Krakoff Lets Loose His Inner Karl

(EAST HAMPTON) Though paper mache was a medium Mandy Moore admitted she had very little experience with, the actress nevertheless agreed to don a hat made from the New York Times Sunday Styles section when Reed Krakoff beckoned. The occasion? Portraits by Reed Krakoff, a special exhibit of 65 photographs the Coach president and executive creative director photographed in celebration of the Legacy collection's 65th anniversary. "I took them all with my old-school medium format film Mamiya camera," Krakoff said. "No digital here."

"I sort of felt like I was playing a part," Moore said Saturday night, where Krakoff hosted an opening party at the gleaming white gallery space above the Coach store on Main Street. "I often get so confused with so many photo shoots, but this was a fun opportunity. I didn't have any obligations, so I could let me personality come through. I was honored to be a part of it."

Martina Basabe, Ferebee Bishop, Zani Gugelmann, Amanda Hearst, and Dabney Mercer-all co-hosts of the party, not to mention photo subjects themselves-took turns playing docent in the airy space. "I can't look at myself," said a humble Basabe. "It's okay-today's your day to be vain," her husband, Fabian, said reassuringly. "I had on platform sandals and black fishnets in my photo," said Gugelmann, while Mercer joked about the orange tights she wore underneath her vintage Oscar de la Renta coat.

The unseasonable chill in the air provided the perfect occasion to don one of the cashmere Lutz & Patmos sweaters designed for Coach-and prominently displayed downstairs-but guests, including Delphine Krakoff, Pamela Fiori, Rebekah McCabe, Russell Simmons, Jesse Della Femina, and Patrick Demarchelier's son, Gustav (who was nursing a fractured right arm), all dressed as though summer would never end, sans jackets or even closed-toe shoes. The portraits, a combination of both color and black-and-white pieces, oversized for some-Jessica Joffe, Hearst, and Moore-and standard size for others, all featured some sort of Coach accessory or outerwear, be it a scarf, handbag, sunglasses, or wristlet. Hearst, for her part, wore a strapless Lanvin gown in her picture, where she modeled a Coach silk scarf, but it was Dolce & Gabbana-accessorized with a Coach clutch, natch-in which she made her early exit to a Huggy Bear dinner.

While the hostesses showed their brand loyalty by accessorizing with Krakoff's designs that night, Tinsley Mortimer was not to be outdone. Just back from a European holiday, she arrived in a newly-acquired Dsquared dress and a straw bag trimmed in gold leather that was decidedly not Coach.

"I couldn't do it," she admitted. "I have a handbag deal with Samantha Thavasa."
JIM SHI