editor’s letter
Above: My mother and grandmother sitting at Fashion Week in the 1960s. The shift dresses shown in this clipping are as timeless as the women who wear them. Left: the poster for a new documentary film by Richard Press, Bill Cunningham New York, which opens at Film Forum this month.
Everyone remembers her first time—for me it was at
the Plaza Hotel in the ’80s. I sat second row behind my grandmother and mother at one of Adolfo’s fashion shows. It seemed pretty glamorous to me at the age of six; in fact, it seems pretty glamorous to me now. It occurred to me, standing this year in the entry to the tents at Lincoln Center, that the current experience of Fashion Week is not unlike an airport—complete with a self check-in kiosk, a Starbucks counter, security lines, and, of course, runways. Much has changed since my first fashion show—even more since the days when my mother was the head fashion coordinator at Saks, and designers showed in their atelier on Seventh Avenue to a handful of buyers, editors, and special clients. That said, after visiting Angel Sanchez in his atelier this season to view his fall collection, I returned to the office reaffirmed in my belief that classic fashion (and classic fashion designers) are alive and well in our rush-about world. Three of the features this month—one on Spain’s influence on Balenciaga, one on Christian Dior’s penetration of the American market, and a profile of the Belgian leather-goods company Delvaux—are steeped in history. These pieces add richness and depth to this issue, and, looking at them as a collective, they also bring a unique international flair. Still, in this fashion issue, the heart of Quest beats with something new and modern—and something distinctly New York. We open with Daniel Cappello’s cover story focusing on eight classic women dressed for New York. Beginning with 18 QUEST
Allison Aston’s breakfast meeting at Monkey Bar and concluding with Quest’s own Hilary Geary Ross, ready to cover a black-tie ball at the Plaza, we take you through their days. Each subject, including our cover girl, Punch Hutton, approaches fashion with a unique style befitting her career and life. Elsewhere in the issue, we asked ten leading New York fashion designers to create a design for a woman who inspires them. From Ralph Lauren’s timeless look for Blair Husain to Naeem’s Khan’s flirty number for Linda Fargo, these illustrations also remind us of what is a constant in fashion: creativity. Finally, we offer our annual best-dressed list. Best-dressed lists are not a new invention. Flipping through my grandmother’s scrapbook, I found many clippings from the 1960s that felt as if they could have appeared in last week’s Women’s Wear Daily. And while fashion, by its very nature, changes, the essence of a well-dressed woman is enduring. These stories all focus not only on the fashion of today, but also highlight the women of today. No one documents the fashion and women (and men) of today better than the subject of a new film opening at Film Forum this month. Bill Cunningham New York is a fabulous documentary about a great New Yorker. During the film, Cunningham says, “I like fashion as an art form of dressing the body. If we all went out dressed like a slob like me, it would be a pretty dreary world.” The counter-argument comes from Iris Apfel, who says, “Now see, I think Bill is very stylish. He has a look. It’s individual…” Real style is having your own individual look that fits your life—whether that means a glamorous hautecouture creation or a street sweeper’s smock like Cunningham. Style is about knowing yourself. So, while I hope these pages are inspirational, take them as a mere jumping-off point. Go out and have some fun and get creative. Feel the street-side energy that this city has always been and always will be famous for. It’s what keeps New York—and New Yorkers—forever in style. u
Georgina Schaeffer
on the cover: Vanity Fair's Punch Hutton photographed at work in a dress by Carolina Herrera and pearl earrings by Tiffany & Co. Hutton is one of the women featured in Daniel Cappello's cover story, "Dressing For New York: Eight Women of Substance and Style," photographed by Hannah Thomson.