Architecture was on the mind of peripatetic photographer Douglas Friedman at the reopening party for the San Francisco Burberry boutique on Post Street on Tuesday, October 7. As he glanced around at the newly refurbished interiors designed in the style of a 20th-century townhouse, Friedman saw a dramatic staircase and a chic mezzanine salon, as well as a beauty bar designed to reflect the London-inspired global architectural design concept developed by Burberry Chief Creative and Chief Executive Officer Christopher Bailey. Friedman said he was soon heading for Marfa, Texas, to oversee the construction of his new residence. “It’s a glass box designed by Jeffrey McKean,” said Friedman, showing a dramatic elevation on his iPhone 6. “We are at the end of a dirt road, no one for miles.”

The party, benefiting the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, proved to be a celebration of Brit design and talent that included Los Angeles-based DJ Zen Freeman who was spinning David Bowie’s “Golden Years” as guests arrived. Dapper British-born Colin Bailey, director of the Fine Arts Museums, was talking up “Houghton Hall: Portrait of an English Country House,” an exhibit of paintings and objects from the ancestral home of the Marquess of Cholmondeley, which opens next week at the Legion of Honor. “David Cholmondeley and his wife, the marchioness, will be attending,” said Bailey.

By Diane Dorrans Saeks

Pictured: Douglas Friedman
Photo By: Drew Altizer Photography