Creating Whimsical Elegance through Fashion

On safari in Africa, Lela Rose was introduced to “sundowners”— cocktails and snacks in a jaw-dropping spot. She brought the concepts back to Wyoming, where the scenery and sunsets are every bit as glorious. | Photo: Tara Sgroi

To say that fashion designer Lela Rose loves the great outdoors would be a huge understatement. She grew up in rural Texas and now divides her time between Jackson Hole and New York City. In good weather (and even when it’s not so good), she entertains and even stages her runway shows outdoors. Asked if she has a Plan B (especially for the New York fashion shows), she smiles and says, “Plan B is for Plan A to work.”

Her fashion shows are parties—outdoor theatrical productions that are always totally out of the box. Once, the fashion show patrons sat in a café—Café Lela—and watched the models walk by. Another time, models paraded with a marching band through Tribeca. A show that everyone is still talking about took place in New York’s Washington Square. The models sat still—some playing chess, others reading The Financial Times or feeding the omnipresent pigeons—while patrons circulated among them. “I like to celebrate everything … even fashion … out of doors,” Rose says.

A make-your-own-trail-mix bar set up beside Rose’s old Ford Bronco. “There’s nothing better to get you ready for outdoor adventure,” she says. | Photo: Carrie Patterson

Rose goes fishing in cowgirl high-style accompanied by her Norwich terrier. | Photo: Lisa Flood

Fresh Air Affairs, her new book, celebrates al fresco entertaining—dreamy but doable events outdoors—in all seasons. Maybe out on the range in West Texas, eating rose-colored tostadas and drinking blood-orange rosaritas. In the piney woods, feasting on wild-mushroom-and-fontina flatbread and sipping champagne-chamomile coolers.

A “bon-chic bonfire” on Wyoming’s Snake River features grilled beurre-vert oysters washed down with Gibson martinis garnished with tipsy pearl onions. Guests at an après-fishing picnic nibble on smoked trout pâté with popovers. “It’s important for each event to have a specialty cocktail that you can serve the moment your guests arrive,” she says. “It lets them know that you’ve thought about the details.”

Lela Rose Fresh Air Affairs Entertaining with Style in the Great Outdoors includes table settings, recipes, specialty cocktails and more. $45; rizzoliusa.com

A late-summer dinner party at a long table alongside the Snake River. | Photo: Tara Sgroi

Rose prefers not to have a reason to entertain. Instead, she enjoys gathering a community of friends to celebrate everyday events. “I like making every day an occasion,” she says. In Jackson Hole, for example, she might organize an ice-skating party on the wild ice in winter or a hearty soup sitting around a campfire. One of her favorites: a Grand Teton picnic of bison hand pies (decorated with little camping scenes) and El Diablo en Fuego cocktails (tequila, crème de cassis, lime juice, and ginger beer, topped with a tequila-soaked sugar cube) because “What’s more fun than a flaming cocktail in the wilderness?”

As for décor, “Not every party needs to have big bouquets of store-bought florals on the table,” Rose says. She uses things she may have found out on a walk—river rocks, branches with moss, armloads of wildflowers. Or something she already has on hand. Maybe a vintage quilt, classic picnic plates from France, a cut-glass pitcher, tin tumblers. They all have a place in Rose’s décor. “I prefer the spontaneous and unplanned look,” she says, adding that striving for perfection can be a killer of fun, especially for the hostess.

A fancy version of “ants on a log” includes goat cheese, pine nuts, fresh herbs, and a rainbow of rondelle- sliced vegetables. | Photo: Carrie Patterson

Supported by a flower frog, dahlias and other blooms are tucked between mossy branches. | Photo: Tara Sgroi

Flitting birds. Puffy clouds. Wildflower meadows. Fast-moving streams. Orange sunsets. Dramatic lightning (but only at a distance). “Mother Nature has been kind to me,” she says. “The magic is that you never know what you’re going to get.”

Freshly baked bread (from artisanal bakeries) in a variety of sizes, textures and flavors so “carboholics” of every sort are satisfied. | Photo: Tara Sgroi

Rose wears a skirt made from an antique Welsh Caernarvon blanket as she checks out the driftwood structure that, after dark, will become a teepee bonfire. | Photo: Tara Sgroi