“I’m like a magpie . . . I love anything that sparkles!” says Guinness. This sequined Chanel jacket with feather trim will be on exhibit. Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld has often cited the socialite as an inspiration. (
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You could call Daphne Guinness the Lady Gaga of couture. Often described as a lovably eccentric English beer heiress and artist, Guinness (full name: the Honorable Daphne Suzannah Diana Joan Guinness — her paternal grandmother was one of the infamous Mitford sisters) is most known for her fabulously over-the-top attire. The 43-year-old has a strange and rarefied personal style: platinum hair striped with black, usually twisted into a regal chignon, and a rail-thin body balanced atop insanely high, heel-less platforms.
Guinness — who can usually be found on the New York society, fashion and art circuits — will be honored with an exhibit of her own clothes at the Museum at FIT, opening today — an unusual tribute for a fashion icon that’s still living.
But Guinness is a rare bird: “We’ve had lots of exhibitions on designers, but very few about women who wear it and make fashion come alive after it comes off the runway,” says the Fashion Institute of Technology museum’s chief curator, Valerie Steele. She co-curated the show with Guinness after proposing it to her at a Couture Council luncheon two years ago.
The best part, she says, was going through Guinness’ closets with her: “I started the first of many visits of her closets — and I say plural — in New York. She also has a room [full of] racks and racks of clothes in her apartment in London.
“Daphne is one of a kind,” says Ken Downing, fashion director for Neiman Marcus. “The thing about Daphne is that she’s a very shy woman, and you wouldn’t realize it by her extroverted personal style.”
And unlike celebs who borrow their clothing and jewels for events, Guinness is wealthy enough to pay for everything herself.
The exhibit showcases more than 100 pieces of clothing and accessories from her personal collection, plus photos and Guinness’ artwork, which includes films and video. It will also feature a dozen Alexander McQueen pieces that have never been publicly displayed.
“This [exhibit] is not just an accumulation of couture dresses,” says Steele. “It’s the art of couture, but seen through the lens of one woman’s personal style.”
Here are some selections from the show, as well as comments from Guinness — culled from the exhibit’s accompanying book.
“Daphne Guinness” at the Museum at FIT (227 W. 27th St., at Seventh Avenue; fitnyc.edu); free.