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ELYSIAN Women Inspiring Women

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VOLUME 11 • ISSUE 4 A HOLIDAY WOVEN IN TIME / DES VACANCES TISSÉES DANS LE TEMPS HIVER 2025/2026

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Une Hypnose Hivernale A look back to Dutch fashion designer Iris van Herpen’s futuristic, darkly fantastical aesthetic.

BY SAMANTHA PAIGE

MANIFOLD PLISSÉ GOWN A transparent oker and grey organza are half-wheel plissé-ed and draped into each other with fine brass lines, unfolding into voluminous twists curling around the body. PHOTOGRAPHY BY MOLLY SJ LOWE

ELYSIAN Christmas in

ITALY BY SONIA HENRY

164

140

la servante, le passeur et la relique

Franck Sorbier’s work has been described as dramatic and haunting. Nowhere is that more prevalent than within his collection, L’Esprit des lieux Chaalis—La Servante, le Passeur et la Relique.

180 Angel’s View

BY JUDITH BERGMAN

the

Technological advances in satellite footage and drone imagery have changed the way we view our world. Rather surreal, somewhat abstract, nevertheless, the following bird’s-eye view photography gives unique meaning to the phrase “winter wonderland.”

BY IRENE WATERFORD

196 n’er to be forgotten InspiringWomen:

In this “Woven In Time” issue of ELYSIAN we remember Inspiring Women: TRUDE HELLER, FAITH WHITTLESEY, PHYLLIS DELAPP, LORETTA SWIT &FAITH HOPE CONSOLO.

30 travel&destination

72 architecture&interiors Winter Around the World

The HEART of the Home - BY CHRISTY NIELSON

animals&philanthropy 98 home&garden unFURgettable Holidays

110

A Tribute to the Christmas Tree - BY PEARL LUSTRE

entertaining The Scandinavian Affair - BY PAIGE FARRELL

116 health&fitness

118

Hit the Slopes for Better Health - BY ANGIE COMER

essentials

Holiday Home - BY SINDIE FITZGERALD-RANKIN

art&culture

198

The Nutcracker: A Ballerina’s Journey - BY HELEN ARDEN

212 traditions mind&body

Celebrating Hanukkah Through Tradition, Food & Light - BY MARCY DUBROFF

218

Importance of Self Care During the Holidays - BY ANGIE COMER

222 philanthropy In Pursuit of Peace - BY ASTRID WOLFE

back story

232

ELYSIAN’s Autumn 2025 “Golden” Issue launch & reveal in Las Vegas, Nevada..

on the cover

Fitness model and Founder CEO of The Nebras Hayek Foundation, Nebras Hayek. PHOTOGRAPH BY MICHAEL PANICCIA

PHOTOGRAPH BY ALEXANDROS LAVDAS / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

Susanne Bisovsky’s designs on a revolving mannequin in the store windows of Swarovski, New York City.

fashion&style

Thru the Holiday Looking Glass - BY WINIFRED TOWNSEND

publisher

Karen Floyd o p e r at i o n

& production

digital marketing & newsletter

Nicola Doring d i g i ta l

& a p p i n n o vat i o r

web design

Ryan Stalvey

buisiness & community development

Amber Edwards

Joey Iannetta

c r e at o r - i n - c h i e f

& development

film

Anna Christian

Ella Halligan

Elliot Derhay

& comptroller

d i g i ta l s t r at e g y

social media

Christiana Purves

Sarah Hunt

& video

Garrick Lane philanthropy

& i m pa c t

Kimberli Scott Still

p u b l i c a f fa i r s

legal

p u b l i c r e l at i o n s

writer

e d i t o r i a l a s s i s ta n t

Boone Peeler

Eric Nodine

Diana Watson

Jason Spencer

Marcy Dubroff

community liaison

c o m m u n i t y a f fa i r s

lead photographer

photographer

audio production

Rita Allison

Ann Bible

Michael Paniccia

Joy Smallwood

Ark Tofan

office manager

e x e c u t i v e a s s i s ta n t

property manager

Becky Kerr

Diane High

Aidan Stanton

inspiring women

aspiring women

Karen Floyd

Dr. Christina Rahm contributing writers

Helen Arden, Judith Bergman, Angie Comer, Marcy Dubroff, Paige Farrell, Sindie Fitzgerald-Rankin, Pearl Lustre, Christy Nielson, Samantha Paige, Irene Waterford, Astrid Wolfe copy editors

Monya Havekost, Diane High p u b l i c r e l at i o n s

printer

c i r c u l at i o n s p e c i a l i s t

c o n s u lta n t

Norah Lawlor

Joe Giuffrida/Mega Mailers

Greg Wolfe

Carmel Fauci

w w w . r e a d e ly s i a n . c o m ELYSIAN Magazine is published four times per year by Palladian Publications LLC., 113 W. Main St., Spartanburg, SC 29306. For subscription information, call 864-342-6500. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA.

elysian is proud to feature our updated ios app, redesigned from the ground up to maximize your experience — download now in the app store to read and view exclusive elysian content, watch livestreams and participate in our special events.

