Photography by Ryan Pfluger at Galerie Half, Los Angeles, on September 30, 2015. Styling by Michael Cook.
As an interior designer with star clients like Ellen DeGeneres and Ryan Murphy, Cliff Fong usually remains in the background. This year, however, he was thrust into the spotlight as a judge on the first season of HGTV's Ellen's Design Challenge. "It was really a gift being able to watch the designers' creative work evolve," he says. "They are truly talented people -- impressive and powerful -- and hopefully I influenced them in a positive way." Fong, who runs the Los Angeles design studio Matt Blacke, adds that this has been one of the most productive periods of his life, yet one event stands out: "The most outstanding moment of 2015 was the birth of my son."
