Catherine Malandrino is behind the wheel of her cognac-hued 1979 Aston Martin convertible when she pulls up to a strip of beach in Amagansett. The media in France have described her as the most photographed French woman in America after the Statue of Liberty, and today the fashion designer looks the consummate Bond Girl as she decamps the car wearing oversized sunglasses with a slim black dress, her hair worn loose and tousled. Malandrino's ride is not the obvious sports car for an international style maven; it's a little bit late-era, a rather unexpected color, but it's something she proudly informs people that she found here in Southampton two years ago at an antique car auction. As with all things the gamine designer has discovered on our shores, she makes the car cooler by her stewardship.

Malandrino's impossibly stylish namesake store resides on East Hampton's Newtown Lane, a shop that has helped to infuse our hamlets with a good dose of polished European flair and acumen-her inspirations and style references are liberally dispersed among the colorful fashion offerings. "A little flavor of St. Tropez meets the rough edge of Montauk," Malandrino enthuses about the boutique she opened in 2004, "a place where Provence meets the Hamptons." Four years later, the store is currently awash in color: electric blue, feisty red, shrill yellow...citrus colors from tangerine to lime. Goddess gowns with plunging necklines are displayed on chrome mannequins and dramatic flourishes, harlequin prints, satin boleros and flamenco flounces, all evoke the French Riviera. In Los Angeles, Angelina Jolie was so taken with a dress from this collection she saw in the store window that she snapped up the yellow, empire-waisted gown the next morning; the photographs of her wearing it appeared in nearly every major tabloid magazine. Brooke Shields did likewise with a red, frilly dress she saw from the same collection in her meatpacking district store. Malandrino's celebrity following began around 2000, when Madonna wore her flag T-shirt during her world tour. Since then, the designer has created a collection for Mary J. Blige, outfitted Sarah Jessica Parker for Sex in the City, and was the mastermind behind Demi Moore's comeback dress in 2003. Also among her known following are Elizabeth Hurley, Heidi Klum, Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Richie, Cameron Diaz, Halle Berry, Winona Ryder, Julia Roberts, Nicole Kidman and Beyoncé, although if you ask the designer about bold-faced names, she looks at you quizzically as though she has suddenly stopped understanding English. She is loathe to name-drop; that's so American. Meanwhile, Janet Jackson and Mary J. Blige were among the front-row acolytes at Malandrino's recent runway show.

The designer claims the show's inspiration came from St.Paul de Vence. Channeling the sun-drenched road in the Cote D'azur and its hub of creativity, the collection features a vivid painterly palette with deco-inspired fanned collars, lilac buds and embroidered grapes; ornate glass beads adorn necklines, braided organza and scalloped tiering are coupled with plunging necklines and bohemian prints; sculptural heels play off retro disco platforms. To set the tone for the show, Malandrino recreated La Colombe d'Or-the haunt where artists like Pablo Picasso paid their keep with art. "I wanted the poetry of that place and time to come through the clothes," she says. Malandrino frequently draws parallels between her beloved Provence and the Hamptons community she joined ten years ago when she and her partner of 13 years, Bernard Aiden, bought their home in Bridgehampton. "We loved the area-the poetic light, the rustic feel of Montauk, the bohemian sensibility. I was born on the mountainside of Grenoble, so I suppose I'm a country girl at heart. But a country girl born in high-heels." She recalls her first trip to the Hamptons when Bernard picked her up in his old convertible, how the top broke, a storm hit, and the old car quickly transformed into a swimming pool.

Describing her perfect day in the Hamptons: "I like to sit outdoors and enjoy a great lobster for lunch and steamers with a glass of Pinot Grigio on the water at the East Hampton Point, or maybe go horseback riding on the beaches of Montauk at sunset. Of course we also love to discover the hidden treasures of antiques stores and flea markets."

It was in fact at a flea market that Catherine and Bernard first discovered each other. "We met at the 26th Street Flea Market when I was visiting New York. We both stumbled on the same antique blanket. It was this beautiful patchwork made by Amish people and we both grabbed for it-and so the love story began. And soon, too, our business! We knew then that we loved the same things. We had a shared vision of the world, of beauty. I still have that blanket. It inspired one of my early dresses. Ideas are always churning and it doesn't ever stop. I'm always onto the next project."

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Hampton Style Archive