“If These Hats Could Tawk”
Opening July 13 at the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU
Irene Williams: Queen of Lincoln Road
Harkens Back to a More Colorful Time on South Beach
She is remembered fondly, and vividly for her fashionable strolls up and down her Lincoln Road runway on South Beach during the 1980s and 1990s. Irene Williams’ handmade outfits were so eye-catching she would often turn heads, and this year she would have turned 100.
The Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU presents a summer pop-up show that borrows its name from the award-winning documentary by Eric Smith. The installation features 33 of Irene’s original handcrafted hats, historic photos and her letters that together illustrate the spirited story of one of South Beach’s most beloved characters. All of the objects on view were willed to filmmaker/designer Eric Smith and have been donated to the museum’s permanent collection.
The opening reception at the museum on July 13 will feature a showing of the documentary film by Smith, that won numerous awards on the film festival circuit. The filmmaker will attend the opening reception and will introduce his film, and discuss some of the items in the show. Also on view are a series of similarly splashy hats from the personal collections of community leaders Isabel Bernfeld Anderson and George Neary.
Irene Williams was called “Queen of Lincoln Road” because she walked back and forth every day from one end of the pedestrian mall (where she lived), to the other end (where her stenographer’s office was located) for over 40 years from the 1960s until 2001 (she passed in 2004).
Irene created her outsider couture from unconventional materials such as fake-fur toilet seat covers, bath mats, and towels. She made a fashion statement every day of her life on the streets of South Beach, decked out in her own creations, including more than 100 handmade hats and carefully coordinated ensembles.
Passersby would stop in their tracks to take in the sight of her head-to-toe looks: she created furry covers for her shoes, leggings, mini-skirts, knitted tops, hats, earrings, necklaces and buttons. Bright lavender, chartreuse, fuchsia, lemon-yellow and candy-pink were the norm. Irene even made covers for her over-sized, four-wheeled briefcase that matched her outfits.
Click here to read in-depth about the Queen of Lincoln Road, courtesy of News Travels Fast!
Irene Williams: Queen of Lincoln Road ©2004 World Love Productions, Inc (TRT 23 min) from eric on Vimeo.
