On Dec with India Hicks
‘It’s got to be fun,’ British designer tells Carnegie Museum’s Women’s Committee
India Hicks entertained more than 310 people Thursday with tales of a designer’s life and a childhood in close proximity to royalty.
The British designer was the featured speaker during a luncheon held in the Carnegie Music Hall and Foyer as part of The Women’s Committee of the Carnegie Museum of Art’s On Dec, an annual event that explores design.
Her mother, Lady Pamela Hicks, was a lady in waiting to Queen Elizabeth II. Her grandfather, Lord Mountbatten, was the last viceroy and governor general of India before the country gained independence in 1947. Her father, David Hicks, was an innovative interior designer known for updating old world elegance with a modern aesthetic.
Ms. Hicks, the author of several books, a former Ralph Lauren model and mother of five children, has created her own design style that combines everyday items with heirlooms and nature’s bounty to create inventive tablescapes and more.
“Everything I have done has been a step to the next thing,” she said of her career path. “I was born under a very lucky star and I come from a very privileged background.... Nothing was ever expected of me as well, which is very interesting.
“I sometimes think of all the opportunities my daughter has now, as a more modern woman living in a more modern world, for women particularly. Sometimes I rather regret I didn’t have the opportunities that she has now. But I think you make your own way, don’t you?”
Among those enjoying the luncheon and lecture were Helen Hanna Casey and her daughter, Annie Hanna Engel, Holly Miller, Anne Dickson, Leanne Ford, Ranny Ferguson, Lisa Pegden, Marylynn Uricchio Heuck, Peggy McKnight, Stephanie Flannery, Cyd Mello, Michele Fabrizi, Jean Horne, Neil Stouffer, Lois Pruitt, Charlene Campbell and Carolyn Sanford.
A patron party was held later in the day at Shruti and Anil Gupta’s Mediterranean-style home in Fox Chapel. Guests enjoyed more one-on-one time with Hicks as they explore the home and garden. Mrs. Gupta said she was
honored to host the patron party.
“I think the affinity with India, as she is named India, and I am born in India, I thought there was a lot of synergy,” she said.
She was inspired by Hicks’ books on design and demonstrated it with her entertainment style.
“Tonight is an homage to her,” noted Mrs. Gupta.
The garage was transformed into a party space with a bar set up at one end and a Rolls Royce for taking photos. Hicks did a similar thing when she hosted a party for her mother with all their family in England.
“We moved out the cars and brought in folding tables and chairs and laid it out in the garage and it looked amazing,” she recalled. “We even found an oil painting stuck up in an attic and brought it down and hung it up.
“I think sometimes we have these anticipations of what a hostess should be and we get ourselves terribly worked up. We have got to relax. It’s got to be fun. We’ve got to drink a lot of rum and have some fun,” Hicks added.
Among those having fun were Women’s Committee president Jennifer Muse, On Dec chairs Margot Curran, Mary Margaret Stamy and Barbara Thai, artist Cynthia Cooley, Jean Anne Hattler, Lynn Bainbridge and Stacy Weiss.