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| Vladimir Kagan, Designer Whose Furniture Evoked Sensuality, Dies at 88 | Vladimir Kagan, Designer Whose Furniture Evoked Sensuality, Dies at 88 |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| In the hotelier André Balazs’s office in Lower Manhattan, in front of his industrial-looking Charlotte Perriand desk, sits a Vladimir Kagan chair. Upholstered in green leather, it has been used for all the usual purposes, from making phone calls to firing off emails. | In the hotelier André Balazs’s office in Lower Manhattan, in front of his industrial-looking Charlotte Perriand desk, sits a Vladimir Kagan chair. Upholstered in green leather, it has been used for all the usual purposes, from making phone calls to firing off emails. |
| Yet Mr. Balazs does not talk about it as if it were any chair. He refers to its “sensuously curved legs” and how sitting in it is like “being enveloped by a nymph.” | Yet Mr. Balazs does not talk about it as if it were any chair. He refers to its “sensuously curved legs” and how sitting in it is like “being enveloped by a nymph.” |
| “Try not to make me sound dirty,” he said. “But I think that with good furniture, if it doesn’t at some point make you want to make love on it, it’s missing something.” | “Try not to make me sound dirty,” he said. “But I think that with good furniture, if it doesn’t at some point make you want to make love on it, it’s missing something.” |
| He is not alone in that response. Whenever people talk about the work of Mr. Kagan, one of the 20th century’s most successful designers, who died at 88 on Thursday in Palm Beach Fla., they almost invariably come around to the idea of sensuality. | He is not alone in that response. Whenever people talk about the work of Mr. Kagan, one of the 20th century’s most successful designers, who died at 88 on Thursday in Palm Beach Fla., they almost invariably come around to the idea of sensuality. |
| Everything about his swivels and swoops and exaggerated detailing is an invitation to experience his furniture tactility and enjoy it fully. “A seductive curve” was how Margaret Russell, the editor in chief of Architectural Digest, described Mr. Kagan’s design signature in an interview. | Everything about his swivels and swoops and exaggerated detailing is an invitation to experience his furniture tactility and enjoy it fully. “A seductive curve” was how Margaret Russell, the editor in chief of Architectural Digest, described Mr. Kagan’s design signature in an interview. |
| His reclining lounge chairs owe a clear debt to Scandinavian designers like Finn Juhl and Hans Wegner. Mr. Kagan’s twist was to fuse their aesthetic with the biomorphic shapes of Isamu Noguchi, stretching the wood legs out in back almost like chewing gum, giving them a kooky Edward Scissorhands vibe. | His reclining lounge chairs owe a clear debt to Scandinavian designers like Finn Juhl and Hans Wegner. Mr. Kagan’s twist was to fuse their aesthetic with the biomorphic shapes of Isamu Noguchi, stretching the wood legs out in back almost like chewing gum, giving them a kooky Edward Scissorhands vibe. |
| His serpentine sofa, perhaps the best known of all Mr. Kagan’s creations, is an armless, curvilinear swoosh of a thing (often upholstered in velvet) — what might be found if the Jetsons decided to relocate from Orbit City to the Trousdale Estates in Beverly Hills. | His serpentine sofa, perhaps the best known of all Mr. Kagan’s creations, is an armless, curvilinear swoosh of a thing (often upholstered in velvet) — what might be found if the Jetsons decided to relocate from Orbit City to the Trousdale Estates in Beverly Hills. |
| “I think he was wonderfully sexual,” the designer Tom Ford, a major client of Mr. Kagan’s, said in an interview. “He gave off that kind of energy even in his later years.” | “I think he was wonderfully sexual,” the designer Tom Ford, a major client of Mr. Kagan’s, said in an interview. “He gave off that kind of energy even in his later years.” |
| Wendy Goodman, the design editor of New York magazine, said Mr. Kagan “understood that modernism does not have to be austere.” | Wendy Goodman, the design editor of New York magazine, said Mr. Kagan “understood that modernism does not have to be austere.” |
