Introducing our 2021 Inspirations
This year’s Inspirations pay homage to the iconic work of Slim Aarons, one of the most famous photographers of the 20th century. Aarons (1916-2006) portrayed high society, aristocracy, authors, artists, and business tycoons in their own surroundings, oftentimes poolside where pops of color from eye-catching patio umbrellas became focal points unto themselves, almost as famous as the people that surrounded them.
In his own words, Aarons loved to photograph ‘beautiful people in beautiful places, doing beautiful things.’ For Outdoor 2021, Santa Barbara Designs re-imagines several stand-out umbrellas in ‘those beautiful places surrounded by those beautiful people’ in its 2021 Slim Aarons American Icon Collection. The collection borrows from the following Aarons photographs: Poolside Glamour-Palm Springs, CA 1971, La Concha Beach Club in Las Brisas resort in Acapulco, Mexico, January 1968, and Chateau Saint-Martin, Vence, Cote d’Azur, France, 1986.
Perhaps the most famous of Slim Aarons’ photographs, this image features a fashionable Canary Yellow two-tiered patio umbrella situated at the far end of the swimming pool. This iconic umbrella has become an important element of the shot, which depicts beautiful people in bell bottoms and midriff tops engrossed deep in “poolside gossip.” (Photo by Slim Aarons/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
This image depicts the apartments and pools at the La Concha Beach Club in Las Brisas resort, on a leisurely summer afternoon. (Photo by Slim Aarons/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
This image features an outdoor luncheon by the swimming pool of the Chateau Saint-Martin, a luxury hotel in Vence on the Cote d’Azur, France, 1986. The building was once a Commanderie of the Knights Templar, dating back to the 12th century. (Photo by Slim Aarons/Getty Images)
Be sure to visit our new Inspirations page, where you will see all of our new creations.
