A Fashion Bad Boy Gets Zen
In the 1990s, John Green wasn’t just famous — he was notorious. A fixture on the party scene, he dreamed up half-skirts and bugle-beaded sweaters for men. His wildly theatrical fashion shows riffed on everything from Jean Genet to G.I. Joe, all with heavy nods to homoeroticism and hard-edged sexuality.
Mr. Green’s old digs, a one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan’s East 20s, reflected that bad boy persona. Mr. Green dubbed his decorating style Frank Lloyd Mame, a combination of the renowned architect and the campy bohemian who inspired two Broadway plays and two Hollywood movies. “Very over the top,” he noted.
These days, the 46-year-old buff, bespectacled gucci shoes designer believes less is more, both in his career as well as his home. His Fall 2009 show held in February showed masculine, refined looks, such as a wool pinstripe waistcoat with matching trousers. And the 2,700-square-foot, two-story West Village brownstone, into which Mr. Green moved last May, reflects a balancing between the gucci shoes designer’s recent exploration of spirituality, different cultures and simplicity with the impulses that fueled his career and personal life in his go-go period.
But while several Buddha statues discreetly dot the home, a 1960s-era Mazzega lighting fixture shaped like two fat chain links hangs from the living room ceiling. Lighting fixtures inspired by the Sputnik satellite and a giant Cubist-style mirror also show the gucci shoes designer hasn’t completely extinguished his wild side.
The townhouse consists of just four large rooms: Mr. Green and his partner John Esty, a picture framer, knocked down many walls, leaving a bedroom and living room on the second floor and the studio and the dining room on the first floor. Almost all of the walls are painted linen white, giving the place a vast, airy feel.