Polo & More 2014
B
Polo & More 2014
GRAND DESIGNS
The Whimsical Messel House
By Carlie Ester
N
estled in a bouquet of charming chattel houses
along the platinum coast is the refined yellow
shop called Messel House. This particular shop
represents all that Messel stood for, wrapped up in the
bows and frills of a designer boutique.
Though the famed designer distinguished
his style by decorating the plush playpens of
the rich and famous, Messel House takes us
back to his origins: his unsurpassed dexterity
in styling fabric.
It’s easy to imagine that his skills may have
been genetically gifted from his mother Maud,
a petite ladylike creature who loved drawing romantic
and somewhat eccentric illustrations. Maud was always
en vogue, dressing in the latest nineteenth century fashions, spending tedious hours sewing fanciful costumes
for her Shakespearian drama group or collecting lavish
120 l
outique
dresses that have been preserved to this day as rare collector’s items. Maud’s daughter Anne carried the same
love of elegance and penchant for haute couture. As
a debutante, Anne became famous for her sophisticated wardrobe and was an early fashionista of the 1920s
to 1960s. But it is not with the Messel ladies that we
concern ourselves, but the hands behind Anne’s best
dresses: her stylist and younger brother Oliver.
The garments of Messel House are something in which
a present day Oliver would have styled \