Editor’s Letter: Door Policy

One man’s “coach door” is another man’s “suicide.” Vintage car enthusiasts know what I’m talking about. Most import companies, dating back to the 1930s, featured at least one luxury automobile in their stable that was designed with suicide doors, meaning those that hinged on the trailing edge closer to the rear of a vehicle. In other words, the car door handles were positioned side by side, and opened like one-way saloon doors, or butterfly wings. “Suicide,” as a word and as an action, is not pretty, so most American car salesmen refer to that design as “coach doors.” The Brits leave well enough alone.

The suicide door arrangement was deemed dangerous for a host of reasons, which are dull to detail but somewhat accurate. Yet, the designers of the Citroen 2CV and the Fiat Topolino, the Pierce Silver Arrow and the four-door 1967 Thunderbird, didn’t really care. It was a case of function following form.

And so it went with the most famous car model to feature suicide doors, the Lincoln Continental sedan, 1961 through 1967. “Drama,” Kevin Dillon on HBO’s “Entourage,” drives one, proving that he is actually the guy in the gang with a true sense of style.

You’ll see a maroon-colored model on page 46, with our cover girl Christina Ricci standing in front of it, having collided with a much newer model of Ferrari. (The indie actress herself is on a collision course with super-stardom with her kick-ass role as “Trixie” in the Wachowski Brothers’ high-stylized Speed Racer).

Design always collides with the inevitable challenge of substance vs. style. And the great architects—take Frank Lloyd Wright—were constantly facing it with skeptics. Why was Fallingwater falling down? Why were the ceilings in Wright’s homes so low? (Answer: The guy was practically a dwarf.)

With this, BlackBook’s “Design Issue,” we didn’t feel a necessity for that perfect marriage. But you could argue either way. Take Joan Collins: Is she a great actress, or just a great showboat? We think she is both—and always worth a second look (see for yourself here).

Sometimes the marriage of function and form are realized, as was the case when we staged a men’s fashion shoot at the Lower East Side rustic bistro Freemans: a place that has good taste in both its food and its antlered décor (click here).

To open the door just a bit more, we asked a host of style-savvy artists to detail for us their favorite design in one single item—from a Twinkie to a fountain pen. We’re democratic, and really like all the selections (although we’ll let Harmony Korine explain for himself his adoration of “cement parking lot curbs”).

And I’m sure that many will argue over whether the Lincoln depicted in our cover story is a finer model than its flashier—and far costlier—competition. For our money, though, it’s a no-brainer.