A Captivating Collection

Of all the exquisite pageantries to behold at last Thursday’s SCAD Atlanta Scholarship Gala and Art Auction, one of the most shining displays was that of the fashions of C.Z. Guest, a 20th century socialite famed as much for her philanthropy as her acquaintances with such luminaries as Truman Capote, Ernest Hemingway and, through her marriage to polo champion Windsor Guest, his cousin Winston Churchill. Notably, she was also a friend of top designers, and over the years she amassed a collection of garments and accessories as extensive as it was inspired. 

C.Z.’s daughter Cornelia—dubbed the “Debutante of the Decade” by friend Andy Warhol in 1982—has retained her place in the limelight as an accomplished actress, decorated equestrian, philanthropist and entrepreneur boasting a new line of eco-friendly products. Five years after C.Z.’s passing in 2003, Guest donated more than 400 fashion objects, including gowns, coats, shoes, bags, sweaters, scarves and more to the permanent collection at the Savannah College of Art & Design in her honor.

Guest’s decision to choose SCAD was not taken lightly. She already admired the university’s equestrian program and had donated horses to it, so when it came time to find a final resting place for many of her mother’s finest clothes, she didn’t want them hanging in a closet or collecting dust in just any museum.

“I really wanted [the students] to learn because I think that the art of fashion is slowly leaving us… I wanted people to see how these clothes are so beautifully done and for [the students] to look at them and be inspired… because Mainbocher, Paco Rabanne, Adolfo—they were all couturiers and they really knew how to sew.”

Other design houses represented in the collection include Oscar de la Renta, Chanel, Lagerfeld, Balmain, Valentino, Yves Saint Laurent, Bill Blass and Givenchy, as well as two silk Delphos-style gowns designed by Mario Fortuny, which are still considered some of the rarest and most sought after in fashion because of the intricate pleating process Fortuny patented, but that has been lost through the decades. “You always wrap them; never hang them,” Guest notes. “These were wrapped in boxes of my mother’s and I’ll never forget the day I pulled out a box thinking ‘I wonder what’s in here,’ and it was Fortuny! Some really wonderful surprises came with going through these clothes.” 

Guest credits the quality of SCAD’s curation, along with the fact that university gives her free rein to copy the garments—or even whisk one away to wear for a special occasion—for her unwavering confidence in selecting the school for their safekeeping. 

“Tonight when I walked into the gala, and as I was talking to the students upstairs earlier and seeing the clothes on display this afternoon, and meeting Summer, who cares for them, I knew that I had made the right decision,” Guest explains. “President [Paula] Wallace is amazing. Everyone at SCAD is amazing. I’m so happy to be a part of it.”

C.Z. Guest’s fashions can be viewed in the Mélange d’Art Sélect exhibition at the SCAD Museum of Art at the Savannah College of Art and Design, Kiah Hall, 227 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Savannah, Georgia. (912) 525-7191; scad.edu/museum