Mike D of the Beastie Boys Created Wallpaper for Marquee and MoMA



Mike D of the Beastie Boys, Marquee in NYC, and the MoMA are all related regarding a lovely French toile wallpaper print-et us explain. Marquee nightclub just had an interior makeover, giving it an edgier, upscale warehouse feel. Instead of tufted or leather walls, the space is covered in dyed burlap and accented with welded rebar handrails. All of the decor is repurposed and recycled, giving it a distinctively gritty New York vibe.

The bathrooms are outfitted in a French toile wallpaper inspired by a similar style seen in the Brooklyn brownstone of Mike Diamond (a.k.a., Mike D) of the Beastie Boys. And it's not your typical country cottage wallpaper, as the famous musician explained to us. It's a very well-thought out pattern.

"I was inspired by the traditional toile wallpaper that I would often see in the entry ways of Brooklyn Heights townhouses as a kid," Mike D said to ELLE.com. "The plan was to use iconic Brooklyn images but to stick to the vernacular to such a degree that if one is looking at the wallpaper from far away or even just in passing, it reads as traditional toile. But then maybe you do a double take and all of a sudden are like, 'Oh, hey! There is Coney Island, there is Biggie, etc.' I got together with Revolver NY to execute what I thought at first would be an easy cut-and-paste image exercise, but it quickly became apparent to us that to do it right, we would have to illustrate everything by hand. I never thought I would be scrutinizing different library patterns from Pierre Deux, but the research definitely paid off. Flavor Paper helped us bring it all to life and to production, helping us get the right color ways."

Now, here's where MoMA comes into the mix: The wallpaper is part of a permanent collection at the Brooklyn Museum and will be sold at all MoMA stores worldwide as part of the organization's Made in New York program. Purchase it starting May 18 ($200 for a 16' roll on PVC-free, pre-pasted wallpaper).

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