Inside the Celebrity-Filled Apartment of One of Dallas’ Most Fashionable Couples

Madonna is in the kitchen. Lindsay Lohan, Stella McCartney, and Drew Barrymore are mingling in the living room. And, Dolly Parton is expected to make an appearance in the bedroom soon, if Gregg Asher has his way. This celebrity-filled apartment on Turtle Creek Boulevard — which belongs to Asher and his partner, David Martin — brims with provocative photographs of well-known faces. They were taken by artists who are celebrities in their own right: David LaChapelle, Marilyn Minter, Tyler Shields, Mary McCartney. “I love celebrities,” Asher says. “I always wanted to be one. I still do, at some level.”

Asher and Martin, who have been together 25 years, are longtime fixtures on Dallas’ social scene and are instantly recognizable by their fashionable and often eccentric wardrobes. Twenty years ago, Asher blazed a trail in Dallas by going to parties in Manolo and Louboutin stilettos, feather boas, and sequins, while carrying Gucci and Dior handbags. “Gregg was a pioneer of his look — it was unheard of back then, guys wearing heels and carrying handbags,” Martin says. “He didn’t care what people thought. He’s always been comfortable in his own skin.”

In 2016, around his 40th birthday, Asher chopped off his long blond locks and traded heels for more comfortable Calvin Klein cowboy boots and Miu Miu slides. He still wears an occasional Gucci or Rick Owens platform shoe, but “the days of wearing high heels all day are gone,” he says. At 52, Martin has kept his sartorial edge with slightly more conservative yet head-turning Thom Browne and Gucci ensembles.

As the subjects in their photographs attest, fame can be fleeting. For Asher, it has fluttered in and out of his life. In his early days as a hairstylist with José Eber, and later at Neiman Marcus, where he did hair for 21 years, he coiffed a range of celebs from Lady Gaga to the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders. His sartorial skills landed him styling gigs at Carolina Herrera, Oscar de la Renta, and Kate Spade boutiques. Appearances on reality TV shows followed, including serving as a judge on Project Runway and co-starring on Lifetime TV’s Million Dollar Shoppers in 2013. Since then, he’s been pursuing other opportunities. “I’d like to do a makeover show. That’s my dream — something that makes people feel better about themselves,” he says.

Both Asher and Martin have recently taken new jobs. Asher is doing hair at Maleiah Rogers’ Era Salon; Martin, who spent almost 20 years working with a top party planner before moving to sales at Forty Five Ten, has joined Brian Bolke’s The Conservatory as a sales advisor. They both do fashion and home styling for private clients as a side gig, and Asher documents his outfits on his longtime blog, fashionbaggage.com.

Asher and Martin bought their one bedroom Turtle Creek apartment last spring, a gem that had already been renovated by the previous owner. The lock-and-leave ease of high-rise living is appealing — they’ve lost count of how many buildings along Turtle Creek they’ve occupied. “Gregg gets bored,” Martin explains. Asher finishes the thought: “People stay in their houses too long. We do them up right, and before [the apartment] gets too tired, we get out of it and do it again somewhere else. We like to experience new things.”

There’s no mistaking whose apartment this is. Its decoration reflects how Asher and Martin dress, with a confident mix of pattern, color, fur, fringe — and loads of Gucci. “Our style isn’t timeless — we do what’s current. But it’s still a lot of fun,” Asher says. “Right now, we’re having a Gucci moment.”

Gucci Herbarium wallpaper in pink and black covers the walls in the living room, and there’s Gucci Tiger Face wallpaper in the master bath; Gucci pillows and throws are everywhere. One of Asher’s favorite pieces is a Gucci Home green-lacquered Chiavari chair inspired by Alessandro Michele’s ready-to-wear collections for Gucci, with a seat upholstered in pink Herbarium fabric and an embroidered tiger’s head. A brass Gucci plaque is affixed to the front. If the world has an obsession with designer labels, Asher and Martin are in on the joke. “Our fashion is tongue-in-cheek, so we wanted to be playful at home,” Asher says. “Decor should be fun.”

“We like to make people slightly uncomfortable with our art,” Martin says.

There’s plenty of fun to be had here. The living room’s Kelly Wearstler rose and graphite-hued animal-print draperies and Graffito print chair mix fearlessly with a gray-and-cream Vivienne Westwood moire rug and plaster goat leg table by artist George Sellers. Like their wardrobes, Asher and Martin also have different preferences when it comes to interiors. Martin loves mid-20th-century design, so Eames, Platner, and Saarinen are heavily represented. Asher loves to wear pink, so he’s incorporated his favorite hue here “without turning it into a Barbie DreamHouse,” he says.

Asher and Martin have mixed pattern and color with such assurance that everything comes together perfectly to reflect their design style. Take a look at the sitting area in their bedroom, Martin suggests, for a good example of their layered look: The small area includes a mid-century Saarinen chair and Tulip table, along with a fringed Italian pouf in pink, orange, and chocolate fabrics. Underneath is a shaggy black-and-white Icelandic alpaca fur rug, brought back from London. “We don’t have a dog anymore, so we brush it at night and pretend,” Asher says.

Now, back to all those photographs of celebrities crowding the walls in the apartment. “We like to make people slightly uncomfortable with our art,” Martin says. “They are conversation pieces.” Tyler Shields has photographed Lindsay Lohan flat on her back, hands bloodied, and a gun pointed at her face. Their newest acquisition is by street artist Plastic Jesus, created entirely from diamond dust, that reads, “Stop making stupid people famous.” The irony isn’t lost on Asher. “It’s a mantra for us, even though I want to be famous,” he says. Asher has been lobbying Martin to let him buy a photograph of Dolly Parton and put it in the bedroom — so far, he’s been unsuccessful. “David said, ‘I don’t know if I want to wake up next to Dolly,’ but I’m like, ‘You already do, so it’s perfect.’”