Hamptons Fashion Week is celebrating industry icons and the hottest looks during a two-day tribute to fashion and the faces behind it from Friday, Aug. 29, through Saturday, Aug. 30, in Watermill.
“This year it’s called Meet the Icons,” said Event Founder Dee Rivera of DCG Media Group LLC. “It’s a White Party, and we are highlighting very key, iconic people because every year we do the fashion icon awards.”
This year’s event begins with a launch party by Zoe Hospitality at 755 Montauk Highway in Watermill on Friday with sneak peaks of Saturday’s runway collections, as well as live entertainment and networking opportunities with stylists, editors, designers and more. Artisanal cocktails and hors d’oeuvres by local chefs add to the festivities. Check-in starts around 5 p.m.
The main event is Saturday with the fashion icon awards at 5:45 p.m., runway presentations from 7-9 p.m. and after-party entertainment by DJ Jon Gosselin from “Jon & Kate Plus 8” starting at 9 p.m. Check-in on Saturday begins 1:45 p.m., and getting there early means not missing out on Bubbles & Bites featuring DJ Chef from Food Network’s "Cutthroat Kitchen" and others, as well as entertainment by Alchemy DJ Nelson, opera singer Arielle and more.
“Fashion Week is always trying to discover new and emerging designers,” Rivera said in an interview with South Shore Press, “So, one of the new designers that we have is (Himanthi Wanninayake, founder of) Atelier H. She has a beautiful ready-to-wear collection that we’re highlighting on the runway. We’re also highlighting Cesar Galindo, a celebrity designer who has been with us since the inception in 2019. Then, we have this other designer, Vernice Holmes, who does these beautiful art pieces.” Additionally, the boho chic and vintage styles of Johnny Was, another emerging design firm, will get the spotlight. Day Two calls attention to sustainable and inclusive fashion as well.
Hamptons Fashion Week has also chosen several icons for special honors, including celebrity stylist Freddie Leiba for the Style Icon Award, fashion icon Jean Shafiroff for the Philanthropy Award, Sue Phillips for the Fragrance Icon Award and media maven Victoria Schneps. Additionally, celebrity presenters will be Council of Fashion Designers of America’s Regina Kravitz (the person credited for inventing the slip dress and jumpsuit), award-winning TV and event host Prince Mario-Max, author and media maven Constance White and celebrity stylist Nolé Marin.
Rivera shared how her vision for Hamptons Fashion Week got its start. “I've been going to the Hamptons for a very long time, and I just always saw the same events over and over and over, and I felt like they were missing something different. My background is fashion, and I've been part of Fashion Week forever so I thought we should do something for Hamptons especially. So, I called my lawyer; we trademarked it; and voilà there you have it.”
She noted the tremendous growth of this event since its 2019 kick-off. “It has become a signature event that everybody goes to every year. So, it's been very exciting to see something that you create grow into something that everybody knows about,” said Rivera, a A New York native who serves on several boards.
That is not to say it’s been without growing pains. “I'm gonna be honest; it's been a lot of work period. It's like raising a child. So, when you raise a child it's so beautiful but then you're like, ‘Oh my God the preteens!’, and then they become teens. So, it's been like that but it's been very rewarding to be discovering new designers and making a difference in people's lives especially in the fashion industry.”
It is not unusual for these emerging designers to base themselves in the Hamptons, helping to grow the fashion industry locally, she added.
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