| He was even selected to create furniture for the Monsanto House of the Future at Disneyland, a giant block of white fiberglass, which from 1957 to 1967 offered visitors a peek at what life might look like someday, complete with microwave ovens and floor-to-ceiling windows, the kind that have become a mainstay of contemporary architecture. | He was even selected to create furniture for the Monsanto House of the Future at Disneyland, a giant block of white fiberglass, which from 1957 to 1967 offered visitors a peek at what life might look like someday, complete with microwave ovens and floor-to-ceiling windows, the kind that have become a mainstay of contemporary architecture. |
| Mr. Kagan was not precious about the work he took on. His father was a sculptor and cabinetmaker whose motto was “measure everything three times and cut once”; Mr. Kagan liked to joke that he measured nothing and cut things over and over again. | Mr. Kagan was not precious about the work he took on. His father was a sculptor and cabinetmaker whose motto was “measure everything three times and cut once”; Mr. Kagan liked to joke that he measured nothing and cut things over and over again. |
| Rather than being tortured by the creative process, Mr. Kagan reveled in it, refusing over the course of many up, down, near-death experiences and tragic losses to be sidelined by almost anything. | Rather than being tortured by the creative process, Mr. Kagan reveled in it, refusing over the course of many up, down, near-death experiences and tragic losses to be sidelined by almost anything. |
| Mr. Kagan was born on Aug. 29, 1927, in Worms, a small city in the Rhineland region of Germany, and grew up in a Jewish family during the rise of Nazism. | |
| In 1937, his mother, Hildegard, emigrated with him and his sister to France, then took them by steam liner to New York, where his father, Illi, had already relocated. | In 1937, his mother, Hildegard, emigrated with him and his sister to France, then took them by steam liner to New York, where his father, Illi, had already relocated. |
| After high school the younger Mr. Kagan took classes in architecture at Columbia University and, without graduating, went to work at his father’s cabinetry shop on 57th Street. He eventually struck out on his own, designing glamorously exaggerated furniture and selling pieces to stars like Marilyn Monroe, Lily Pons and Gary Cooper. | After high school the younger Mr. Kagan took classes in architecture at Columbia University and, without graduating, went to work at his father’s cabinetry shop on 57th Street. He eventually struck out on his own, designing glamorously exaggerated furniture and selling pieces to stars like Marilyn Monroe, Lily Pons and Gary Cooper. |
| Today, Brad Pitt, Demi Moore, Uma Thurman and Tom Cruise are among the owners of Kagan pieces. | Today, Brad Pitt, Demi Moore, Uma Thurman and Tom Cruise are among the owners of Kagan pieces. |
| Mr. Kagan had an ability to morph with the times. When his swiveling bronze-based barrel chairs went out of style in the late 1950s, he moved to designing with aluminum. As aluminum went out of style toward the end of the ’60s, he began working with Lucite and plexiglass. | Mr. Kagan had an ability to morph with the times. When his swiveling bronze-based barrel chairs went out of style in the late 1950s, he moved to designing with aluminum. As aluminum went out of style toward the end of the ’60s, he began working with Lucite and plexiglass. |
| This embrace of the moment was not always welcomed in the design world, where there was some debate about whether he was a true master or a great interpreter. | This embrace of the moment was not always welcomed in the design world, where there was some debate about whether he was a true master or a great interpreter. |
| “The longevity of his career is almost unparalleled,” said Richard Wright of Wright, the prominent modern design auction house. “Wegner was a designer thinking deeply about human form. Kagan was different. He was more like a fashion designer.” | “The longevity of his career is almost unparalleled,” said Richard Wright of Wright, the prominent modern design auction house. “Wegner was a designer thinking deeply about human form. Kagan was different. He was more like a fashion designer.” |
| He was also a prototype of sorts to younger designers today, among them Philippe Starck, Karim Rashid and Christian Liaigre, who sit at the intersection of home decoration and branding, anticipating trends and finding clever ways to remix them. | He was also a prototype of sorts to younger designers today, among them Philippe Starck, Karim Rashid and Christian Liaigre, who sit at the intersection of home decoration and branding, anticipating trends and finding clever ways to remix them. |
