Jesse Keys | |
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Born | December 15, 1971 |
Nationality | American |
Alma mater | Princeton University, Columbia University, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Bloustein School of Planning |
Occupation | Designer |
Years active | 1998 - present |
Known for |
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Awards | Fulbright Fellowship, GSAPP Kinne Fellowship |
Jesse Keyes (born December 15, 1971) is an American design entrepreneur. He developed One 7th Avenue South and created and co-owns the restaurant Hotel Griffou and the fashion label Karolina Zmarlak.
Born in Stanford, California, Keyes studied urban planning at the Woodrow Wilson School of Princeton University, earning a B.A. in 1995. He was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to study architecture in Barcelona where he earned a Master's degree from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya in 1997. [1] He received a Masters of Science from the Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation in 1999. He completed a Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.) in urban planning from the Bloustein School in 2016.[ citation needed]
Keyes founded MODO to house his spatially based endeavors to use modern techniques in fashion, design, and building under one roof. [ citation needed]
in 2008, Keyes completed the development of One Seventh Avenue South, a triangular condominium building in downtown Manhattan where Keyes "was looking for a development opportunity," he said, "to make a statement." [2] He is co-owner and operating partner at Hotel Griffou where the design makes reference to New York's past. [3] The house "embodies the essential modernist tenet of building what you need and nothing more." [4] MODO designed and developed the Intent Media work environment.[ citation needed]
Keyes is the co-founder and Executive Producer of the Karolina Zmarlak product development studio, known as KZ_K Studio. Keyes worked with Zmarlak to make conceptual and versatile pieces. [5] With Zmarlak, their fashion label was selected as one of sixty "Premier Designers" in the uppermost design category at Neiman Marcus Direct. [6] Keyes produced a film for Zmarlak that was launched on W Magazine's Fashion Film series: "Double Identity/Podwojna Tozsamosc was inspired by Women of Communism in Poland." [7] The partners maintain a "commitment to using luxury fabrications and focusing on craftsmanship." [8] The studio’s product designs are undergirded by "Modernist European tailoring with innovative techniques."[ citation needed] Vogue has covered the designs, launching fashion films produced by Keyes, and stating that "convertibility" is the studio’s “thing." [9]
Keyes designed E_P in the basement of the old CBGB, which is now below the John Varvatos boutique on the Bowery.[ citation needed] He also designed the XIX lounge on Kenmare Street. [10] He wrote a column for Blackbook Magazine, entitled "Dark Design," concerning the aesthetics of nightlife. [11]
For President Barack Obama's second inauguration, Keyes hosted a gathering for around 400 guests-including John Legend and Chrissy Teigen, Paula Abdul, Sophia Bush, and Zmarlak at the residence of his grandfather, architect Arthur H. Keyes. [12]
Keyes and Zmarlak opened a new studio under the KZ_K Studio label on Great Jones Street in Manhattan in 2022. [13] [14] The studio had its launch event on April 12, 2022. [14]