Geoffrey Beene, dress, Spring 1988. Collection of Phoenix Art Museum, Gift of Patsy Tarr. Photo by Dan Vermillion.

FRONTDOORS MAGAZINE | 47 COVER STORY PHOENIX ART MUSEUM AND PHILANTHROPIST ELLEN KATZ PREMIERE GEOFFREY BEENE EXHIBITION IN THE VALLEY You might know Geoffrey Beene’s name from his men’s shirts or Grey Flannel cologne. What you may not know is that Mr. Beene — as he was known in his lifetime — was also an exquisite craftsman, the maker of visionary haute couture for women, who combined luxury with superb design and comfort. “That is a blend that we do not find with many designers,” said Helen Jean, the Jacquie Dorrance curator of fashion design at Phoenix Art Museum. “Mr. Beene’s contemporaries were also making beautiful, luxurious garments using incredible fabrics. But Mr. Beene was committed to comfort.” Today, thanks to the friendship between a New York publisher and a local philanthropist, Phoenix Art Museum possesses one of the premier collections of Geoffrey Beene’s work and is preparing to tell an important part of his story to the world. Born in 1924, Geoffrey Beene was one of the most awarded designers of all time — a designer’s designer who dressed movie stars like Faye Dunaway and Glenn Close and first ladies like Lady Bird Johnson, Pat Nixon and Nancy Reagan. Deemed an “American Original” by the Smithsonian, Beene received eight Coty Awards, the most awarded to any one designer. Yet despite his success, the soft-spoken Beene nimbly, repeatedly pivoted to experiment with movement and form. Phoenix Art Museum’s new exhibition, MOVE: The Modern Cut of Geoffrey Beene , examines the bold, imaginative fashions of the late designer, specifically his work in the mid-1990s. “During that time, he was doing these beautiful runway ballets, where he was working with choreographers and dancers to create fully realized balletic presentations that were his runway shows,” Jean said. BY KAREN WERNER B EENE Photo by Jack Deutsch TOWN