| The Park Avenue apartment where Mr. Kagan lived with his wife, Erica Wilson — a needlepoint queen whose public-television show presaged the Martha Stewart era of do-it-yourself home improvement — was a wild, quirky monument to his career, complete with seemingly every major piece of furniture he ever put his stamp on. | The Park Avenue apartment where Mr. Kagan lived with his wife, Erica Wilson — a needlepoint queen whose public-television show presaged the Martha Stewart era of do-it-yourself home improvement — was a wild, quirky monument to his career, complete with seemingly every major piece of furniture he ever put his stamp on. |
| The bedroom was papered in celery green, the foyer in bright red and blue. In the living room, a giant kaleidoscopic Frank Stella print was propped up against a forest-green wall near a wire-mesh and cast-iron bird cage that for much of the 1970s was home to more than two dozen canaries and finches. | The bedroom was papered in celery green, the foyer in bright red and blue. In the living room, a giant kaleidoscopic Frank Stella print was propped up against a forest-green wall near a wire-mesh and cast-iron bird cage that for much of the 1970s was home to more than two dozen canaries and finches. |
| The cardinal household rule was “do not jump on the furniture,” said Mr. Kagan’s daughter Vanessa Diserio, who confirmed his death, of a heart attack. | The cardinal household rule was “do not jump on the furniture,” said Mr. Kagan’s daughter Vanessa Diserio, who confirmed his death, of a heart attack. |
| He is also survived by another daughter, Jessica Kagan Cushman, a jewelry designer, and a son, Illya Kagan, an artist. Ms. Wilson died in 2011. | He is also survived by another daughter, Jessica Kagan Cushman, a jewelry designer, and a son, Illya Kagan, an artist. Ms. Wilson died in 2011. |
| Mr. Kagan’s profile had receded by the 1980s. His signature had gone out of vogue and a fire destroyed his workshop. | Mr. Kagan’s profile had receded by the 1980s. His signature had gone out of vogue and a fire destroyed his workshop. |
| But he made a tremendous comeback over the last two decades. Mr. Ford, who was Gucci’s design director from 1994 to 2004, selected Mr. Kagan’s omnibus sofa to go in all Gucci stores, and Mr. Balazs began installing Kagan furniture at his Standard Hotel empire. | But he made a tremendous comeback over the last two decades. Mr. Ford, who was Gucci’s design director from 1994 to 2004, selected Mr. Kagan’s omnibus sofa to go in all Gucci stores, and Mr. Balazs began installing Kagan furniture at his Standard Hotel empire. |
| Mr. Kagan’s re-emergence was barely slowed when he developed spinal stenosis, requiring him to walk with two canes. In 2006 he published a coffee-table book, “Vladimir Kagan: A Lifetime of Avant Garde Design,” with a preface by Mr. Ford and a foreword in the updated edition released last year by the architect Zaha Hadid, who died on March 31. He kept a blog on his website. He lectured at colleges, accepted honorary degrees, and went to see virtually every major exhibition at the Metropolitan and Whitney museums of art and the Museum of Modern Art. | Mr. Kagan’s re-emergence was barely slowed when he developed spinal stenosis, requiring him to walk with two canes. In 2006 he published a coffee-table book, “Vladimir Kagan: A Lifetime of Avant Garde Design,” with a preface by Mr. Ford and a foreword in the updated edition released last year by the architect Zaha Hadid, who died on March 31. He kept a blog on his website. He lectured at colleges, accepted honorary degrees, and went to see virtually every major exhibition at the Metropolitan and Whitney museums of art and the Museum of Modern Art. |
| “He was the man who couldn’t say no,” Ms. Russell said. | “He was the man who couldn’t say no,” Ms. Russell said. |
| Indeed, on the day he died, Mr. Kagan was in Palm Beach to attend a cocktail reception that his dealer, Ralph Pucci, was hosting to celebrate Mr. Kagan’s latest chair, the Gabriella. At the time, Mr. Kagan was also finishing up another cloud-shaped sofa that he was calling, with characteristic self-confidence, his masterpiece. | Indeed, on the day he died, Mr. Kagan was in Palm Beach to attend a cocktail reception that his dealer, Ralph Pucci, was hosting to celebrate Mr. Kagan’s latest chair, the Gabriella. At the time, Mr. Kagan was also finishing up another cloud-shaped sofa that he was calling, with characteristic self-confidence, his masterpiece. |