'Stylist to The Stars' Visits Daly

It's not every day that a theatrical, film and TV costume designer visits a Port Washington classroom. Thursday was the exception.

That's when Rosemary Ponzo, "stylist to the stars," met with Danielle Silverstein's fourth grade reading students at . Among those students was Avery Mannion, Ponzo's great niece.

Earlier in the year, the students had been tasked with informing their peers about someone others would find interesting and creative – someone who would spark a reader's curiousity. Mannion's description of Ponzo certainly fit the bill, and that led to the designer's visit Thursday morning.

Ponzo bought tall feathered hats, including one she wore at the Fifth Avenue Easter Parade, and another at a Halloween ball – she was photographed each time she wore them, by famed New York Times photographer Bill Cunningham. Not only did Ponzo encourage the students to touch the hats, she invited them to try them on, which they did. The hats, they said, were surprisingly light on their heads.

As part of their instruction, the students had read books about famous artists, including Diego Rivera, his wife Frida Kahlo, and Faith Ringgold. So they were prepared to ask Ponzo questions.

What first inspired Ponzo to pursue costume design? A lifelong love of clothes and aesthetics, she said. If anyone laughed at her clothes, that never fazed her. "I think outside of wearing regular clothing," Ponzo said. "It makes you look special, look different, and be creative."

Answering more questions, Ponzo went on to say she loved the costumes from "The Cotton Club" and "Chicago" because the clothes made from that era were "most glamorous."

Asked about hobbies, Ponzo said she likes to apply makeup for HD cameras, and also takes singing lessons.

Her favorite designers? Norma Kamali and Vivienne Westwood.

To show some of her designs, Ponzo brought a DVD that featured her work for Japanese filmmakers, the rocker Billy Idol, music icon Prince, soprano Sarah Brightman, rapper Jimmy Jones and more. Other costumes included a little girl's Victorian outfit, and clothes for soap operas. The DVD was about 2.5 minutes – just long enough for most people's attention span, she said.

A resident of New York's Chelsea section, Ponzo said she got her start when someone at a party asked her to to create a Darth Vader costume. Not long after, that same person contacted Ponzo about working on the 1985 film, "Sudden Death." Ponzo is listed in the film's credits.

A star she'd like to still meet? While George Clooney and Brad Pitt might be nice, Ponzo gave Johnny Depp as her final answer. "He's a good actor," she said, adding that she enjoyed the recently released film "Dark Shadows," in which he starred.

Finally, how does Ponzo store those tall feathered hats? Hat boxes, was the reply. Edward Ankudavich, Ponzo's husband, and Mannion's great uncle, promised to send a few photos of the hat boxes, so the children understand what they look like.

With their questions answered, Ponzo, Ankudavich and the students went on to other classrooms, seemingly prepared for a related assignment – summing up the visit in an overview.