A Touch of Surrealism in a Sea of Pink, at The Future Perfect’s New Secret Space

We were so busy with our own events during NYCxDesign that we hardly made it anywhere else. But you couldn’t have paid us to miss Outlines, the debut show at The Future Perfect‘s new, secret Noho space, and the first ever exhibition by New York designer Leilani Zahn. We know Leilani primarily as an amazing interior designer and stylist, but Outlines marked the debut of her design studio For Reference, and the exhibition featured her soft goods and lighting as well as tweaks on furniture by De La Espada (she got them to sub out their signature dark woods for lighter ash) and a series of gorgeous mobiles and sculptures by her husband (and SU alum), Karl Zahn.

The space, which adjoins TFP’s offices, is laid out like an apartment — complete with floral-patterned curtains, inspired by Brittany Asch of Brrch Floral and hand-painted by Karl’s sister, Natalya — and Leilani worked within a rosy-hued palette of pink, cream, white, bronze and rose gold. Her LED lights frame the space, inspired by architectural details such as barrel vaulting. The crowd pleaser in this exhibition is a Surrealistic series of throw pillows covered in long blond hair and made by For Reference in collaboration with Anne Freya, but our personal favorites are the geometric, folding floor pillows called Cyl (Cylinder) and Pyr (Pyramid), which remind us of the twin-sized, Japanese-inspired futons we grew up with. Visits to Outlines are available upon request at The Future Perfect’s main gallery space (55 Great Jones Street).

PHOTOS BY LAUREN COLEMAN

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