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DECORATION Bertoia Bespoke Kermit's Canvases + Fashion How do you reinvent a classic? In this case, it's all up to you. Knoll's new Bertoia Two-Tone chairs are a customizable expansion of the color-blocked configurations available when the Bertoia collection launched in 1953. The mix-and-match offerings for the basket and base now come in black, white, red, blue and chrome, to be designed at will. You can hardly go wrong: Harry Bertoia credited Eszter Harastzy, the director of Knoll's textiles department, with coming up with the original color-blocked palettes. Six decades later, Bertoia's musings have moved into a more vibrant era of design at Knoll. Still, something tells me they've only scratched the surface. Bertoia Two- Tone Diamond chair, $1,201 at Sunset Settings, sunsetsettings.com. Rebecca Sherman Knoll Bertoia Two-Tone Diamond chair BY THE SLICE A t age 126, esteemed American furniture manufacturer Baker still turns heads with impressive furniture collections from some of the great designers of our time, including Tony Duquette, Michael Smith, Jacques Garcia, Laura Kirar, Bill Sofield and Barbara Barry. Its latest collaborator is coveted young French designer and architect Jean-Louis Deniot, who has created interiors for high-profile clients from Paris and Tangiers to Moscow, London, Hong Kong, Beverly Hills, Chicago, Miami and New York. His 80-piece namesake collection for Baker was inspired by 20th-century vintage furnishings and grand European aristocratic decor; the lineup includes furniture, lighting and accessories. For Deniot, the collection is a dream come true. "It was secretly part of my career plan to one day design a line for Baker," he says in his sumptuous French accent in a YouTube video about the collection. That's high praise from a talent who's frequently touted and published in magazines around the world, including Elle Decor and Architectural Digest, and who holds a steady spot on the AD 100. True to his architectural background, the collection's silhouettes are geometric, ARISTOCRATIC P arisian visual artist Pierre Charpin turned his focus to furniture and object design in the 1990s, generating fanciful creations such as his 1998 Slice armchair and ottoman. The now iconic pieces were so hard to come by that they vanished almost immediately and have since been displayed only at the Parisian hothouse of design Galerie Kreo. After more than 18 years, Charpin's Slice is finally available to a larger audience, reintroduced through the French furniture company Ligne Roset. Depending on how many "slices" you add, the sculptural and decorative piece can become a chaise longue, tête-à-tête or modular sofa; individual slices serve as stool seating. Stocked in wool upholstery with a wood base, the materials and color options make it infinitely customizable, which begs the question: Who can have just one Slice? Samples hit the floor in September, but you can order now. Armchair from $2,275; ottoman from $660, to order at Ligne Roset, West Ave, 2800 Kirby Dr., 713.630.6500, ligne- roset.com. Rebecca Sherman sculptural and show stopping. The dining table is a blend of South American mahogany, rich wood veneer inlays and metal, proportioned at 110 inches. Deniot's crescent-shaped, tight-backed bench sofa clocks in at a substantial 99 inches long, with a mahogany base and legs tipped in brass with different finishes. His lighting and mirrors are handcrafted in Italy by artisans using age-old techniques in brass, steel, alabaster and glass and paired with modern, water-jet designs, faceted glass, gesso and resin. The collection is available by special order to the trade. Baker, 1111 Uptown Park Blvd., 713.627.3235, bakerfurniture. com. Rebecca Sherman COMPETITION FOR TSU Above: Honoree Kermit Oliver with his 1975 creation, Khristopher with Chas' Corn. Left: Yvonne Garcia and Geri Hooks with Kermit Oliver's Ham Suspended From Twine, 2012. Far right: Kermit Oliver's Samana Santa, 2009. Private Collection. Courtesy the artist and Hooks-Epstein Galleries. T exas Southern University's biennial art benefit is back, and its lively fashion competition brings to the runway wearable art inspired by one of Texas' greatest living painters. That talent is none other than Kermit Oliver, the only American artist ever to design scarves for Hermès. A student of the late Dr. John Biggers (who forged the art department at Texas Southern University), Oliver holds Lifetime Artist of the Year acolytes and a lengthy collector list fostered by long-time dealer Hooks-Epstein Galleries. He'll be joined on the dais by Shelby Marcus of the Neiman Marcus dynasty, who played a pivotal role in Oliver's Hermès commission; the pair are honorees at the University Museum at Texas Southern University's For the Sake of Art Gala this month. Oliver's canvases serve as a point of departure for the wearable art competition that defines this glam eve chaired by Merele Yarborough. Honorary chairs are philanthropist and Civil Rights activist Ada Anderson; Hermès U.S. CEO Robert Chavez; Beyoncé's mom, designer Tina Knowles Lawson; and D.C.-based influencer Reginald Van Lee. PaperCity steps up as media sponsor. For the Sake of Art Gala, Friday, June 10, at Omni Houston Hotel; dress artful black tie; tickets from $350, tables from $3,500; forthesakeofarttsu.com. Catherine D. Anspon Jean-Louis Deniot for Baker Tashmarine bed, Viridine square accent table, Iron Eye floor lamp Jean-Louis Deniot for Baker Viridine round accent table, Celestite sofa, Obsidian table lamp KHRIS OLIVER MAX BURKHALTER