Rowe of Elite Deals

Rowe Furniture and Elite Leather each capitalized on their first forays into licensing deals when they nabbed two stand-alone names in design, Jonathan Adler, the pottery king with a manifesto, and Lulu de Kwiatkowski, the luxury fabric designer and owner of Lulu DK. Both bring a high-end clientele and the relaxed aesthetic of the chic but accessible urban sophisticate to their respective affiliates, Lulu with Elite and Jonathan for Rowe.

Pictured, sinful pillow by Jonathan Adler; and Elite's Shirley group by Lulu de Kwiatkowski.

While Elite and Rowe both bank on using the rank of their collaborators to reach a new, young, urban audience, they might notice a crossover too in the collections themselves. Both Jonathan and Lulu revert to an "Old Hollywood" theme for naming convention and design.

Elite gave a raised section of its showroom to three groups, each called by the first name of a sassy star of inspiration and style: Shirley Temple, Ava Gardener, and Rita Hayworth. In white leather with multicolored buttons, scattered like Skittles on a room-dividing screen or arranged in neat bright rows on the sofa, the Shirley collection embodied all the fun carefree sophistication as Temple herself. A pinwheel of an ottoman was created with six tear shaped pad-topped tables, shown in white leather with red legs. The other collections, Rita and Ava were much more classic and subdued, set off more by their surroundings––Creative Elegance tables and case goods, Oscar de le Renta rugs, and Lulu’s own bold red printed fabric on one wall––than by their own flair or ingenuity.

At Rowe the Jonathan Adler collection, which will appear to all but the trade as a separate company unaffiliated with Rowe, showed the accessories that created Adler's Barney's buzz among a full collection of sofas, chairs, and case goods. Modern pieces with references to shaded bon vivant lifestyles of unforgettable starlet characters like Mrs. Robinson of “The Graduate” and Eve Harrington from "All About Eve," Adler's collection promises fun, sophistication, and even a little mischief.