Sea Island Social

THE CLOISTER TAKES IT UP A NOTCH

Salt-spray breezes, handsome oak trees hugged by Spanish moss, Mediterranean arched walkways, and the bursting color of pink azaleas are among the heavenly memories that linger with anyone who has ever visited the Cloister, on Sea Island, Georgia—one of the country's most glamorously understated resorts. The Addison Mizner-designed property, built by Bill Jones in 1928, oozes refined elegance and good breeding and has been a favored destination for generations of Eisenhowers, Churchills, Goodyears, and Pulitzers.

The Cloister, currently undergoing a S350 million face-lift, has joined the trend of enlisting hot designers to create signature suites. Most notably, Tibi fashion designer Amy Smilovic, who grew up on neighboring Saint Simons Island, has been tapped by the third generation of Joneses not only to pull together the Tibi suite but also to freshen up the resort's Great Rooms and uniforms. Her five Sea Island prints mirror all things indigenous to the area—egrets, palmettos, catamarans, cotton flowers, even drawings of the property—and will be on everything from wall coverings and teacups to the terry-cloth bikinis and luxe beach towels sold at the resort's boutiques. By creating exclusive patterns and destination items, Smilovic and Bill Jones III are essentially seeking to brand the Sea Island lifestyle: "If someone is wearing a jacket they bought at the resort, and the lining is one of my Sea Island prints," says the designer, "we want people to be able to identify that."

PUNCH HUTTON