J Berushi

by Julinda Berushi

INTO THIS CLIMATE OF FEAR AND APPREHENSION, CHRISTMAS ENTERS, STREAMING LIGHTS OF JOY, RINGING BELLS OF HOPE AND SINGING CAROLS OF FORGIVENESS HIGH UP IN THE BRIGHT AIR. THE WORLD IS ENCOURAGED TO COME AWAY FROM RANCOR, COME THE WAY OF FRIENDSHIP.”— MAYA ANGELOU

hen we decided to title our winter issue A Holiday Woven in Time, I immediately thought of Maya Angelou’s quote from the poem Amazing Peace. She captured what I believe . . . holidays ideally represent forgiveness of the past, love in the present, and hope for the future. As we close the first decade of ELYSIAN, I dedicate this issue to the incredible women who have shared their inspiring stories . . . there were so many. Their interviews have always been my raison d’etre or the “why” for me. Each one was so abundantly unique . . . allowing the reader to experience an inimitable perspective vicariously through their transcribed words. Every woman’s story encouraged, taught, and transformed us. They shared their vulnerability and authenticity, often with raw emotion. They were all powerful. Yet through the decade, there were three interviews that most resonated and captured the essence of forgiveness—Dr. Alveda King, niece of Dr. Martin Luther King; love—Kim Phuc, the “little napalm girl” immortalized in a Pulitzer Prize-winning photo; and hope—Trude Heller, a Holocaust survivor.

Forgiveness - Perhaps forgiveness is top of mind because of the recent tragedy surrounding

the death of Charlie Kirk? I watched his widow Erika Kirk speak at the televised ceremony commemorating his life. And as the words “I forgive him”—referencing her husband’s assassin—left her lips, the power of those words and the transcendent nature of forgiveness was felt throughout. How does a person forgive the unthinkable, I asked myself. I remembered Alveda King’s interview in the fall of 2021 when she shared a unique position that touched me then, as it does today. Alveda has lived a life fraught with tragedy. Yet, the antidote to hate and anger is forgiveness, she claims, and kindness. “. . . how do you forgive somebody who you feel did something to you? I couldn’t find a really good answer . . . Then I said, ‘Holy Spirit, how do you do this?’ And the Holy Spirit chuckled—not audibly, but I felt the chuckle. ‘I wondered if you’d ask me.’ The answer was, ‘You could have been kinder.’ . . . It is something we can all do. I hide in the secret place of the Lord, Psalm 91. And I seek kindness.”

PHOTOGRAPH BY MICHAEL PANICCIA

Love - Kim Phuc’s interview in the spring issue of 2024 was not just about forgiveness and hope . . . but for me, the purest form of love. The world met Kim on June 8, 1972, when an Associated Press photographer captured a then nine-year-old Vietnamese child running naked down a war-torn street, her face filled with anguish because of the napalm burns covering her body. The photograph became synonymous with the horrors of war. Yet while many would have become lifelong victims, today Kim Phuc continues helping child victims of war and deprivation worldwide through the KLM Foundation. Her steadfast love is inspiring. “I travel around the world to share my story, to tell people how horrible war is, but also how beautiful the world can be. If everyone could learn to live with love, hope, and forgiveness, we would not have war. I challenge everyone, if that little girl can do it, you can do it too . . . We cannot change history, but with love, we can heal the future. My story and what is represented in this photograph focuses on love, forgiveness, and hope. I want people to remember that and not see that ‘little napalm girl’ in a horrible picture.” Hope - I had the privilege of interviewing Holocaust survivor Trude Heller in the winter of 2016.

