ANN CAMPION

CAMPION--Ann. Ann Campion (Thomson), (nee Cornell) July 4, 1922 -- September 23, 2012. Recognized for her flawless grace and her unerring eye for fashion, Ann Campion was a successful editor and clothing designer. As a pioneer in fashion marketing, she developed innovative approaches to media. Her clothing designs anticipated trends in sportswear that moved purely functional casual work clothes into more fashionable, sartorial designs. These lines brought an unexpected elegance to the informal lifestyle of the 1960s. She died peacefully on September 23rd in Montecito, California at the age of ninety. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Campion graduated from Smith College (Phi Beta Kappa) and moved to New York City to pursue her love of fashion. She started out as a model, but quickly established a career as a fashion editor and designer. She was an assistant editor at Vogue and an editor at Harper's Bazaar, Glamour and Life magazines. At Vogue, she worked with Irving Penn, Sally Kirkland and Alex Lieberman. At Harper's Bazaar, she worked directly with Carmel Snow and Alexy Brodovitch and was part of the team that helped develop the look for Junior Harper's. During this period she worked with a nascent Richard Avedon with whom she became good friends. In 1963, she launched her own company, Ann Campion, Inc. and produced "Gardenaires", a distinctive line of chic gardening attire for Outboard Marine Corporation. In addition to her own fashion lines, she designed products for clients including Janzen, Schraft's and 3M. She moved to Los Angeles in 1974 and opened her own boutique, Ann Campion, on Sunset Plaza. Campion designed all the clothing for the store, and represented other high-end designers such as Rudi Gernreich and Michael Vollbracht. As a women's clothing visionary, Campion described her work as "making couture fashion and style accessible for a great, everyday lifestyle." In the mid 1960s, she guided the complete renovation of The Hedges Inn in East Hampton and turned a rundown, historic inn into a charming, year-round European-style hotel. She married Frank D. Campion (deceased) in 1947 and divorced in 1964. In 1981, she married Dwight Thomson (deceased) and moved to Santa Barbara, CA. She is survived by her son Frank D. Campion, Jr. of Clemmons, NC; her daughter Ann Baird (Barry) Campion of Venice, CA; and her grandson Riley Evans of Venice.