The atrium room at The Osborn was all dressed up in black, white and pink, as if for a “sitting,” as they used to call fashion shoots when Mrs. Babs Simpson began her twenty-five year run as an editor at Vogue.
By Tom McDermott
The atrium room at The Osborn was all dressed up in black, white and pink, as if for a “sitting,” as they used to call fashion shoots when Mrs. Babs Simpson began her twenty-five year run as an editor at Vogue. The occasion was the Miriam, A. Osborn Foundress Luncheon to benefit its H.O.P.E. Center for Memory Care, and to honor Osborn resident Mrs. Simpson, who recently celebrated her 100th birthday.
Asked recently what she’d like her legacy to be, Mrs. Simpson’s deadpan reply was, “I wouldn’t want one.”
Diana Williams of WABC hosted the event, and Osborn CEO Mark Zwerger welcomed the guests, as a silent auction was winding down. Then, everyone was treated to a stylish lunch, a short video featuring the honoree, and a hopeful message about the new Center for Memory Care.
Mrs. Simpson, known as Babs, dressed in her trademark pink pants with a black top, sat at a table surrounded by former Vogue Editor-in-Chief Grace Mirabella; Vogue’s Executive Fashion Editor Phyllis Posnick; and Hamish Bowles, Vogue’s International Editor-at-Large.
Phyllis Posnick, Babs’ former assistant, revealed that the legendary editor used to sit and needlepoint during fashion shoots and that her time with her boss “couldn’t have been better.”
Hamish Bowles said that Babs had an impeccable eye for the smallest detail, an enduring wit, and that she is still a “miracle and inspiration.”
That’s how legends are made.
