Lilly Pulitzer’s Latest Collection Pays Homage to the Late Founder, Who Didn’t Like to Wear Shoes
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
A special Lilly Pulitzer capsule has been designed in collaboration with Lilly Pulitzer’s daughters, Minnie and Liza.
Called “Barefoot in Paradise Capsule,” the collection launches Wednesday and pays homage to the late Lilly Pulitzer, who never liked to wear shoes. The 14-piece collection captures the essence of carefree resort living, offering colors and patterns that evoke the essence of Palm Beach, Fla. Lilly Pulitzer died on April 7, 2013, at the age of 81.
More from WWD
From Pucci to Pulitzer: 'Palm Royale' Stokes Caftan Nostalgia
Lilly Pulitzer Celebrates 65th Anniversary With Badgley Mischka Capsule
This collector’s edition comes as the brand, which was sold to Oxford Industries in 2010, is celebrating its 65th year in business. Both daughters had an impact on Pulitzer’s fashion designs over the brand’s history, with a children’s collection called “Minnies” and a junior line in the early 1980s called “Liza by Lilly Pulitzer.”
In an interview, Liza Pulitzer said she worked with her mother in the early 1980s designing the Liza junior line for several years. The sisters don’t work at the company. Minnie Pulitzer is an artist and Liza Pulitzer has been in real estate.
Discussing what prompted the capsule, Liza Pulitzer said, “When the company approached us last summer, we had some wonderful conversations with them. We wanted to create something for us and our family, our children and grandchildren, something we would all be wearing, what we’d be comfortable in and what we’d all love.”
She said that Lilly Pulitzer “has always done a phenomenal line geared toward Lilly lovers.” They wanted to have the freedom to design what they love. They set out to design dresses and pants with deep pockets, soft cottons, sarongs and swimsuits. “It was so much fun to do,” said Liza Pulitzer.
Minnie Pulitzer added that she’s crazy about the sarong. “I throw it on with a T-shirt, I throw it on over my bathing suit, turn it into a dress, throw it on the [beach] chair and use it as my towel, throw it over my shoulders [in the evening] for a flash of color,” she said.
For one of her favorite looks, Liza Pulitzer touted the white jeans. “I always loved white jeans; I always thought it would be a fantastic look to have a white on white jeans. A higher-waisted jean, that you can tell it’s a Lilly. It’s off-white on top of a bright white and you can see a floral pattern on it,” she said.
They’re also excited about the palazzo pants with deep pockets, the long-sleeve linen dress, as well as the long-sleeve swimsuit, the bikini and the one-piece swimsuit with the bows in the back. The collection will carry the Lilly Pulitzer label, but will have a special collaboration hangtag that says, “Barefoot in Paradise With Minnie and Liza Pulitzer.”
The capsule, which retails from $68 to $278, will be sold at lillypulitzer.com.
Liza Pulitzer said they worked hand-in-hand with Mira Fain, executive vice president of design, who has been with Lilly Pulitzer for 18 years. “She was great to work with, really, really great,” said Liza Pulitzer, noting the capsule was celebrated Tuesday night at the Lilly Pulitzer store on Worth Avenue in Palm Beach.
Liza Pulitzer noted that their mom was a hard-working mother while they were growing up. “Mom was always working, even when she just started out making her own little dresses for herself. She would always drag Minnie and I off to her seamstress. We were always brought along, thrown in the car, and she’d come back with bolts of fabric from the dime store,” said Liza Pulitzer.
They would also accompany their mother to the factory in Miami. “Mom always had these incredible books of eyelet and all the trims. And we would play in those books. She’d be draping all these swatches of eyelet around everything. When we were looking at this beautiful caftan, the first thing we said was ‘This has got to have great eyelet on it and slits on the side,'” said Liza Pulitzer.
The two sisters, who wear Lilly Pulitzer clothing all the time, live a couple of blocks away from each other in Palm Beach. Describing their inspiration for the collection, Liza Pulitzer said that she and Minnie meet every morning at 6 a.m. to go for a walk on the beach with Liza’s dog. They always find beautiful shells. When they saw that shell print, “it just resonated with us.”
“We just loved it. We really wanted to pay homage to mom too with the flowers,” said Liza Pulitzer. They started with the blue and white and honed in the colors that meant a lot to them, she said.
Best of WWD
