Alexandria Abramian Alexandria Abramian | May 7, 2019 | People,
For this fashionable Getty posse, power is all about giving back.
August, Ariadne and Nats Getty photographed at their Los Angeles atelier.
“We’re a tripod,” says Natalia (Nats) Getty of herself, her mother, Ariadne, and brother, August. Working together from a Los Angeles studio, Nats, 26, and August, 24, design from the far ends of the fashion spectrum: Nats’ Strike Oil (strikeoil.com) offers a luxe-meets-funky-cool bespoke collection of handpainted leather jackets and streetwear apparel, while August Getty Atelier (augustgetty.com) creates high-Hollywood glamwear favored by Bella Hadid, Miley Cyrus and Zendaya. Mama, 56, is CEO of both enterprises.
Sitting side by side on a low-slung sofa in their design space, they could almost pass for your somewhat typical familial threesome. Almost. Nats, a former model, conceals gamine lines under a baggy jacket and pants; August works in the opposite direction—fitted, all-black clothes sculpt a well-chiseled frame. Ariadne, dressed in understated business attire, bears no blatant sartorial signs of her lineage as the granddaughter of American oil tycoon J. Paul Getty.
No Birkin bags, no assistants and, most surprising of all, no defenses when it comes to talking about what matters most to them. “I’ve had body issues as long as I can remember. It hits a spot with me,” August says, referring to creations such as The Gigi Dress, which is “designed for a woman of every shape and size. We design for womanity. It’s what I stand for as an Italian and as a Getty. I think of Sophia Loren eating a bowl of spaghetti.”
Earlier this year, August reached out directly to Bebe Rexha when other designers refused to dress the—gasp—size 8 singer for the Grammys. “Designers have tended to be the first for political change but the last for diversity,” says August, whose second couture collection will debut this summer at the Ritz in Paris with a “phantasmagoria”-themed show: “It’s a funeral with clowns, which then goes awry, and a mermaid saves the day.”
While Nats shares space with her brother, her creations could not be further from his glamorous red-carpet creations. “I’m designing for the differents,” she says of Strike Oil, which launched earlier this year. What began as a series of one-of-a-kind handpainted leather jackets four years ago evolved into a lifestyle brand—bomber jackets and hoodies, handpainted vases and shirts emblazoned with quotes from her great-grandfather that weave awareness into each item. “The plan was never to have just a fashion line. I’m sick of buying Saint Laurent jackets and then seeing everyone wearing the same thing. I’ve seen what a huge impact my mom’s made, and I want to be able to follow in her footsteps,” says Nats, who recently partnered with LA street artist Mr. Brainwash to create a memorial at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando. “We brought survivors and people in the community and did live paintings on jackets.” Up next: ”I’m doing a Full of Pride Pack collection for June, and then a Trans Remix Hoodie that will combine baby blue and baby pink.”
“Philanthropy follows us into everything we do, and that’s because of my mom,” adds Nats of Ariadne’s commitment to a number of causes, including the GLAAD Media Institute, to which the Ariadne Getty Foundation pledged a whopping $15 million, as well as the recently unveiled Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Youth Academy and Senior Housing buildings, for which she donated $4.5 million.
“The GLAAD Media Institute teaches people how to speak on issues and how to make their voices heard,” says Ariadne. “It’s about becoming part of a louder voice. By going to the media institute and becoming a member of GLAAD, any bill that they try to stop from being passed, you’re a part of that trailblazing. So it’s very empowering.”
Mom also plays fashion muse to son and daughter. “I wear Strike Oil hoodies, and August likes to dress me for events,” she says. “I’m looking forward to the Strike Oil tuxedo coming down the pipeline one day! I’d be happy to be dressed in their clothes all the time.”
Clockwise from top left: beanie, $35, Ari tee, $85, Rise Early long sleeve, $275, Zero Judgment hoodie, $125, Hollywood bandana, $125, and Rainboy long sleeve, $85, all at strikeoil.com.
Photography by: Strike Oil; Portrait by Jeff Forney