The exhibit, made possible by Chanel, is an extraordinary look at Lagerfeld's work through the years. Karl Lagerfeld was a fashion industry icon and among the most talented, most hardworking, and most decorated designers of the 20th century. He began his fashion career in the 1950s, working for several leading houses including Balmain, Patou, and Chloé before joining Chanel in 1983, where he served as creative director until his death in 2019. Karl spent much of his career collaborating and designing ready-to-wear and couture collections for Chanel, Fendi, and later, his own label. Not long ago, I walked through the exhibit to see some of his beautiful dresses, suits, and ensembles.
Enjoy my photos. And please watch this video I posted on my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48 earlier this year. I had the great pleasure of interviewing Karl Lagerfeld for my television show years ago in Paris in the Chanel atelier - it was such a fun time.
Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty is among the many wonderful exhibitions now on view at The Metropolitan Museum of Art located along Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue Museum Mile. Banners of some of the current presentations are always displayed above the iconic front steps of The Met. (Photo by BFA.com/Angela Pham).
The exhibit features beautiful pieces in a wide array of fabrics – some classic and elegant, others more colorful and intricately threaded. This black ensemble and dress are both from House of Chanel, autumn/winter 1986–87.
Here is a more modern ensemble showing the signature Chanel suit and his “disappearing hem” from House of Chanel, spring/summer 2003 haute couture. The entire set design was done by the renowned architect, Tadao Ando, whose unadorned backdrops allowed Karl’s pieces to stand out.
Lagerfeld was not limited by color – his pieces also included audacious color palettes. This coat is from Fendi, autumn/winter 2000–2001.
This colorful coat is from Fendi, autumn/winter 2018–19 FENDI couture. Karl was such a talented designer – he could make any piece of fabric fashionable.
This coat is an earlier style from House of Patou, autumn/winter 1958–59. It is still quite relevant today.
And here’s another classic look – an ensemble from House of Chanel, spring/summer 2005 haute couture.
I admired his wedding ensembles. This one, displayed on a pedestal, showcases organza silk flowers and trousers of white piqué. It is from House of Chanel, spring/summer 2018 haute couture.
At the top is a suit from House of Chanel, 2017–18 métiers d’art. The middle is a suit from House of Chanel, spring/summer 1988 haute couture, and the bottom is called his “Policewoman,” an ensemble from the Fendi, autumn/winter 1983–84 line.
This suit in a shimmering bronze color is from House of Chanel, autumn/winter 1996–97. Lagerfeld made designs that were both luxurious as well as everyday – this shows the combination of both styles.
From a straight lined suit to this very opulent coat from Karl Lagerfeld’s Fendi, autumn/winter 2003–4 line. His designs were unique, bold, and stylishly feminine.
This ensemble is part of House of Chanel, spring/summer 1994.
These dresses are from House of Chanel, spring/summer 1996 haute couture.
Karl’s ready-to-wear ensembles included this one from House of Chanel, 2018–19 cruise – Karl made even denim look high fashion.
This coat featuring very feminine curves is from House of Chanel, autumn/winter 2017–18. haute couture.
This shimmering floral dress was part of one of Karl’s last collections from the House of Chanel, spring/summer 2019 haute couture.
Here is another intricately designed floral wedding ensemble from House of Chanel, spring/summer 2015 haute couture.
This silk gown is called “Lassie and the Prince” from an autumn/winter 2016–17 haute fourrure.
And this is “Pixel magic view cocoon” dress, autumn/winter 2017–2018 haute fourrure.
As part of the exhibit, some pieces represented Karl Lagerfeld, the man, including his trademark fingerless black leather gloves, House of Chanel, ca. 2000. If you can, go see this exhibit in The Met’s Tisch Galleries. You’ll find it enjoyable, interesting, and informative. The exhibit lasts through July 16th.
It's berry-picking time here at my Bedford, New York farm. The bushes are filled with those small, fragrant, and refreshingly sweet raspberries - one of the most popular berries in the United States.
I grow red, black and golden raspberries, and the right time to start picking is early summer when the fruits are vivid in color and ready to fall off their stems. Although they are best eaten raw, raspberries are used in a variety of ways - as ingredients in jams and jellies, pies and tarts, or juices and herbal teas. Last week, my housekeeper, Enma, picked our first big batches of red and black raspberries - just in time for the holiday.
