When Jonathan Saunders resigned from his namesake label in late 2015, the Scottish-born fashion designer was ready for something new, but what he didn’t anticipate was just how big that something would be. “I needed to change the cycle of my life and do something different. I set up my furniture line again … I needed a moment where I was working at a much slower pace that was more about a refined design process and much more solitary rather than managing so many people,” Saunders recalls. “And then about three months later I got a call from Diane [von Furstenberg]…”
Saunders has since been appointed the first-ever chief creative officer at Diane von Furstenberg, the New York-based luxury fashion brand long helmed by the woman herself, and for the past year and three months has been falling into step with the rapid-fire pace of his adopted hometown. “I didn’t really plan to come to New York at all and the moment that I came here I was immersed knee-deep in reorganising a brand and doing it a different way and it was a lot of work,” Saunders concedes. “The first year was a complete blur.”
Since making the move from the West Village to his new home in South Williamsburg – an open-plan, three-bedroom loft-style apartment on the top floor of an old shoe-polish factory overlooking the East River and boasting enviable views of the Manhattan skyline, Saunders says he is feeling much more settled. “It feels different; it feels like a new chapter … There is so much space and the light is incredible, which is important because I look at colour references all the time.” It is a space where Saunders can unwind and feel inspired, a space filled with indoor plants and fresh-cut flowers and an extensive collection of art, fashion, architecture and design books including a number of prized first editions. “I love collecting first editions because the print was just so much more beautiful. A lot of the pages were lithographed rather than just regular printing so I seek out as many as I can find,” he says.
“Not only is [the book collection] often a reference point but it’s also what I used to study so there’s a whole combination right from when I was 19 at Glasgow School of Art through to now.”
There is also the collection of art and furniture, much of which Saunders shipped over from London including the first artwork he ever purchased – a lithograph print by one of his favourite British artists, Allen Jones. He also points to the various pieces acquired from a small modern design furniture store in London called Béton Brut, among them a green Enzo Mari Box chair, four Radboud Van Beekum FM60 Cube chairs, a couple of Max Sauze Isosceles tables, and a Bruno Munari Abitacolo sofa.
In true Saunders style, clashing colour and graphic print combinations feature throughout the apartment in the form of statement rugs and cushions handcrafted in Nepal and designed by Saunders himself, along with a vibrant Japanese obi belt (one of many, the others are yet to be unpacked) displayed vertically from the top of the staircase. “I’m very inspired by Japan and kimonos because of the very graphic shapes combined with prints and colours, so [Japan] has always been a great reference point for me,” he explains. Also visible is Saunders’ fondness for the 80s Memphis design movement, in particular the work of Italian architect and designer Ettore Sottsass.
