Endless Summer: Palm Beach Resort Wear November 9, 2023 - May 25, 2024
Richard & Pat Johnson Palm Beach County History Museum
This season the Richard and Pat Johnson Palm Beach County History Museum will present its first-ever Grand Exhibition. Endless Summer will explore the impact Palm Beach made on resort fashion over the last 129 years, as it solidified itself as one of America’s premier luxury destinations, where winter comes to summer. In this top fashion hub, brands such as Gucci, Chanel, Philip Hulitar, and St. John, as well as iconic fashion influencers such as Jacqueline Kennedy, Lilly Pulitzer, and others adopted fresh new looks, ingenuity, and a philanthropic spirit.
The Fashion Beaux Arts, a fashion and entertainment mecca in Palm Beach from 1916 to 1942, included the latest New York and Paris fashion houses, transforming Palm Beach into the winter fashion capital of the world. When the 1920s building boom that followed World War I caused a demand for accessible fashions from Europe, the rise of Worth Avenue began, and the Palm Beach look was born. After World War II, the Royal Poinciana Plaza was built, and the luxurious lifestyle in Palm Beach became synonymous with fashion, specifically resort wear.
A force in retail luxury fashion, Martha Phillips—joined by her daughter Lynn Manulis—brought leading couture designers to Martha’s Boutique on Worth Avenue. Martha’s legacy lives on in the fashion icons she encouraged and promoted in the North American marketplace, including Valentino and Zang Toi.
The Johnson History Museum invited Cameron Silver, King of Vintage, to share his perspective as guest curator of Endless Summer: Palm Beach Resort Wear. Curated artifacts from many private collections, as well as Kent State University, the Pucci Archives, and the Long Island Museum of American Art, History, and Carriages, join treasures from the Historical Society of Palm Beach County’s Collection to showcase the importance of Palm Beach in fashion history.
The Historical Society of Palm Beach County and the Richard and Pat Johnson Palm Beach County History Museum offer their thanks to those who helped make possible Endless Summer: Palm Beach Resort Wear.
Special Guest Curator
Cameron Silver
Content Contributor
Rick Rose
Host Committee, Chair
Sonja Stevens
Host Committee
Kenneth Baboun
Lori Berg
Brian Cantor
Caroline Collings
Valerie Cooper
Linda Salandra Dweck
Shari Liu Fellows
Beth Fishel
Tommy Hilfiger
Janet Himmel
Eleanora Kennedy
Paul Labrecque
Daphne Nikolopoulos
Dee Ocleppo
Anka Palitz
Lisa Perry
Farley Rentschler
Jean Shafiroff
Krystian von Speidel
Steven Stolman
Veronica Webb
Sarah Wetenhall
Artist in Residence
Camilla Webster
Junior Committee, Chair
Katherine Lande
Junior Committee
Collin Adams
Bettina Anderson
Kent Anderson
Samantha Anderson
Lizzi Bickford
Nikki Cooney
Devorah Ezagui
Lilly Leas Ferreira
Danielle Goreski
Jay Hartigan
Ryan Hollihan
Brooke Kosinski
Stacey Leuliette
Patrick McNeely
Molly Mele
Nick Mele
Heather Mnuchin
Charlotte Munder
Whitney Schott
Cori Lee Seaberg
Sue Jin Seth
Hillary Thomas
Grace Hyde Walker
Sarah Bray West
Title Sponsor
Media Sponsor
Main Contributing Partners
Additional Brands Represented in the Exhibition
Ala Von Auersperg
Alfred Fiandaca
Bill Blass
Chanel
Christian Dior
Halston
Hulitar
Kirna Zabete
Marissa’s Collections
Patrick Kelly
Valentino
Additional Partners
Discover the Palm Beaches
Kassatly’s
Lycette
Maus & Hoffman
Out East Rose
Paul Labrecque Salon & Skincare Spa
Royal by Amy Royal
The Colony Hotel
The Royal
Worth Avenue Association
Additional Engagement Opportunities
The Richard and Pat Johnson Palm Beach County History Museum
Admission is FREE to the public. The museum is located on the 2nd floor of the restored 1916 Courthouse at 300 North Dixie Highway, in downtown West Palm Beach.