She was 94 years old at the time—clear minded and elegant with an amazing quick-witted humor. Four years later Mrs. Heller passed away, making her interview a cornerstone of ELYSIAN. With wisdom second to none, having experienced and witnessed the darkest moments of humanity’s capacity for evil, I asked her how she was able to find hope. Her answer was quite simple. Hope was a choice she and her husband made for their family, and gratitude played a significant role. “. . . both of us decided when we started a family that our children would have a lot of hope . . . and that we would see to it that we would do our best for it. And, you know, it works . . . when you set your mind to something. We had nothing. We were refugees, but we—I don’t know how to put it—we were happy. We were thankful for things rather than bemoaning what we didn’t have.” I dream these words lift your spirit and inspire you, as they do me. Wishing you and your family the blessings of forgiveness, love and hope . . . May your holiday be filled with each. Much love,

Karen Floyd Publisher

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artevey.com

EVEY FINE ART / PALM BEACH

D C SERIES N274, mixed media on canvas, 2023, by Marta Estrems

PHOTOGRAPH BY BELOZOROVA ELENA / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

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fashion&style

THRU the HOLIDAY LOOKING GLASS BY WINIFRED TOWNSEND

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It’s AH, NEW YORK AT CHRISTMAS—an exquisite tableau where dreams and decadence converge beneath the twinkling glow of holiday lights. The city, ever the epitome of style, truly comes alive during the festive season, with a sense of wonderment that sweeps even the most sophisticated of souls into its glittering embrace. It’s a spectacle like no other, where the traditional and the modern waltz in perfect harmony. In this city, Christmas is not just a time to shop—it’s an experience, a celebration of luxury, glamour, and, yes, a little bit of that New York magic. It’s tradition wrapped in the sparkle of modernity, as only New York can do. From ELYSIAN Winter 2022/23, “Thought & Leadership” issue.

Rolls Royce parked on Bond Street, London at Christmas, as a reindeer takes flight in a Louis Vuitton storefront. BAILEY-COOPER PHOTOGRAPHY / STOCKIMO / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

Christmas in the city. Brightly colored lights and wreaths, stars and bells made of shimmering tinsel are strung across the streets and along the street lights. Last-minute shoppers scurry along snow-covered avenues. Carolers singing Hark the Herald Angels Sing rival the laughter and joyful cries of children bundled head-to-toe in woolen coats and caps, clutching their parents’ hands with theirs in mittens. They have poured downtown like crusaders to the Holy Land to see the marvelous Christmas dioramas and toys displayed in the department stores’ enormous plate-glass windows. Realistic toy swans with arched necks swim in mirror-ponds. Life-size angels all in white surround a Nativity scene. Lionel trains whistle and wind down papier-mâché mountains on miniature tracks. A full-size mechanical Santa belly-laughs as elves load gaily wrapped presents into a sleigh pulled by eight impatient reindeer poised to take flight. “Please, Mommy, lift me up!” a little girl begs her mother so she can see over the crowd, and in the moment her mother takes her hand away, the baby carriage carrying her sleeping infant rolls towards the busy intersection. This is the opening scene of the 1947 Christmas classic The Bishop’s Wife, starring David Niven as the bishop, Loretta Young as the bishop’s wife, and Cary Grant as Dudley the Angel—who stops the baby carriage, averts tragedy, and soothes the hysterical young mother who cries, “How do I ever thank you?” and Dudley replies, “Don’t try. Just don’t let it happen again.”

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This elaborate display at TSUM in Moscow, Russia’s largest department store, depicts the Russian fairy tale “Kroshechka-Khavroshechka.”

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PHOTOGRAPH BY SERGEY BEZGODOV / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

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Christmas windows at Saks Fifth Avenue, New York attract window shoppers from all over the world. PHOTOGRAPH BY RITU MANOJ JETHANI / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM Opposite: Department stores spend months planning and building their annual holiday window displays, such as this one at Bergdorf Goodman on Fifth Avenue in New York. PHOTOGRAPH BY SERGEY BEZGODOV / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

tore windows decorated for Christmas appear in a plethora of holiday movies, such as the A Christmas Story (1983), Elf (2003), starring Will Ferrell and James Caan; Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium (2007), starring Dustin Hoffman and Natalie Portman; and of course, Miracle on 34th Street (1947), starring Maureen O’Hara, Edmund Gwenn, a very young Natalie Wood, and “the world’s largest department store,” R. H. Macy & Company, in New York. There crowds gathered in 1884 to see, for the first time, the store windows gaily decorated for the holiday season. Indeed, department store windows set the stage for my own Christmases growing up in New York and yet, in my mind’s eye, I can still see the breathtakingly, beautifully decorated Christmas windows of legendary department stores. Back then, going to the city to see the Christmas windows was an occasion. We’d dress up in our Sunday best, my sister and I, and Mom would take us up and down Fifth Avenue to Lord & Taylor and a few blocks up, B. Altman’s, Bonwit Teller, Abraham & Strauss, Best & Co., and, of course, magical F.A.O. Schwarz. Alas, these amazing stores are no longer teasing us, leaving Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman, and Tiffany & Co. among the few survivors of the golden age of retail shopping.

