of her many hobbies, which also include museum- and
gallery-hopping, in normal times, as well as pole dancing.
There’s a pole installed for the purpose in the middle
of the parlor floor. “I recommend it for every woman,”
Victory says.
No less extraordinary than the house’s architectural
attributes is Victory’s witty, no-holds-barred decor. By
turns modern and romantic, anchored by often-whimsical
contemporary artworks and handcrafted solid-wood
objects from disparate locales, Victory’s interior design is
an expression of her unique creative vision.
“I worked at Ralph for so long, I came to understand the
idea of lifestyle -- clothing and home as a personal brand –
and of not letting my interior space be disassociated from
who I am,” she says. She owns up to “drinking some of the
Kool-Aid” while at Ralph Lauren, but that didn’t prove
permanent. “For a while, I was all cream and sisal, but now
I have a more bohemian approach, and I want color.”
Case in point: the five vari-colored sections of a Roche
Bobois sofa from the Mah Jong collection, designed in
the 1970s, that dominates the front parlor. “I’ve been
cutting and pasting this sofa,” Victory says, finding its
component velvet-covered sections piece by piece. She
bought an orange section and, on sale, a brown section
from the Roche Bobois store; the rest, in blue and
lavender, came from Chairish and craigslist. The other
showstopping piece in the front parlor is an otherworldly
looking ‘Cocoon’ ceiling pendant by mid-century Italian
lighting master Achille Castiglioni, found at a Design
Within Reach outlet. “Isn’t it obnoxious?”
“I’m always looking for the best bargains,” says Victory,
who also counts Housing Works and City Opera Thrift
Shop in West Chelsea as favorite hunting grounds. Another
is the Tucker Robbins showroom at 200 Lex, which
specializes in pieces made using ancient craft techniques,
like the carved wood pole from the West African Dogon
culture that stands in a corner of the front parlor. “I’m
drawn to pieces from a variety of cultures and objects so
organic, they could be from anywhere.”
In normal times, Victory frequents art shows and
galleries for such works as the oversized painting of
“naughty dolls” by contemporary Singaporean-American
artist Su-en Wong; “Ugly Bastard,” a ceramic bust by
British-American sculptor Emil Alzamora; and the
painted wood butler by African-American artist Robert
Carter in the front hall, currently offering hand sanitizer.
Victory, who studied fine arts at Howard University and
fashion design at the Fashion Institute of Technology,
has worked for a number of well-known design firms,
including Kenneth Cole and Donna Karan’s Urban Zen.
Since the pandemic hit, she’s been working as a freelance
illustrator and, like many, staying close to home.
She can’t wait for things to open up. “I think that, after
the pandemic, women are going to want to dress up.
There will be a backlash from sweats and leggings and
robes and only getting half-dressed,” she says. “We’re
going to want to wear pretty clothes again. We’re going to
want to be peacocks. I feel it in the air.”
Left, a Cameroon feather
headdress, artwork, and
family photos cover the
walls in the stairway.
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