Interview: Claudia Bodin And Moira Gilbert Mix Fashion And Art At Their Gallery Designer Sale

During the last weekend of June, two Europeans took over at the Kathryn Markel gallery in Bridgehampton, filling it with colorful, airy pieces of clothing, and turning it into the chicest sample sale the Hamptons has ever seen. The walls were covered with beautiful watercolors courtesy of artist Kim Uchiyama, which perfectly complimented the clothing that was hand selected by Claudia Bodin, a German Art correspondent based in New York, and Moira Gilbert, a player in the American and European fashion scene.

Claudia worked in the fashion industry before writing for German publications of Rolling Stone, Marie Claire and Art Magazine, assuring the selection of clothes from Nicole Miller, Tracy Reese, Delfina, Corey Lynn Calter, and Alabama Project would be perfect to wear to an evening out to dinner or as a comfy gala dress.

[Claudia Bodin, Moira Gilbert]

This time around, from July 26-29, the girls will be featuring a selection of designer clothes alongside the artwork of Eric Blum, Dan Gualdoni and Annie Wildey. 10 percent of sales will go to GlassRoots, a non-profit creative initiative for young, undeserved people in New York.

Moira Gilbert and Claudia Bodin took time from hanging out between the colorful racks of clothing to give me a bit of info about their gallery sales, and their lives out East!

How did you put the gallery together?

Claudia Bodin: My friend Moira has been in the fashion industry for more than 20 years. And I've been a journalist in the contemporary art field for a number of years. We've always wanted to do something that combined our work, and this idea was always boiling. We both meet Kathryn, and after talking for about 5 minutes we came to the idea to do a pop up shop. We originally came into her gallery because we loved the pieces she was showing.

Did the art inspire the clothing or did the clothing inspire the art?

CB: We knew the artist that was going to show, Kim Uchiyama, so we were familiar with the work and visited the designers that Moira worked with. We picked clothing according, basing it on the designers we liked, but we also wanted to have a mix for different age groups as well. Nicole Miller for the sexy yet elegant older crowd, Alabama Project for the younger bohemian crowd, as well as Delfina, Tracy Resse, Miguelina and Plenty.

Moira Gilbert: I just contacted people I knew in fashion and figured out what would work for both a local and tourist clientele as well as with the artwork. I tried to find things that are unique in their own way. Some things are vintage inspired while others are more glamorous and sexy, more sophisticated.

CB: But it's not just about the clothing, we wanted people to still look at the art!

Will the collection change every week?

MG: We will change up the inventory after each weekend, to see what works and what doesn't and what the customer is interested in. We're doing this so we can get a good mix of inventory and a good mix of customers.

To you are fashion and art related?

CB: Both are a certain artistic expression. One way to express yourself is to create a painting, and how you dress every day can be a form of expressing yourself as well, from the colors you pick to how gutsy or subtle you want to be.

What are your favorite Spots out East?

CB: We are totally Montauk people. Our whole group of Europeans just stays in the same area. When we do venture out, we love to visit the Surf Lodge and the Crows Nest. If we come out on a Thursday we will go to the Surf Lodge to listen to a concert, but avoid it for the craziness of the weekend.

What is your favorite beach to visit?

CB: We usually just walk down to the closest beach, it's the easiest. Lots of surfers in the house, but for them even Ditch plains is too insane.

The Gallery Designer Sale is July 26-29 from 10 AM to 7 PM and Labor Day Weekend.

Kathryn Markel Fine Arts 2418 Montauk Highway, Bridgehampton