here is no early record of just when stores seriously began decorating for Christmas. Not until Prince Albert introduced the Christmas tree to England from his native Germany, and a drawing of his and Queen Victoria’s burgeoning family appeared on the front page of the London Illustrated News, did Christmas as a holiday metamorphize into the all-consuming holiday

we celebrate today. In those Dickensian days, the great specialty food store, Fortnum & Mason, displayed a cornucopia of seasonal foods in their windows, such as turtle soup (one turtle, boiled live, made a single serving), Christmas puddings, cakes, jellies, and jams, and along the streets of Covent Garden, the food stalls sold fattened, pen-raised, fresh-killed Christmas geese and other delicacies. But for all intents and purposes, the tradition of turning department store windows into inspired, seasonal wonderlands began in 1909 at Selfridges, the renowned London retail store on Oxford Street. What began with a display of dolls from all around the world and scenes from American author Harriet Beecher Stowe’s anti-slavery novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, has evolved into an extravaganza. Today, Selfridges uses over 85,000 Christmas ornaments, 12,000 paper decorations, 200 Christmas trees, 2.1 miles of garlands, and 9 miles of LED lights to decorate its world-famous Christmas windows. The tradition that began 116 years ago employs more than 500 staff to create and install the displays and the week before the windows are revealed, 100 employees work nonstop, day and night, to ensure every light, bauble, toy, tree decoration and strand of tinsel is perfectly placed. Harry Gordon Selfridge was an enormously respected, terrifically wealthy retail magnate and innovative marketing genius who transformed the retail business. However, even he did not anticipate the phenomenal sales that resulted from the hordes of shoppers who were attracted like moths to a light by Selfridges’ Christmas windows. An American who began his career in the retail business at Marshall Field’s department store in Chicago, he started out managing a department of window dressers and designed the store’s window displays (years later, he bought Marshall Field’s). It was 1906 when Selfridge traveled to London on holiday with his wife, Rose.

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Christmas windows at Lord & Taylor in New York City have been a celebrated holiday staple since the 1940s. PATTI MCCONVILLE / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

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Entranced, they decided to move permanently to England and the rest, as they say, is history. (It was Harry Selfridge, by the way, who introduced the phrase, “Only X shopping days to Christmas.”) Immediately, Harrod’s, Liberty of London, and Fortum & Mason followed suit and likewise in America, at Saks Fifth Avenue, Lord & Taylor, and Bergdorf Goodman. Every store unveiled their windows the Friday after Thanksgiving (before it was referred to as Black Friday) and that’s also when Christmas merchandise was put out on the floor. The Christmas windows were such a draw that sales tripled, quadrupled, and the Christmas sales soon represented the lion’s share of department stores’ annual revenue. So popular were Lord & Taylor’s incredible Christmas windows that velvet rope and post crowd-control stanchions were set up to keep crowds of thousands in line. At Macy’s,10,000 an hour came just to see the Christmas windows. Each year, the displays became more elaborate—and more top-secret. Employees privy to the themes were forbidden to speak about it for fear of losing their jobs. So guarded was Lord & Taylor that in 1938, the company installed a system of hydraulics that allowed window dressers to create their displays in the sub-basement, away from prying eyes and unauthorized personnel.

Only at the final moment were the hydraulics engaged to raise platforms and unveil the windows to throngs of window-shoppers and live, on television, besides. That same year, Lord & Taylor became the first department store to feature animated displays. Bells swung back-and-forth, mannequins in holiday garb were set on rotating platforms, and as in The Bishop’s Wife, Santa Claus laughed as his belly jiggled like a bowlful of jelly. What’s more, to create a wintery effect, fans blew bleached cornflakes to look like falling snow and a recording of howling winds replicated the sound of a blizzard. Christmas windows were no longer a way to show off merchandise— they were meant to enchant. Today, department stores begin planning their Christmas windows in April, displays are built between June and September, and everything is put together before Halloween. And each year, every store tries to outdo themselves. Last year, Harvey Nichols used three-and-a-half miles of Christmas lights to set their windows ablaze. Bloomingdale’s displayed 7,600,000 Swarovski crystals in their Christmas windows. But at the end of the day, nothing could be brighter, or more magical, than seeing the magic of a Christmas window reflected in the bright and innocent eyes of a child. ■

Top: No longer limited to showing off merchandise, department stores use holiday storefront displays to enchant shoppers and passersby, such as this window display at the Dior boutiques. PHOTOGRAPH BY SERGEY BEZGODOV / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

Opposite: A holiday window display at Bergdorf Goodman in New York. PHOTOGRAPH BY VICTORIA LIPOV / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

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Holiday sweets and pies are displayed in a pastry shop window in Rimini, Italy. NICOLETTA ZANELLA / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

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