Palm Springs, Pagodas and a Hollywood connection: Poolside looks at a snapshot history of the Pagoda umbrella and how it is still the star of the show for designers, photographers and the famed some seventy years later.
California Umbrella first introduced the Pagoda almost immediately after its inception as a company in the post war era. It became a staple of outdoor scenes around the nation; curvy and fun with classic stripes, it reflected a new beginning – the rise of the American backyard and recreation.
Sarah Sherman Samuel Michigan home / Image by Kiernan Miller.
Roughly around the same time Palm Springs was becoming a celebrity hot-spot, Slim Aarons had left the army and became a freelance photojournalist photographing the Hollywood elite – Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh to name but a few. Companies were developing products to transform uniform backyards into personalised havens devoted, in part, to rest and leisure time.
Cara + Poppy Delevingne's Los Angeles Retreat / Image by Trevor Tondro via Architectural Digest.
Fast forward a few years and the initial influx of stars to Palm Springs that started as a trickle was now a full scale celebrity invasion. The mid-1950s saw an increasing number of celebrities, prominent business leaders, and the famed, who could escape the spotlight and sip cocktails by the pool - all under a Pagoda umbrella.
One of the Parker Palm Springs pools / Image by Parker Palm Springs.
Some seventy years later, the Pagoda umbrella is a mid-century icon, it's scene stealing silhouette as famous and as recognisable as it's celebrity counterparts. It is truly a classic shade product that embraces the spirit of California, born in another era, but still feels sweetly familiar, still singing the same song of when California Umbrella was first founded - albeit with modern manufacturing techniques and sustainable materials.
The Beverly Hills Hotel / Dalamations by the Pool / Image by Gray Malin.
