury crystal," and "a significant contribution to the most glamorous shows and fashion editorial photographs in Paris, Paris, Paris."

The spokesperson described the mirror as "a production of spectacle that feels as if it can stand alone and become a work of art in itself."

I emailed some of the most famous couture fashion designers working today to ask them about the mirror and, in particular, why it is worth $24,000. They were all equally bemused and confused by the item.

But, clearly, if you're a massive part of the international fashion industry, you must know about it.

Anya Hindmarch - who is renowned for her coveted 'batwing' sunglasses and for her famed 'Sass' bags - told me she "had no idea what [the mirror] was, why it was worth that much money, or why it was so expensive."

She continued, "The only thing I can possibly think of is maybe it's supposed to be a Chanel accessory? I think that it's funny that people have spent $24,000 on something that isn't necessarily useful, it's not really a book, it's not like a book with very glamorous clothes on it.

Maybe it's meant to be an accessory to the clothing or something." She said it was "a stupid thing, I know that," but it's "the price, that's all."

Diane von Furstenberg of DVF said she "saw [the mirror] once." She then began to take a bite of some brie and said, "I thought it was the funniest thing. I'm all for artwork that has a story to it and they seem to have done a great job on this. It's such a funny piece."

She continued, "It's not necessarily a book. The expensive books are much more interesting to me. But I thought that it was an interesting piece, I liked it." Von Furstenberg went on to say that while she "would never have paid $24,000 for a book," the Mirror "is a good thing for anybody to have in their house."

In response to a request for comment, for Chanel, they sent the following statement:

Chanel believes that art and design need not be symbolic in order to move and provoke the imagination. In truth, it should be a creation of creative creation and are not only meant to be used for its purpose.

One of the most unique and striking elements of the Karl Lagerfeld Collection is 'The Mirror' crystal decanter.

The crystal decanter, using the Nohra Haime Mirror in its profile, is a unique and very evocative object, produced by a company known for its expertise and mastery of the art and craft of crystal, and a world leader in the production of the world's finest crystal.