The Art of Dressing

When Tziporah Salamon opens her closet in the morning, she doesn’t see racks of impeccably tailored designer garments, over-the-top hats and pristine pumps. The legendary fashion icon sees infinite opportunities to bring her art form to the streets of New York City.

“The essence of my being is that I dress,” the iconic fashionista told the audience who came to hear her speak at the RISD Auditorium on Thursday. “It’s what I do.”

As she twirled a vintage Asian parasol, the self-made Israeli-born stylist performed The Fabric of My Life: A Sartorial Autobiography. In the one-woman show, Salamon recounted her experiences growing up the child of Hungarian Holocaust survivors and moving to the United States at the tender age of nine.

“I quickly came to hate the first day of school,” remembered Salamon. “I couldn’t spell my first name in English. Everyone made fun of it. But as I grew older, I found that it fit. I was unique.”

Salamon’s special sense of style frequently catches the eye of the New York glitteratti. She’s often featured in On the Street, Bill Cunningham’s ever-popular style blog. “Notice that every outfit has a hat,” she said, as she took off a shiny black cap and pointed to photos of herself as a small girl. “As you can see, that trend continues today.”

The one-woman show was co-sponsored by Clad in Providence (a women’s clothing boutique managed by Leslie Grant 79 AP) and the Apparel Design department.