Our new anniversary issue, PALMER Vol. 10, is out and it is bigger and better than ever. Editorial Director Stefano Tonchi gives a preview of what to expect.
Suzy Menkes, the iconic British fashion critic for the International Herald Tribune, who I hired as a columnist at T magazine and sat next to me for years at the New York shows, used to tell me with a giggle of defiance that only in America do daughters want to dress like their mothers.
Her opinion on the state of fashion in the States was meant to be provocative, but in Palm Beach, daughters and sons would nod with approval. There is a sense of respect for family heritage and transgenerational values that still define the way of life here. Not every family might live happily ever after—the husband with his third wife, the grandparents cohabiting with the two generations of strangers!—but at least in the public eye, relatives of different ages are commonly seen enjoying each other’s company and engaging in sports together. Large multigenerational families with the best-known surnames in finance, real estate, politics, and art—check out our story on the Acquavella family in Chapter 8—have been using Palm Beach as their playground for more than a century, not only for life’s signature events, like weddings and birthdays, but also for everyday. It is not rare to see a father and his sons playing golf together at the same exclusive club, or a mother and her daughters shopping together in the same luxury boutique, looking very similar in their clothing and physical appearance.
Lilly Pulitzer and her daughters Minnie and Liza at Home in Palm Beach in 1963. Credit: Howell Conant/TimePix
The new generation of swans living on the island might be professional philanthropists and have the education of their children as the focus of their lives (as we show in our photography portfolio in Chapter 6), but they still remind us of a lifestyle that their parents’ generation enjoyed. In a way, Suzy’s cheeky observation is spot on. The history of the Lilly Pulitzer brand and the family dynasty behind it is a telling example of such Palm Beach style: We have seen that flower-print dress worn throughout the decades by mothers, daughters, and granddaughters; or a Lilly-lined blazer and matching tie on male family members. This is why, to celebrate PALMER’s 10th issue, we are featuring a recently reissued Lilly Pulitzer print on the cover. First created in 1971, “Poppyland” features a lush, oversized floral with intricate linework and Lilly’s signature hidden among the petals. This print captures the playful spirit of the brand, then and now, one that celebrates heritage and the breeze of Palm Beach’s good life.
Building a family retreat away from the crowds and in the sunshine did not always require accumulating vast real estate properties, building mansions with more rooms than a hotel, acquiring huger boats, bigger airplanes, larger ballrooms. But for today’s very rich, and even for our President, more is more. Some of Palm Beach’s uber-wealthy have been taking this sport to an entirely new level, as our Editor-at-Large Michael Gross reports in his story on trophy properties and what he calls “polydomary.” The idea to create a haven for relatives and friends under the same roof—maybe multiple roofs—for generations to come is as old as Palm Beach, and certainly a signature of the island. In the end, showing and sharing your wealth with whom you consider your family is actually the most delicious reward for making money.
As a corollary, entertaining at home has always been part of the Palm Beach lifestyle, no matter if the host was cooking for 30 on the fly, as Lilly Pulitzer’s daughter Liza fondly remembers, or serving a menu catered by famous chefs flown in for the occasion. We were lucky enough to discover the book Palm Beach Entertains: Then and Now, published by The Junior League of the Palm Beaches in 1976, where the ladies of Palm Beach shared cocktail and dinner advice, as well as secret recipes and their fair share of local gossip.
Today, entertaining at home has become a global trend, as our European correspondent Dana Thomas reports. It’s no surprise that every luxury company on Worth Avenue now has a collection of china and crystal, logo-ed fabrics, and objects. When every branded super-luxury hotel in the world tries to create an exclusive club atmosphere and offer personalized service, it would seem only natural to up again the level of hospitality in your own home.
Invitation for dinner at Villa Artemis illustrated by Konstantin Kakanias.
In this issue, which is focused on home and design, we also took a peek inside some of Palm Beach’s majestic houses. Conservation is highly appreciated on and around the island, and the dedication of Gary and Katherine Parr to renovate Consuelo Vanderbilt’s Casa Alva in Manalapan to its original splendor is a prime example. Of course, new buildings and new interiors can also pay respect to historic heritage while adding a modernist vision. In Chapter 4, we appreciate the work of interior designer Victoria Hagan (full disclosure, she is very close to me and the wife of Michael Berman). Hagan’s combination of contemporary art, design objects, and modern furniture with classic Palm Beach Mediterranean and Spanish revival architecture is an inspiration for Palm Beach style today: Something different and more modern than what you can find in an Assouline book or watch on the Apple TV show Palm Royale.
One of the joys of Palm Beach is that it doesn’t take itself too seriously. Its residents know there is a time and place for decorum and restraint. And there is a time to kick off your shoes and relax in the sun. We honor that contradiction, and sense of humor, in our design portfolio. We also photographed a colorful array of vintage cars discovered on the streets of Palm Beach, which says as much about the eccentric style of automobiles as the people who drive them. We hope that unconventional streak never changes.
To purchase our new anniversary issue, Vol. 10, click here.
