Chessy Rayner
Chesbrough Lewis Rayner (née Hall; September 25, 1931 – February 26, 1998) was an American interior decorator, socialite, fashion editor and writer.
Early life and family
[edit]Rayner was born on September 25, 1931, in Perrysburg, Ohio, to Richard Brown West Hall (1897–1959) and Chesbrough Lewis (1912–2004). She attended finishing school and Briarcliff College.[1] After her parent's divorce, her mother remarried Iva S. V. Patcevitch, the chairman of Condé Nast.[1]
In 1952, she married William P. Rayner, a stockbroker and later Condé Nast executive, at St. Thomas Church on Fifth Avenue. They had no children and divorced in 1989.[1]
Career
[edit]After marriage, she worked for Ladies' Home Journal, Glamour and finally, Vogue where she was fashion editor 1956 to 1964.[1][2]
In 1967, she co-founded the interior design firm MAC II with Mica Ertegun (MAC being an acronym of "Mica and Chessy").[3] The firm focused on residential and commercial projects. MAC II's residential clients included Kenneth Noland, Bill Blass and Arnold Scaasi.[1][4][5] Their commercial clients included Trade Development Bank, Banco Safra and the Carlyle Hotel.[6] In 1997, Rayner published New York: Trends and Tradition, a book highlighting 27 interiors in New York City.[7]
She was described as "one of the best-dressed and most-photographed fixtures of the Manhattan social scene."[1]
Illness and death
[edit]Rayner died of lung cancer at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City on February 26, 1998, at the age of 66.[1] Her funeral, held on March 3, 1998, at St. Thomas Church, was "overflowing."[4]
In 2011, 750 items from her estate were sold on One Kings Lane.[8]
Bibliography
[edit]- Rayner, William and Chesbrough. French Cooking By The Clock. New York City: New American Library, 1965. ASIN B0000CMYCB.
- Rayner, Chessy; Schezen, Roberto. New York: Trends and Traditions. New York City: Monacelli Press, 1997. ISBN 1885254741.
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g Owens, Mitchell (February 28, 1998). "Chessy Rayner, 66, Decorator and Fashion Icon, Dies". The New York Times. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
- ^ Horyn, Cathy; Blass, Bill (August 2002). "What a swell party it was". Vanity Fair. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
- ^ Taylor, Elsie (December 6, 2023). ""I Hate Clutter": The Chic, Cultivated Interiors of Mica Ertegun, As Seen in Vogue". Vogue. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
- ^ a b Norwich, William (March 9, 1998). "Remembering Chessy Rayner's Friendship and Restraint". Observer. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
- ^ Larocca, Amy (August 26, 2002). "Playing Chessy". New York. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
- ^ "Chessy Rayner: 1993 Hall of Fame Inductee". Interior Design. June 1, 2014. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
- ^ Norwich, William (December 15, 1997). "Chessy Rayner Has the Key to the City…or at least 27 of its finest residences". Observer. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
- ^ Suqi, Rima (November 2, 2011). "Chessy Rayner Estate Sale on One Kings Lane". The New York Times. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
- 1931 births
- 1998 deaths
- People from Perrysburg, Ohio
- Socialites from New York City
- Fashion editors
- American debutantes
- American interior designers
- American women interior designers
- American magazine editors
- American women magazine editors
- 20th-century American women writers
- Deaths from lung cancer in New York (state)