"This Side of Paradise" is a well known novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, but it's also an iconic indie film by legendary American film makerJonas Mekas. The film's full title is "This Side of Paradise: Fragments of an Unfinished Biography" follows Jackie Kennedy and her children on their summer vacation in Montauk at Andy Warhol's legendary Eothen compound after the death of their father JFK. The rare footage, along with vintage photos by famed Montauk resident Peter Beard, served as a starting point for inspiration for this collection.
A page from the scrapbook of photographer Peter Beard.
Montauk feels simultaneously like the edge of the world and the center of the universe. And, it’s an extremely important part of my life. Montauk is my summer home, but also my soulful place. It’s where I, along with so many others, find respite from the bustling thrills of Manhattan and draw so much creative energy.
There are so many Montauks that inspire. This collection hones in on the crowd of artists, musicians, models and misfits, gathered together so glamorously at Andy Warhol’s Montauk retreat, Eothen, in the early 70s and onward. It was a time immortalized in photos by Montauk resident Peter Beard – whose own home on the cliffs served as my wedding location in 2011.
The Rolling Stones, pictured at Eothen in 1975.
Lee Radziwill brought her sister Jackie O and her two young kids (JFK Jr. and Caroline) to inaugurate Warhol’s new beachside property, and shortly after more names followed, including Mick Jagger, who famously recorded with The Stones there, Liz Taylor, John Lennon, Liza Minnelli and more. Back then, it was classic prep meets rock n’ roll cool – a perfect clash of styles that have inspired this collection today.
Photographer Jonas Mekas captures a young Anthony Radziwill and John F. Kennedy Jr. dancing to a Rolling Stones recording at Eothen in 1972.
These photos were shot on the very beach in front of Warhol’s old estate by our friend Sophie Elgort, who herself grew up riding horses in Montauk a stone’s throw from the property. Many were shot on film in the same style as Beard's. Our indoor scenes capture the interiors of iconic old Montauk –a bygone summer camp’s cabins and mess hall turned artists’ compound on Lake Montauk – untouched since the 60s.
Montauk is moody yet playful. It’s cool, it’s wild, and it's rarified. More than anything, it is its own singular and fascinating self. And, like some castaway drift log, it’s swept me away - entirely and irrevocably.
xo Rachelle
