Villa Polaroid at Hotel LeVillage St. Barth’s

The island of St. Barthelemy has always had a strong fashion connection.  And well it should, after all it’s part of France.  But there’s something fashionable happening right now that’s more than runway chic.  The low-key luxury property, Hotel LeVillage, a family owned cluster of 20 cottages and 3 villas above the Baie de St. Jean, is making a showcase of their new Villa Polaroid.

Just the name inspires curiosity but there’s a clever catch to this villa.  The legendary fashion designer, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, has been invited to transform its garden into an atelier where guests, by appointment, can observe a master at his craft producing original works of art. Until Sunday, July 28, the artist/designer (nicknamed JC-DC), will be transforming Villa Polaroid into a public workshop for his completed works.

Whether styling a chasuble for Pope John Paul II or a coat of teddy bears for Madonna, JC-DC has never failed to turn heads. He’s renowned not only as an inventive fashion designer but also as a painter, sculptor, composer, and innovator. He’s widely associated with creating designs for Lady Gaga, as well as providing the designs for Farah Fawcett for her role in Charlie’s Angels. His creations are imaginative, humorous and thought provoking. Here, he is also being honored with a retrospective of his versatility in a setting which is itself a work of art, the Villa Polaroid at Hotel LeVillage.

Hotel LeVillage is situated in the heart of a lavish tropical garden where it combines the quiet villa life with hotel facilities and amenities.  The original hilltop villa was built 30 years ago, but its new avant-garde design makes it a unique vacation environment.  The design of the Villa Polaroid (which opened in November, 2012) pulls from the era of Andy Warhol and the Velvet Underground with an emphasis on Pop Art and the art of Polaroid photography.

While on island, JC-DC also unveiled his new exhibition, “Phantoms of Eden,” on July 20^th at the Eden Rock Gallery in Saint Jean.  The exhibit is a series of paintings, sculptures, designs, and objects portraying Snoopy, the Simpsons, and Mickey Mouse alongside dictators of the 20^th century.  Beginning on July 27^th, JC-DC will also showcase another exhibit he calls “The Triumph of the Sign.”  It will feature famous paintings juxtaposed with emblems of a consumer society, for example, the Mona Lisa plastered with the Total gas logo.  JC-DC hopes this will articulate the tensions and synergies between high art and consumer culture.

The association Art Saint Barth, led by Philippe Combres, invited the critically acclaimed fashion designer to St. Barthelemy not only to present his work but also to create new works while residing on the island.  Spreading knowledge and awareness of art is a worthwhile endeavor for the association.  Philippe expressed that he wants the Villa Polaroid to offer artists a residency where they can create, so getting JC-DC as the first for this initiative was quite an achievement.  Combres noted that the connection between interior décor and interior art had merged in the JC-DC collaboration with Monsieur de Castelbajac’s design for a rug in the living room at Villa Polaroid.