Here are some photos, enjoy. And have a very safe and joyful Independence Day.
This is a great year for all our berries – the bushes are full of growing sweet black and red raspberries. Summer-bearing raspberry bushes produce one crop each season. The fruits typically start ripening in late June into July with a crop that lasts about one month.
I have several rows of raspberries on one side of my main greenhouse. One plant can produce several hundred berries in a season. Raspberries are vigorous growers and will produce runners that fill up a bed.
The first week of July is when we start picking the black and red raspberries.
The raspberry plant has spade-shaped leaves that are toothed along the edges. My bushes are several years old and remain so healthy. It takes about two to three years for a new raspberry plant to produce a significant crop of fruit.
Most raspberry plants need additional support to grow properly. I use these granite posts at the end of each row, and stretch strong gauge copper wire in between them to hold up the plants. These antique posts are from China. They were originally used to support grape vines.
It’s good to know that once raspberries are picked, they stop ripening, so under-ripe berries that are harvested will never mature to the maximum sweetness. The black raspberry plant is a high producing early variety whose upright growth makes it easy for picking.
Here, one of the black raspberries is ready for picking – the rest need to ripen in color and shape some more. This all-purpose fruit is firm, sweet, and full of flavor. It tastes great eaten fresh off the stem or made into preserves.
The raspberry is made up of small “drupe” fruits which are arranged in a circular fashion around a hollow central cavity. Each drupelet features a juicy pulp with a single seed.
There are more than 200-species of raspberries. In the United States, about 90-percent of all raspberries sold come from the states of Washington, California, and Oregon.
Here’s Enma with a box nearly filled to the top with black raspberries. Botanically, the raspberry is a shrub belonging to the Rosaceae family, in the genus Rubus.
Raspberries need full sun for the best berry production. They should be planted in rich, slightly acidic, well-drained soil that has been generously supplemented with compost and well-rotted manure. I am very fortunate to have such excellent soil here at the farm.
We use a variety of berry boxes. These are fiber pulp berry boxes. They have slotted sides for ventilation and are also eco-friendly. It’s okay to fill the container, but make sure not to pack the fruits in or press them down.
The next day, Enma picked red raspberries. These must be picked and handled very carefully and checked for insects and rot. This berry is perfect.
Raspberries are unique because their roots and crowns are perennial, while their stems or canes are biennial. A raspberry bush can produce fruit for many years.
Raspberries contain vitamins A and E and are also rich in minerals, such as potassium, manganese, copper, iron, and magnesium.
Keep in mind, only the ripe berries will slip off the stems easily. All of these are in perfect condition.
Ripe raspberries are rich in color, whether they are red, golden, or black.
Enma picks only those fruits that are bright red in color, leaving any light peach colored berries to ripen some more.
The taste of raspberries varies by cultivar and ranges from sweet to acidic. They are great for use in pies and tarts, and other desserts. They can also be used in cereals, ice-creams, juices, and herbal teas.
Look at all these delicious boxes of fruit – so exciting, and not bad for a first harvest. Enma also picked additional black raspberries. To save berries for use at another time, freeze them – lay them out onto flat trays in single layers and freeze until solid. Once they are frozen, they can be moved into plastic containers or freezer bags until ready to eat.
And here are two more. The raspberries are taken up to my flower room where they can be stored in the fridge or the freezer.
I also have two rows of golden raspberries, but these are not quite ready yet. What a wonderful summer it will be with all these delicious and nutritious fruits.
Whenever possible, we always practice succession planting here at my Bedford, New York farm.
Succession planting is the practice of following one crop with another to maximize a garden’s yield. It is a very efficient use of gardening space and time. This year, we're all so excited about my new vegetable garden where we've already seen such amazing growth. If you follow my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48, you may have seen some of the first vegetables we've harvested - the cauliflower, cabbage, and broccoli are some of the largest I've ever grown. Over the last couple of weeks, my head gardener, Ryan McCallister, has also planted more seeds, so we have a consistent supply of harvestable produce throughout the season. He planted crops of beans, parsnips, and three rows of sunflowers, Helianthus - the popular and cheerful annuals whose giant, round flower heads look like the sun.
