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Is there an inherent connection between fashion and the Hamptons? According to Pamela Fiori, editor in chief of Town & Country magazine, and Stan Herman, past president of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, the answer is a definite yes. As co-curators of “The Art of Fashion in the Hamptons,” they present visual proof of that connection with displays by nine renowned contemporary designers who all have homes here and strong loyalties to the area.
Fashion in the Hamptons did not start with these designers, of course. It did not even start, as you might expect, with the wealthy summer communities that were established in the 1880s. From the time of the colonial settlements onward, local women and not a few men (notably the Reverend Samuel Buell) were paying attention to what they wore. The first settlers would shear sheep, spin yarn, make fabric, and sew clothes at home. But as early as the end of the 17th century, with increasing prosperity, ready made or custom-made clothing became the style.
We know a lot about this because local clothes and accessories have been preserved and are housed at the East Hampton Historical Society. The collection is unusual in that it contains more than the wedding dresses and ceremonial clothes you expect to be passed on from generation to generation; it has many examples of what people might wear just to stroll down Main Street.
On this same Main Street, the Guild Hall exhibition showcases art, fashion and the qualities of life in the Hamptons in vignettes that extend the boundaries of both fashion and art. Designers were free to use art from Guild Hall’s permanent collection (as well as other works by local artists). “It’s almost impossible to get nine designers of this stature together,” Stan Herman explained. “But the idea of art interacting with design resonated with them, and so did the idea of creating installations in a respected museum like Guild Hall.”
The result is not merely a spin on art and clothes, but a serious exploration the intersection of fashion, art, nature, beauty and our East End lifestyle. “The same things that attracted the artists here so deeply and strongly—the beauty, the landscape, the light—also attracted and powerfully affected the designers,” Pamela Fiori told us. “The enthusiasm of the designers for this show was incredible.”
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The Art of Fashion in the Hamptons
The designers, their themes and the art:
Ralph Lauren
--the artist’s studio with work by Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner
Donna Karen
--meditation and relaxation with sculpture by Stephan Weiss
Reed Krakoff
--hedges and grand lawn with photo of Tony Rosenthal cube.
Tory Burch
--fishing and dunes with collage by John Little
Betsey Johnson
--summer wedding and love in the Hamptons
Calvin Klein
--beach with Robert Wilson chair
Nicole Miller
--oceans with Clifford Smith painting
Elie Tahari
--home entertaining with work by Willem de Kooning
Vera Wang
--nature with Arthur Becker photograph