Amy Zerner's Fashion Sense: Mixing Old with New

I have a passion for beautiful exotic, interesting and unusual textiles. In my designs, I treat fabrics like a palette, painting with bits and scraps, adding texture through piecing, topstitching and embellished beading. I choose elements and colors that I manipulate and blend to achieve my unique style.

I enjoy the improvisational nature of the collage process, playing with the materials, superimposing and letting each dream manifest itself. This process is painstaking and complex, yet contemplative and satisfying. All of my pieces are one of a kind and completely handmade with love and healing energy.

My greatest pleasure comes from making each piece unique in some way, and I design my clothing to be elegant and flattering to a woman’s body. I usually create the kind of clothes that I want to wear. This keeps me personally invested in every piece, keeping my aesthetic standards high. One garment leads me to the next, and I can’t stop, as I’m always bursting with new ideas and visions.  

These clothes are not for the meek. People like to touch my art! I often mix cultures together—for instance, the back of the jacket may have a panel of Japanese fabric mixed with a little gold thread embroidery from India. As an artist, I am convinced that wearable art is one of the most accessible mediums because many people can see my designs and creations whenever my collectors wear them. Each garment becomes a moving sculpture, and the person wearing it becomes part of the art.

Try putting unusual combinations of fabrics and colors together. Play with mixing old with new, high with low. Have fun and escape from the ordinary!

Amy Zerner is the Hamptons number one fashion blogger and fashion designer.

You can find Amy Zerner’s creations at Bergdorf Goodman in Manhattan or at Enchanted World Emporium, 8 Main Street, East Hampton, next to Rowdy Hall Restaurant, 631-324-7695.