As you may recall, New York’s queen bee Tinsley Mortimer has been acting as "lifestyle director" for B+B Investment Group, a real estate-focused private equity fund run by Ilan Bracha. If it may have seemed unlikely that Ms. Mortimer would be willing to step foot in something so dreary as the headquarters of a real estate company (in Plum Sykes‘s The Debutaunte Divorce, a character based on Ms. Mortimer says, "I only dress for evening… so obviously office life doesn’t work for me"), now there is proof that she totally will, provided cameras are present!
Cityfile has posted a clip from CW11’s NY Residential featuring Ms. Mortimer explaining her role at the firm. Though her first official project was said to be lending her vision to a hotel and condominium project on West 57th St., it seems that she also contributed to the design of B+B’s offices in Trump Tower. We’re treated to a couple shots of her handiwork–a plain white couch with black pillows, black conference tables paired with black rolling chairs, a red wall. "Ilan hired me for me and all the various aspects of me, and all the various aspects that make me who I am," she says in the video. "My experience in the fashion world, in the social world here in New York, and my travels and everything. They thought that I could use that experience to help create a new creative edge for them, to sort of use my style to set the tone."
This isn’t the first time Ms. Mortimer has attempted to parlay her personal aesthetic into a number of business ventures. In the summer of 2007, she became a Christian Dior Beauty Ambassador, which resulted in the creation of a "Tinsley Pink" shade of lipgloss (the first color ever created and named for a Christian Dior Beauty Ambassador!). She has also designed handbags for Japanese handbag line Samantha Thavasa, though anecdotal evidence suggests that they haven’t made as much of an impression on the fashion world as she might have hoped. And, of course, there was a lot of chatter about a reality show, but MTV reportedly found the initial footage too dull.
To be fair, Ms. Mortimer is apparently huge in Japan–her clothing line, Riccimie by Tinsley Mortimer, is sold exclusively there. And let’s not forget that the arbiter of New York City cultural relevancy, Gossip Girl, invited her in for a cameo in its second season–that has to count for something!
