Siren Song

US Hamptons 1-7 August 2008

She's 40 years old and has nine (yes, nine!) kids, but nothing can slow down supermodel Stephanie Seymour's career— and now she's back on top! With recent campaigns for Loewe, Gap, Ferragamo, Vuitton, and Chantelle under her belt, plus a 63-page Saks Fifth Avenue fall-preview "magalogue," where does this mom respite with her family? At her Sagaponack home, of course.

BY CRISTINA GREEVEN CUOMO

As a San Diego "tween," Stephanie Seymour pursued her dream as any aspiring model would—by reading fashion magazines. She eventually found an ad for Elite Model's "Look of the Year" competition, worked at a local car wash to pay the $40 entry fee, took some pictures with her mother, and submitted them. And she won.

Since then, Seymour has kept busy both in and out of the modeling world. She's graced hundreds of top magazine covers, though she's not one to brag. "That's nothing compared to Cindy Crawford!" she says.

She's been linked to Guns n' Roses' Axl Rose, Elite Model Management's John Casablancas, and actor Warren Beatty, but the man she settled down with and married is White Birch polo team owner, businessman, and art collector Peter Brant, with whom she has three kids. She also has a son from her first marriage and five stepchildren. How does she manage her Brady Bunch-like family and a career?

"I always wanted to have my life," Seymour says. "I think the whole fashion business is competitive— I just never wanted to get so wrapped up in it that I ended up not having a family. I've tried to have both. I've given up a lot of work and I've probably given up time with my kids, too. But at the end of the day, they're really proud of me and really supportive, and I think they know they come first."

She's obviously doing something right, since all her kids have decided to stay close to home. "Of my five stepchildren, three work in different aspects of the family businesses," she says. "My oldest son is in the music department of Interview [which Brant owns]. And my 11-year-old son has all these old Interview covers, and he's building a stand at the polo fields [in Bridgehampton] to sell subscriptions."

In between trips to K-Mart for tools for her kids, Seymour concentrates on her modeling comeback. This year alone she can be seen in campaigns for Gap, Chantelle, Ferragamo, Vuitton, Loewe, and a Saks Fifth Avenue fall-preview catalogue. "I didn't expect it—that's for sure," she says. "I was sad about what happened to the whole modeling industry—that models lost all the fashion covers, makeup, or hair contracts that were given to actresses."

Seymour has also taken on projects that show her range beyond the modeling world. The 100- year-old stone and wood building across the street from the family's farm, White Birch, in Greenwich, Connecticut, was restored by architect Richard Gluckman to accommodate an art collection and named the Brant Foundation Art Study Center. As the center's director, Seymour will help facilitate its opening in 2009; she's also helping set up a scholarship fund for young people. "We're doing it to encourage art in schools," she explains. "We'll also have exhibitions two or three times a year. The point is to get art out there in the community."

As if Seymour doesn't have enough on her plate, her husband also enlisted her as a contributing fashion editor at Interview. (Brant recently bought out ex-wife Sandra Brant's 50-percent stake to complete his mini-media empire, Brant Publications.) In this capacity Seymour will "incorporate everything I've been doing for the past few years," she says. "I've done a lot of projects with artists. I love fashion. I like working with designers like [John] Galliano and Marc Jacobs."

Not surprisingly, during her years as a model Seymour acquired quite a collection of clothing. "I collect vintage couture and almost everything that has to do with fashion. I collect Coco Chanel couture from the fifties—I have quite a bit of the jewelry and a lot of the suits with matching blouses. They're amazing and really very sexy. I have big, old Balenciaga dresses, Dior dresses, Courrèges pieces, and vintage Hermès bags. Most of the time people can't tell I'm wearing vintage."

Her true sartorial love, though, is Azzedine Alaïa. "He's like family," she says. "I predominantly wear his clothes. Every single thing I've put on has fit me perfectly. Before a baby and after a baby, his clothes just suit me, and I never feel like I'm wearing something that's in or out of fashion. I just feel like myself."

And she wears the clients who support her, of course: "Chantelle makes great bras!" she gushes. Seymour is certainly the perfect face—and model—for the company. "They very clearly wanted me to be very womanly, for women. It's not an advertisement that's meant to catch the eye of a man, necessarily. They really want everyone to know that I am—I don't even want to say it—40! And that I have children. In France they really embrace those things."

Seymour finds peace during the summer months at her beachy, casual home in Sagaponack (which she also decorated herself). "I love the Hamptons because I love the mixture of farmland and beach," she says. "I think the beaches here are the most beautiful in the world—and they're never crowded!"

What's a typical day out East for Seymour? She wakes up with her kids, has breakfast outside, and packs up and heads to the beach just a few yards away. "We bring big blankets, books, and an umbrella. We spend quite a few hours there, then come back at lunchtime, eat outside, and talk. Then we'll either have a walk on the beach, a swim in the pool, or go to a friend's house." Leisurely, indeed.

Shopping and antiquing in town are two of her favorite rainy-day pastimes. "The Hamptons has incredible stores. I love shopping in Sagaponack, East Hampton, and Southampton. And just to run out and get things quickly, Bridgehampton Commons is really convenient." Seymour also stays in great shape by doing Pilates. "I can do it all out here. It's just so much more relaxing than doing it at home."

When out and about, Seymour doesn't get hassled by onlookers. "Billy Joel lives two doors down from me and he's right next to the public beach, and nobody ever bothers him. You know, occasionally somebody may want my picture, or an autograph, or to say hi, but that's about it."

Back on the farm or in Bridgehampton, where her husband plays polo, Seymour makes sure she spends some time with the family's equine contingent. "I ride horses with my kids or my husband, but I don't play polo. I wish!"

So what's her secret to a healthy, happy 14-year marriage? "I think enjoying one another, talking, and having things in common that you like to do, having a lot of respect for each other—that's the key," she says. "Of course, you have to love each other. And, there's nothing better than being a mom and sharing that with a man you love."

Then Seymour whispers in her sultry voice (one that only a supermodel should have): "Family—it doesn't get any better than that." H