Sarah Easley and Beth Buccini. Photo: Kira Luxon for Kirna Zabête
Sarah (Kirna) Easley and Beth (Zabête) Buccini launched their SoHo fashion emporium, Kirna Zabête, on August 9, 1999, using their nicknames for each other (they’ve been best friends since college). Since then, they’ve launched two fragrances, opened an outpost in Japan, and have established themselves as the preeminent high-style shopping experience in New York City, counting clients like Rachel Zoe, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Chelsea Clinton as devoted patrons. Next up, they’re the latest collaborators to join forces with Target—the duo designed a collection of over 100 styles that will be sold in over 1,800 Target stores (and online) come September: dresses, leather moto jackets, printed skirts and blouses, as well as hats and scarves and jewels. In honor of their new collab, let’s hear it for Kirna and Zabête… as we give them our top ten royal treatment.
ELLE: What is your favorite smell?
Beth Buccini: My kids fresh out of the bath, the ocean, gardenias.
Sarah Easley: Well… the fragrance Kirna of course. For pure essence, I love: gardenias, cut grass, and salt water.
ELLE: What do you consider the epitome of happiness?
BB: Being with my family.
SE: Being in the hammock in Montauk with my kids.
ELLE: How do you define luxury?
BB: Sleep, staying in my pajamas until noon, massages, five-star hotels, coffee delivered to the bed on a silver tray, horseback riding, girls trips, reading in bed, fresh flowers every week, home cooked meals.
SE: Indulging in something spontaneous. Splurging on something nice enough to save for my daughter (and not losing or trashing it along the way). Not rushing. Turning the ringer off. Wearing something really fancy (like a Proenza white floor-length silk gown) in a non-fancy setting (barefoot to a beach bonfire with a baja over it, with striped Balenciaga flats with the train dragging on the street to a concert in NYC).
ELLE: What is the last dream you remember?
BB: My last two most vivid dreams involved finding out loved ones were pregnant, and correctly guessing the sex of the baby before the mothers even found out they were pregnant! Perhaps I’m psychic!
SE: I remember every single dream and am constantly looking for thinly veiled signs within them. Never really useful though for me, only others that I dream about.
ELLE: What’s your favorite childhood memory?
BB: I feel so fortunate to have had a completely idyllic childhood. My parents are both amazing and so much fun. My mother could make a trip to the 7-11 for Slurpees seem like a huge adventure. Every once in a while though she would say, “Don’t you feel a cold coming on? How about you have to miss school tomorrow?” and we would drive four hours up and back to Washington DC just to go shopping for the day. She knew how much I loved it. It should’ve been a sign!
SE: Using my mom’s real Singer sewing machine and extra Lily fabric to make little matching purses for the summer dresses and shorts she made me.
ELLE: What’s the last book you read and loved?
BB: The Paris Wife by Paula McLain.
SE: Keith Richards’ book.
ELLE: Describe your home’s aesthetic.
BB: Insanely colorful and happy.
SE: Work in progress. But very cheerful and user-friendly.
ELLE: What are your vices?
BB: Coffee, wine, dark chocolate-covered almonds, cheeseburgers.
SE: Wasting time and money at yard sales and junk shops. Baking all the time and licking the bowl. Car instead of train. Insatiable appetite for new clothes, and (costume) jewelry.
ELLE: Describe yourself in 5 words or less.
BB: Mother, fashion-lover, overachiever, happy, passionate.
SE: Mother, athlete, music-lover, Francophile, entrepreneur.
ELLE: What possession will you never throw away?
BB: My wedding band. Nearly 11 years later and neither my husband nor I have ever taken ours off.
SE: I am blessed with an incredible memory. I got it from my dad. Let’s hope I don’t lose my mind!