Enjoy these photos.
This time of year, we are constantly working in the vegetable garden to maintain what is growing and to plant more seeds for new crops. My gardeners keep seeds well organized in these baskets, so they’re ready to bring out to the garden when needed.
On this day, Ryan planted beans – soy beans, bush beans, pole beans and runner beans. Ryan uses this bed preparation rake from Johnny’s Selected Seeds to create furrows in the soil. Hard plastic red tubes slide onto selected teeth of the rake to mark the rows. The furrows don’t have to be deep. In general, seeds should be planted at a depth of two times the width, or diameter, of the actual seed.
These soy bean seeds will be planted about an inch to an inch-and-a-half deep. Ryan plants the seeds in rows that are about a foot apart. All the beds are raised slightly and all surrounded by wood frames – more than 40 beds in this half-acre garden. Raised bed gardening allows good drainage, prevents soil compaction, and provides protection for those plants that may otherwise get trampled.
Here is one of the seeds dropped along the length of the furrow. For maximum yield, these soy beans need some space – about six inches in between them.
Both bush and pole bean cultivars are members of the same species, Phaseolus vulgaris, also called “common beans.” Bush beans are one of the easiest vegetables to grow. They grow in small bushes 12 to 24 inches tall and don’t require any trellising. Here are some of the bush beans Ryan is planting. Once the seeds are sown, the harvest of fresh beans usually begins in seven to eight weeks and lasts for around three weeks.
Ryan writes out small markers, so we can keep track of what varieties are growing and which ones we want to grow again.
And, instead of growing in bushy form, pole beans and runner beans, Phaseolus coccineus, are vining and climbing plants. Ryan planted both types. And do you know… runner beans twine around their supports in a clockwise direction, while pole beans twine in a counter-clockwise direction? This is helpful to know when training beans to climb.
For these beans, Ryan pushes the bean into the soil about two inches deep and at least six inches from the last one.
Here’s a view from above. The beans are planted close to the trellis, so they can find their way once they begin to grow.
Our parsnip seeds are from Johnny’s Selected Seeds in central Maine – a company I’ve been using for quite some time. Johnny’s Selected Seeds is a privately held, employee-owned organic seed producer. Johnny’s offers hundreds of varieties of organic vegetable, herb, flower, fruit and farm seeds that are known to be strong, dependable growers.
These are Johnny’s Warrior F1 hybrid parsnip seeds, a flavorsome, chunky parsnip with, gradually tapering roots that measure up to 11-inches in length.
These are Johnny’s Albion Pelleted F1 parsnip seeds – another dependable grower. Some seeds are coated with a layer of clay to increase size for easier handling. This also makes spacing the seeds faster and increases evenness in germination.
Ryan carefully plants the bed with these seeds spaced about three inches apart with the rows about one foot apart.
This is called a rolling dibbler available at Johnny’s Selected Seeds. It comes in single form like this one or with multiple wheels. It allows one to create evenly spaced impressions in the soil for accurate transplanting.
The actual dibbles are stored right on the wheel.
And then each one can be screwed onto the outside depending on the preferred spacing needed.
Ryan starts at one end to create the holes for the sunflower seeds using the twine as a guide, so the rows are perfectly straight.
Here is a view from behind. the spacing is about six to eight inches.
Ryan plants one seed into each hole. Sunflowers grow quickly. Many can grow 12 feet in only three months. With the proper growing conditions, sunflowers should reach maturity in 70 to 100 days after planting.
Then Ryan carefully back fills all the furrows in the bed until all the seeds are covered with soil.
Meanwhile, look at some of the growing vegetables. This is a young artichoke. I like to harvest them when they are still small, but these need just a little more time.
We planted leeks, shallots, and onions back in late April. They are all growing so beautifully.
And do you know what this is? If you guessed parsley, you are correct. This is curly parsley. with round, curly leaves. The taste is stronger than that of the flat-leaf type.
Ryan checked on the carrots – these, too, need a little more growing time, but they’re developing so perfectly and with such great color.
Our peas also look fantastic – these are ready to pick. We have both shelling peas and edible pods.
This garden so amazing. I love visiting every day to see what is growing. I am so happy with its progress. Take a look at my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48 to see more photos.
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