Katharine Towne: A Life in Vintage
For actress and writer Katharine Towne, clothing has always been more than fabric. It’s memory, craftsmanship, history, and above all a way to connect with her storied family history. Her love affair with vintage began when she was just twelve years old, a natural extension of growing up surrounded by creativity and artistry.
Katharine Towne’s mother, actress Julie Payne, passed down not only her wardrobe but also her eye for beauty. Some of Katharine’s earliest treasures were pieces her mother had lovingly collected, hand-sewn, or even had beaded herself. Each item came with a story, an anecdote from a film set, a dinner party, or a moment in time that made the garment more than just something to wear. These heirlooms became the foundation of a collection that now spans over a century, from the late 1800s through the 1990s.
Over the years, Katharine Towne has sought out vintage pieces that speak to her in a very personal way. Designers such as André Courrèges, with his futuristic silhouettes, and Azzedine Alaïa, with his architectural mastery of form, have become enduring favorites. She doesn’t chase rarity for rarity’s sake; rather, she looks for work that reflects artistry and soul. For Towne, vintage fashion is about honoring the imagination and technical skill of those who came before, preserving it so it can continue to inspire.
What makes Katharine Towne’s collection remarkable is not only its breadth, but the tenderness with which she curates it. She sees each piece as a living artifact, a dress stitched by hand in the 1920s, a jacket with beadwork done one tiny glass piece at a time, or a sculptural Alaïa dress that still feels modern decades later. To her, they are reminders that beauty endures and that stories live in seams, hems, and embellishments.
Her approach to collecting reflects her own nature: warm, thoughtful, and deeply appreciative. Katharine Towne speaks of fashion not with pretension, but with gratitude for the women who wore these garments before her, for her mother who first nurtured her eye, and for the designers who elevated clothing into art.
In Katharine Towne’s world, vintage isn’t about nostalgia. It’s about continuity, an ongoing conversation between past and present, a way to carry forward grace, elegance, and individuality into the future.
