Last night, singer-turned-actor-turned-designer Lenny Kravitz was in Toronto to fête the unveiling of his latest project: a design collaboration with Bisha Hotel.
The bromance between Kravitz and hotel and nightlife wizard Charles Khabouth (who co-owns Bisha) started with a wristwatch. The IWC Pilot to be precise – an aviation-inspired style with a dial that resembles cockpit instruments. When Khabouth initially went to meet with Kravitz at his design firm in New York several years ago, it turned out both were wearing the exact same style in stainless steel. A brief meeting turned into a 2.5 hour conversation that spanned everything from fashion to music.
The results of that union were unveiled yesterday on the 7th floor of the Bisha hotel in Toronto’s nightlife district. The Kravitz Design Floor rocks a ’70s vibe with a disco-meets-rec room feel and is home to 13 rooms and three suites – the Olivia Suite (“designed with a sense of sultry refinement”), the Alexander Suite (a 900-square-foot space with a 1,000 square-foot terrace) and the Bisha Suite (a 2,000 square feet, two-storey duplex with a bathroom floor made from golden spider marble).
In the Bisha Suite where Kravitz hosted a small cocktail party last night, low chocolate brown sofas curved around a generous living area, while a nutmeg-carpeted staircase to the bedroom was walled with sexy mirrored shards.
Kravitz Design Inc., formed out of Kravitz’s passion for designing (and redesigning) his own homes in New York, Brazil, Paris and Bahamas, has also done projects for CB2, SLS Hotels, various condo developments and Dom Perignon, which fuelled last night’s unveiling.
“That feeling of home,” was the look he was going for in the Bisha designs, Kravitz told FASHION’s features editor Greg Hudson earlier in the day. “Especially the way I travel. You’re not going to be home for a few months. You’re looking to feel that renewed sense of home every day.”