Q U I N T E S S E N T I A L
S T Y L E
EDITOR’S LETTER
Coco Chanel was as famous for her insightful wit as she was for her revolutionary fashion. “Success is often achieved by those who don’t know that failure is inevitable,” she once said. How true that is, for it is only in identifying our limitations that we allow them to exist. Think about it: How many times have you thought to yourself, “How will I get through all of this?” Chanel was talking about achievers who don’t question, and her view serves as an apt reminder to us all as we strive to succeed this Fall. This issue of Q is brimming with young, brilliant success stories to which Mme. Chanel refers. Take, for starters, Charlotte Ronson. I first met Charlotte during our white-gloved classes at the Knickerbocker Dancing School. I followed her career early on, visiting her loft in 2002 when she was designing “C.Ronson.” Charlotte started designing clothes for her friends (she has very fashionable friends!), and that’s how her clothing line took off. Headstrong and fashion-savvy, I knew then that Charlotte would go far. Harry Benson has brilliantly captured her latest fashion show for us, and Q’s own Elizabeth Quinn Brown offers an informative look at the effortlessly chic urban designer. The cool and comely Helena Khazanova (recently married in Ibizia!) brings us the story of Shauna Mei and her brainchild, AHA Life. Having moved with her family to the U.S. after the Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989, Shauna graduated from MIT, after which she joined Goldman Sachs, and later co-founded a global luxury-investment group. “I have this gene in me, I have a ferocious passion to change the world,” she says. In her AHA moment, Shauna created something she calls a “buy button for lifestyle.” AHAlife is an online discovery destination where you can learn about, and purchase, the most unique products from around the world, from high-end jewelry and iPad cases to mobile phones and caviar kits—all curated by AHA’s special group of influential tastemakers. Check it out (and join!) at ahalife.com. Another contributor (and recently wed as well—in Hamburg!), Kathryn Bohannon, contributes a piece on the twin designers behind the clothing line Meier from Hamburg. Recently, I saw Kathryn wearing one of these designs—a shearling vest that I absolutely loved (and must have as well!). Kathryn has always possessed such savvy style and not only will you want to wear the clothes she writes about, but I guarantee you’ll get a chuckle from her her ever-entertaining charm and wit. We also profile the new volume Marisa Berenson: A Life in Pictures (Rizzoli). Although Berenson once said, “I never thought of myself as a beauty,” the captivating images illustrate why she was dubbed fashion’s “It Girl” by Yves Saint Laurent. Liz Smith offers a look at another great “It Girl,” Doris Day. Miss Day, independent and nobody’s fool, was a female role model with more grit and feminist virtues than she seems to have been credited for. Pert nose and famous freckles be damned! For a more fun kind of grit—on the field—check out Georgina Schaeffer’s piece on our Q sport for the season, polo. Another member of the Q team, Daniel Cappello, delivers a fresh account of the current resort fashions. This year, designers raised the bar and Clockwise from top left: Backstage at the Charlotte Ronson took their resort shows to especially spectacular locations (Douglas Spring 2012 fashion show; Manolo Blahnik’s Fringestra evening Hannant on the battleship Intrepid, Salvatore Ferragamo at the Duke shoe; fall fashion shoot in Millbrook horse country; J.Crew’s Mansion…exciting!). Read Daniel’s roundup and reflection (Page 60) Colony clutch by Fiona Kotur; new shades from Anne Fontaine; for the full story. an effervescent Brigitte Bardot; stylish contributor Kathryn Finally, remember that life and fashion go hand in hand when you Bohannon; new boots from Hunter Boot; makeup sensation Jouer; think upon what President John F. Kennedy’s adage: “Change is the Ferragamo’s Resort 2012 collection at the Duke House; J.Crew’s law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain leather fedora; singer Carly Simon; a Valentino camel coat. to miss the future.” u
ELIZABETH MEIGHER EDITOR