Kirna Zabéte Celebrates the Big 2-0, Set to Toast Fendi in East Hampton

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Kirna Zabéte is all grown up, and she’s aged beautifully.

Owner Beth Buccini on Thursday will mark the 20th anniversary — which is actually Sept. 9 — by hosting a cocktail event celebrating Fendi‘s fall 2019 collection at Kirna Zabéte’s East Hampton, N.Y., digs at 66 Newtown Lane.

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Kirna Zabéte launched a pop-up shop in East Hampton in the summer of 2016. Buccini was hooked by Labor Day. “I said there is absolutely no way I’m closing this store,” she recalled. “Everyone is relaxed. You need something to wear that night. I had a sense it would work because people started calling me in [Manhattan] and saying, ‘When are you coming out? Can you bring me this or that.'”

No retail anniversary would be complete without an exclusive commemorating capsule collection. Kirna Zabéte’s features vibrantly printed summer frocks and swimsuits, sensually blended candles and acrylic neon box signs, among other products. Buccini tapped 20 designers and brands that reflect Kirna Zabéte’s colorful, exuberant ethos and were chosen for being among the store’s early brands, a recent new discoveries or touching her in some other way.

There’s Adam Lippesspecial-edition top, La Double J’s Short & Sassy floral dress, Of Rare Origin’s floral gold hoop earrings, resortwear by Le Sirenuse, Hector Saxe backgammon set, Cesta Collective bucket tote, and exclusive dresses by HVN, Johanna Ortiz, Magda Butrym and Les Reveries, among others. Prices for the capsule, which is available at Kirna Zabéte’s four locations and kirnazabete.com, range from $60 to $1,550.

East Hampton, Bryn Mawr, Pa., and Palm Beach, Fla., will activate special events to commemorate the anniversary with their customers. Events will include a pre-fall 2019 assortment launch with luxury fashion house Fendi at the East Hampton boutique, floral arrangements by FlowerBx, pastries by Dominique Ansel and clothing customization by Redone during New York Fashion Week at the SoHo boutique.

Buccini was 27 years old when she opened the 5,000-square-foot store on Greene Street in Manhattan’s SoHo, with University of Virginia pal Sarah Easley.

“I graduated at 21 and worked at Mirabella and New York Magazine,” she said. “I ended up being the fashion editor at New York Magazine. The women worked out of their apartments and took meetings in cafés. It was truly pre-Internet, we barely had e-mail addresses,” Buccini said.

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