Caroline Ernst Hackney, a summer resident of Howard Street in Sag Harbor who had a long career in fashion, died of complications related to Alzheimer's disease on Sept. 24. She was 83 and had been ill for six years.
Ms. Hackney was the accessories editor at Vogue magazine and Women's Wear Daily, working with designers including Halston, Calvin Klein, and Ralph Lauren. She also worked at Roland Communications, a production, marketing, and promotion company, later founding her own Ki Hackney Communications. She was a co-author of "People & Pearls: The Magic Endures" and "The Charm of Charms."
Ms. Hackney, who was called Ki, was born in Cincinnati on Sept. 12, 1942, to Ernst Hackney and the former Ruth Brodie. She graduated from the Seven Hills School there before going on to Hollins College in Hollins, Va. She later graduated from the Tobe-Coburn School for Fashion Careers in Manhattan, founded by Tobe Coller Davis, a fashion authority, and Julia Coburn, a former fashion editor at Ladies Home Journal.
A former member of the New York Junior League, which advances women's leadership for community impact through volunteer action, collaboration, and training, she was named its outstanding volunteer in 1986. On the South Fork, she was a member of the Devon Yacht Club in Amagansett and St. Ann's Episcopal Church in Bridgehampton. Writing, exercise, and yoga were among her lifelong interests.
Her marriage to Carl Hribar, in 1975, ended in divorce. Mr. Hribar died in 2020.
Ms. Hackney is survived by two daughters, Caroline Hribar and Christina Hribar, both of Manhattan and Sag Harbor. Two grandchildren, Dylan and Ren, also survive, as does a son-in-law, Mallon FitzPatrick. She also leaves a "granddog," Cece. A brother, Roscoe Hackney, died in 2009.
She is to be buried in the family plot at Oakland Cemetery in Sag Harbor, with a memorial service in New York City at a time and place to be determined.
Ms. Hackney's family has suggested memorial contributions to the Alzheimer's Association at alz.org.
