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André and Creators Studios fashion drawings

 Collection
Identifier: KA-0011-01

Summary

André and Creators Studios were Seventh Avenue fashion firms that marketed their designs to clothing manufacturers by subscription. In the mid-1970s Pearl Alexander Lipman, André's co-owner and designer since the 1930s, retired, and André's design drawings were sold to Creators Studios. The collection consists of design reproductions created and distributed by the two companies between 1937 and 1972.

Dates

  • 1937 - 1972

Creator

Extent

9.9 Cubic Feet (21 boxes, 1 folder)

Language of Materials

English

Scope and Contents of Collection

The collection consists of printed fashion design drawings for women's and children's garments. Some materials were formerly bound into volumes.

André designs are exclusively for women's suits and coats and children's coats, prominently signed by Pearl Alexander. Earlier André designs are vibrantly hand-colored, while later designs are reproduced in black-and-white.

The André Series contains drawings produced by Pearl Alexander, collectively titled "Fifth Avenue Reporter" and "Summer Resort Reporter" with the byline, "as seen by Pearl Alexander." These drawings, which are sometimes briefly annotated, function as visual reportage on upcoming fashion trends. Alexander's reports promised to help manufacturers prepare for consumer demand. Also of note is a February 1963 sales memo authored by Alexander. Addressed to Andre's clients who were receiving the designs on a subscription basis, the memo outlines trends for the Fall 1963 season.

Creators Studios' prints of design drawings encompass women's coats, dresses, lingerie, sportswear, and suits. Many of the early Creators Studios design drawings are signed by Howard Steel, while later drawings are unsigned. Like the André drawings, the Creators Studios drawings are hand-colored, with the exception of lingerie designs. The run of Creators Studios designs is more complete than the André designs.

A large percentage of the designs featured in both firms' drawings are labeled "adaptations" or "import adaptations," indicating they were based on designer apparel. The André designs feature codes indicating which couture designer inspired a particular outfit. A code key will be found in Box 1, Folder 11.

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research use. Please contact archivist@newschool.edu for appointment.

Use Restrictions

To publish images of material from this collection, permission must be obtained in writing from the New School Archives. Please contact: archivist@newschool.edu.

Historical Note

André and Creators Studios were two competing fashion design enterprises that emerged from New York's Seventh Avenue. Creators Studios acquired the older André in the 1970s.

André was established in New York in the early 1930s by Leonard Schwartzback and Pearl L. Alexander (later, Pearl Lipman). The company sold designs for women's suits and coats to garment manufacturers on a weekly subscription basis. Schwartzback acted as salesman, while Alexander directed the design department. After Alexander retired in the 1970s, Schwartzback sold André, including its fashion design sketches, to Creators Studios, and shepherded the transfer of his client list to the new firm.

Creators Studios was established in New York around 1957 by Walter Teitelbaum, Leo Boren, and Howard Steel. Like André, Creators Studios sold fashion designs in sketch form to manufacturers. The company promised to deliver the latest trends to subscribers. By the mid-1970s, only Teitelbaum remained of the original partners. After Schwartzback sold his business to Teitelbaum, Creators Studios began incorporating details of André designs into new products.

Creators Studios closed in the early 1980s.

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Source: letter from Walter Teitelbaum, 2000.

Organization and arrangement

Organized in 2 series. André series is chronological by publication date; Creators Studios series is alphabetical by garment type.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

All materials except 1950 André drawings donated by Walter Teitelbaum, 2000. André drawings from 1950 donated by Josseline Van Nuffel, 2017.

Related Materials

The New York Public Library and the Fashion Institute of Technology hold related collections of André and Creators Studios fashion sketches.

The Abe Grubère papers at Yeshiva University Museum contain André fashion designs by Pearl Alexander dating from 1933 through 1966 (Series II. Other Designers, 1922-1960). The Abe Gruber Archives at the Brooklyn Museum also include fashion designs by Pearl Alexander for André.

Title
Guide to the André and Creators Studios fashion drawings
Status
Completed
Author
New School Archives and Special Collections Staff
Date
December 13, 2010
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
English