The New School Archives And Special Collections

Mary Adrienne Steckling Coen (1934-2006) graduated from Parsons School of Design's Fashion Design Department in 1958. In 1966, "Adri" --her professional name-- created her own line, designing under her own labels for the rest of her career. The records document Adri's professional life, with items arranged by year and season. Includes clippings and tear sheets, photographs, press kits, sketches, swatches, and video recordings.

The workbook that comprises this collection was used during the Amos Parrish Fashion Merchandising Clinic, held in New York City, January 6-10, 1930. The clinic was offered once and at times twice annually from the 1920s through 1955 to forecast the year's fashion industry trends. This workbook belonged to Howard Phillips, merchandise manager for Ernst Kern Department Store, Detroit, Michigan, and was annotated by Phillips.

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.

American fashion designer Bonnie Cashin (1908-2000) had a longstanding partnership with manufacturer Philip Sills and Co., spanning 1953 into the mid-1970s. This collection represents 65 fashion photographs, some with accompanying press releases, from 1967-1968.

Carl Erickson (1891-1958), who signed his work "Eric," was a leading fashion illustrator whose drawings appeared in Vogue and Harper's Bazaar, among other publications. In 1964, Parsons School of Design hosted a retrospective of Erickson's work. The New School Archives' collection consists of fourteen works, possibly originating from that exhibit.

The Carol Loebelsohn fashion illustrations represent a sampling of the professional and teaching work of Parsons School of Design alumna and faculty member Carol Loebelsohn. The bulk of the over 150 illustrations covers the 1960s into the 1990s, and includes a variety of media and drawing techniques.

Charles Le Maire (1897-1985) began his costume design career in vaudeville shows of the 1920s. He later served as executive designer at Twentieth Century-Fox. In the 1950s, Le Maire formed his own business from private commissions and film work, earning thirteen Oscar nominations and three Oscars for Best Costume Design. The collection contains seventeen Le Maire sketches, including work for the Earl Carroll Vanities (1924-1930).

Chester Weinberg (1931-1985) graduated from Parsons School of Design in 1951 and served as visiting lecturer on fashion design there from 1955 to 1985. Weinberg established his own label in 1966. He later became a consultant and was named design director of Calvin Klein jeans in 1981. The collection contains a scrapbook of news clippings, fashion print ads, and photographs mainly chronicling Weinberg’s work from 1966 to 1975.

This collection consists of one iridescent red dress and one light blue and white houndstooth shirt, both designed by Claire McCardell (1905-1958).

Claire McCardell (1905-1958) graduated from the New York School of Fine and Applied Art (later, Parsons School of Design) in 1928 and later became a pivotal figure in American ready-to-wear fashion. In 1944, McCardell returned to Parsons as a critic and instructor, a position she held for the rest of her life. The collection contains roughly 9,000 of McCardell's sketches, dated 1931 to 1958; mostly produced for Townley Frocks.