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What makes a purchase “worth it”? The answer is different for everybody, so we’re asking some of the coolest, most shopping-savvy people we know—from small-business owners to designers, artists, and actors—to tell us the story behind one of their most prized possessions.
Who?
Olivia Kim has always loved creating environments. Although you may recognize the tastemaker’s name from the days she spent leading creative at Opening Ceremony or her exclusive Nike collaboration with Nordstrom (where she currently serves as vice president of creative projects and home), the multi-hyphenate has always been keen on curating collections that reflect her eclectic design philosophy. “I don’t like just one vibe, that just doesn’t feel very special to me,” she says, referencing her love of bold color combinations and unique texture. “I like the notion that there’s beauty in mess.” Now based in Seattle with her husband, the couples’ four-year-old daughter, and her mother (who lives with the family full-time), Olivia uses her talent to define “the next big thing” for Nordstrom’s retail experiences, making sense of a never-ending influx of inspirations by insisting that what matter is “just how you put it together.”
What?
The one object that Olivia will never ever part with is her Ultrafragola mirror. Originally designed by Memphis pioneer Ettore Sottsass in 1970, the photogenic mirror has experienced a viral moment in recent years thanks to endorsements from celebrities such as Frank Ocean, Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid, and many more. For Olivia, though, the piece has always been iconic. Describing its unique form and playful neon glow as “timeless,” she compares it to a classic watch or the perfect black dress that never grows old. “I love that this mirror is getting its fame and glory, considering that when it was designed, people laughed at it,” she says.
Despite recognizing the mirror’s inherent cool-factor and Sottsass’s forward-thinking genius earlier on, Olivia possesses a democratic attitude when it comes to design she admires. “I think that design should never feel that it’s so precious that it can’t be shared,” she says. In practicing this belief, the mirror’s youngest fan is Olivia’s daughter, Cleo. Propped up in the middle of the family’s high-traffic living room, the esteemed fixture has an unexpected admirer in the energetic four-year-old, though mainly because “pink is her favorite color.”
When?
A lifelong admirer of Memphis, Olivia pinpoints her fixation with the 1980s design movement on Esprit’s colorful stores of the same decade. “I always wanted to be able to afford Memphis furniture, but you have to sort of earn your way up there,” she explains. She also recognizes that it’s not exactly the most practical (or affordable) option. When she launched Space at Nordstrom in 2015, Olivia knew that the mirror would be a key element in bringing to life the retail experience she had envisioned.
