WESTWEEK Recap - Stars of Design Awards

A perennial highlight of the Pacific Design Center's WESTWEEK is Stars of Design, which this year included the addition of Stars on the Rise. Established over a decade ago at the PDC, the Stars of Design Awards recognize the contributions and achievements of professionals in various fields of design. Stars on the Rise calls attention to new talent and identifies them as ones to watch in the future. The evening was hosted by Charles Cohen, who presented the awards on behalf of the PDC and himself.





This year's honorees were:

Stars of Design:


Luc Leestemaker ART


Regina Rubino GRAPHIC DESIGN


Roger Davies PHOTOGRAPHY


Molly Wood URBAN DESIGN


Donna Livingston INTERIOR DESIGN


Neil M. Denari ARCHITECTURE


Waldo Fernandez LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT

Stars on the Rise:


Natasha Baradaran


Tracie Butler


Alexandra von Furstenberg

Wolfgang Puck's Red 7 was the venue for the by-invitation-only dinner for seventy attendees, who enjoyed a three-course dinner of salad, chicken and mushroom risotto and a Meyer lemon tart. A private viewing of "The Total Look: The Creative Collaboration Between Rudi Gernreich, Peggy Moffitt and William Claxton" at the MOCA Pacific Design Center served as the icing on the cake.


von Furstenberg and Fernandez



Livingston and Marc Appleton



John van Hamersveld, Alida Post and Fernandez



Butler and Jason Hoehn



Dinner at Red 7


To see more images from the night, check out the PDC on Facebook.

WESTWEEK Buzz: Stars of Design Light Up the PDC (Part 1 of 3)

Each year, designers and editors travel from far and wide to attend WESTWEEK, the PDC's annual market event and Stars of Design Awards, taking place this year March 20 through March 22 in West Hollywood. While you make your way west for the exciting week, we're filling you in on the sparkling Stars of Design Award winners to be honored this year.

This year’s Stars of Design include Waldo Fernandez for Lifetime Achievement; Neil M. Denari for Architecture; Luc Leestemaker for Art; Regina Rubino for Graphic Design; Donna Livingston for Interior Design; Molly Wood for Urban Design; and Roger Davies for Photography.

Cuban-born Lifetime Achievement nominee Waldo Fernandez moved to New York City with his family as a teenager and was soon encouraged by his family to explore his passion for design and love of the arts. Soon after his studies in architecture and design and graduating from UCLA, Walter Scott hired Waldo. His set designs included furniture commissions, which caught on immediately, and gave Waldo the recognition that changed his life.

Waldo's Designs opened in 1974 and includes a staff of architectural and interior designers, and the firm sustains a wide range of celebrity clientele. For Waldo, the home is the essence of one's inner self. He believes that creating one's sense of style is very much told by the manner in which one lives.

Texas-born Architecture nominee Neil M. Denari worked as a technical intern in Paris (La Courneuve) for Aerospatiale Helicoptres (now Airbus) after studying at the University of Houston followed by Harvard University. In 1983, Neil moved to New York, where his work explored the technical and formal impact of technology on architecture. He also worked as a senior designer at James Stewart Polshek and Partners and exhibited his speculative work at numerous museums and galleries.

Neil shifted his practice to Los Angeles in 1988 and began Cor-Tex Architecture, which later became Neil M. Denari Architects (NMDA), Inc. In the late 1980s, Denari’s work began to achieve international recognition, most notably through his third-place finish in the Tokyo International Forum Competition. This launched his now 18-year association with Japan, where he has taught and lectured on a regular basis.

Check back with GoDesignGo tomorrow for more about the PDC's Stars of Design during WESTWEEK this week.