For historian and interior designer Kelee Katillac, Gucci’s iconic Love Parade Fashion Show was the sartorial lighting bolt for designing her new home. Alessandro Michele’s fashion show celebrated life, color, and not being tied down to the traditions of the Old World. These themes would breathe new life to the historic Aderton House.
Built in 1845, the entire village the home sits in is a National Historic Landmark, serving as a nexus in its day for many cultures, including First Nations peoples, French fur traders, African Americans, farmers, explorers and more in Arrow Head, Missouri. Almost 200 years later, the home was in need of a revival.
In the home, black Pueblo ceramics by internationally renowned Native American potter Maria Martinez sit on an English manor house table near a door that sports a neoclassical Federal pediment. A provocative Ken Gonzales-Day piece is placed above a gingham-covered Chippendale sofa with pillows referencing the No to Hate (No2H8) movement. And of course monumental stills from Gucci’s Love Parade fashion show flank the doorway to the lady’s drawing room, the focal point of which is a Maison Jansen-style French Revival bed.
A juxtaposition of sorts, Kelee reimagines restoration in her new book, Historic Style: Honoring The Past with Design for Today, which features her glorious Aderton home.
History, design, decor, fashion, and culture are all weaved together in a whimsical and colorful way that is accessible, fun, and ultimately recolors the past for everyone.
