The interior designs are extensions of his clients’ personal brands.
For Cher’s Los Angeles apartment, interior designer Martyn Lawrence Bullard transported the facade of an Indian mansion to Malibu. For RuPaul’s Hollywood Regency residence, he commissioned a custom-designed De Gournay wallpaper depicting the silhouette of the drag star wearing various wigs from his career. And for Kylie Jenner’s Hidden Hills home, she had custom-dyed leather upholstery for her dining chairs in ombre shades of pink that matched the lipstick tones in her lip kits.
Pollard shares all that and more in his latest book, “Star Style” (Vendome Press), which comes out October 3 and celebrates the 30th anniversary of his career creating eclectic homes for the rich and famous.
“They don’t want the same thing as everyone else’s got…they want a designer who doesn’t have a signature stamped everywhere, they want it to be their own,” Pollard says of his working style. the list.
“It’s the freedom to be yourself, which shows up in people like Cher, Elton John and other amazing clients of mine who have larger-than-life personalities; they live in a way that’s similar to their emotional style.
Take, for example, RuPaul’s dance floor with a ceiling filled with disco balls, or the performer’s “drag shop,” filled with costumes, accessories, shoes and bags, many from “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” These elements are mixed with Old Hollywood touches, like the Dorothy Draper-inspired fireplace in the living room, surrounded by custom-made Maison Royère-style velvet sofas, and accented by an Elsie de Wolfe slipper chair covered in a Tony Duquette Malachite print fabric.
Most of Bullard’s clients have huge closets, but Jenner’s handbag room is next level, created to hold hundreds of bags, including a rare Hermès Birkins. Pollard also created a VIP dressing room with floating Lucite wardrobes to house her looks from the Met Galas and advertising campaigns. Shoe towers and sunglasses holders are crafted from glass, suede and chrome, along with swivel mirrors on polished steel stands for a perfect fit to clothing. There’s a magic room too, where she can film tutorials.
“The color, texture and pattern that we see constantly evolving in fashion is always influential,” Pollard says of his work. “And vice versa – interiors definitely influence fashion. With the current House of Hackney flavor happening with the revival of Victorian decor, we’re now seeing those prints on runways all over Europe….And for me, I’ve worked with some amazing fashion designers, Tommy Hilfiger is one of them. And because they’re used to constantly evolving and changing and having to innovate three or four times a year, when you design their interiors, they’re open to new looks, new experiences, new challenges, new excitement.
Ru Paul’s house from the movie “Star Style” directed by Martin Lawrence Pollard.
Courtesy of Douglas Friedman
Of the many homes he’s decorated for Tommy and De Hilfiger, he says, “Connecticut was very traditional, Miami was very wild ’70s disco, and Palm Beach had a very relaxed Mediterranean vibe. They like all styles, as long as it’s Well done.
In the Palm Beach home featured in the book, modern details include a custom faux wicker dressing table that doubles as a display area for handbags that Dee designed with Judith Leiber, and antique chairs that belonged to another pair of fashion icons, Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé.
Next, Pollard designs a house for Machine Gun Kelly, “wild rock ‘n’ roll with a lot of pink because that’s his brand.” He’s working on a restaurant chain with Rick Bayless, designing new stores for a fashion brand, and has collections of Duchateau flooring and Oliver James Lilos pool floats on the market.
“It’s great to see my fabric floating in people’s bathrooms,” says the designer. “It’s fun.”