This July, Tombolo and Holiday Vodka came together at Sunset Beach for a golden-hour celebration of summer style, seaside cocktails, and a shared love of Shelter Island. Set against one of the East End’s most iconic waterfront backdrops, the gathering marked the debut of Tombolo’s new 11-piece capsule collection for Sunset Beach.

A longtime Shelter Island summer fixture, Sunset Beach has drawn the same devoted crowd back to its waterfront tables year after year. Tombolo’s new collection captures that unmistakable spirit, taking cues from the hotel’s iconic yellow-and-white striped awnings. The signature stripe runs throughout the capsule, most notably across two America’s Coupe half-zip cabanas featuring a cocktail-hulled sailboat eclipsing a setting sun. The collection also introduces a new Tombolo silhouette: a boatneck terrycloth sweatshirt, complete with a hand-embroidered branzino in a playful nod to one of Sunset Beach’s most popular dishes. Sunset Beach’s sassy, sunglassed mermaid makes appearances across cabanas, tops, board shorts, and a bucket hat. Guests arrived dressed for the occasion in terry cloth and cabana shirts, offering an early glimpse at a collection that feels made for long afternoons by the water.

As the afternoon unfolded, guests sipped Holiday Vodka Strawberry spritzes, played rounds of petanque, and enjoyed Sunset Beach’s signature bites while the sun began to dip over the water. With golden-hour views stretching across the bay, Sunset Beach provided the perfect setting to toast the collaboration and the brands’ shared Shelter Island roots.

For Tombolo cofounder Chris Galasso and Holiday Vodka founder Anna Goldman, the celebration was also a homecoming to a place near and dear to them both. For Galasso in particular, the collaboration marked a full-circle moment. He first bussed tables at Sunset Beach at 15, spent many late nights there throughout his twenties, and now, in his thirties, finds himself partnering with the hotel on a collection of his own. 

Equal parts fashion fête and summer soirée, the evening had all the makings of a perfect East End summer night: good food, great company, and a sunset worth staying well past golden hour for.

-By Patricia Sotos