NAN KEMPNER: AMERICAN CHIC

December 12, 2006 - March 4, 2007
The Costume Institute, ground floor
Nan Kempner (1930–2005) was once called “la plus chic du monde” by Yves Saint Laurent and “the world’s most famous clotheshorse” by Vanity Fair. From the time her mother began to initiate her into the world of the haute couture, Mrs. Kempner appreciated the aesthetic value of high fashion. After making her first acquisition of a Dior sheath in Paris in the 1950s, she continued to attend the couture shows in the French capital for nearly 40 years.

Together with Thomas L. Kempner—her husband of more than five decades—and their three children, Mrs. Kempner divided most of her time between a Manhattan apartment and a home in Purchase, New York. But she was also a member of the international set, known for always carrying her passport in her handbag because "You never know where you might have to be." Included in a social circle that Women’s Wear Daily called “the Cat Pack” in the 1970s, Mrs. Kempner entertained and traveled extensively, particularly to such favorite destinations as London, Paris, Gstaad, Venice, and the Caribbean. Whether crossing a time zone or the equator, she always kept suitable ensembles at hand. She did not rotate her wardrobe seasonally, preferring instead to have everything available in her Park Avenue apartment. In the closets that accommodated her multi-season array of clothing, bikinis were stored next to sweaters, and linen shifts and T-shirts near coats and skiwear.

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