The New School Archives And Special Collections

Abstract

Herbert Sondheim (1895-1966), who lectured at Parsons School of Design in 1946, ran a dressmaking firm that produced affordable versions of Parisian high-end fashion. The collection consists of nineteen Herbert Sondheim, Inc. scrapbooks, most of which contain fashion sketches. Some books include sketches depicting work of other couture houses. Two books contain news clippings, photographs and correspondence from the mid-1940s.

Abstract

Dora Mathieu (1909-1980) taught fashion drawing in the Parsons School of Design Fashion Illustration Department, 1964-1966. The Kellen Design Archives holds twenty-nine of Mathieu's sketches, depicting notable designers of the mid-twentieth century. Although the earliest dated portrait is from 1938, the bulk of the collection was created between 1965 and 1968.

Abstract

This collection primarily consists of drawings created by fashion designer and theater producer Robert Carreon (1947-2020) while enrolled as a student at Parsons School of Design between 1966 and 1968, as well as drawings from his Parsons admissions portfolio and publicity photos of his work from 1967 to 1969.

Abstract

Mildred Orrick (1906-1994) graduated from the New York School of Fine and Applied Art (later, Parsons School for Design) in 1928 and went on to a career as a fashion and costume designer and illustrator, and designed part of the Futurama exhibition at the 1939 New York World's Fair. Orrick was a visiting critic at Parsons from 1947 to 1962. The collection consists of Orrick's fashion and theater costume sketches, 1920s-1950s.

Abstract

A leading figure in the development of American ready-to-wear clothing, John Weitz (1923-2002) created one of the first American signature menswear lines. Weitz was a visiting lecturer at Parsons School of Design from 1975 to 1995. The collection includes design drawings, exhibition files, scrapbooks, clippings, photographs, and audiovisual recordings of promotional campaigns, fashion shows and television commercials.

Summary Sherl Nero (1939-2006) was a fashion and textile designer who graduated from Parsons School of Design in 1962 and worked in sportswear design before joining the Design Works of Bedford Stuyvesant (DWBS) in 1971. DWBS was the brainchild of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and designers Doris and Leslie Tillett. With financing from the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation, the Black-owned business produced African-inspired designs for fabrics and homewares. This collection...

Summary Robert Mackintosh (1925-1998) was a costume and fashion designer whose design career spanned forty years and twenty Broadway productions. He made his Broadway debut designing costumes for the 1952 musical Wish You Were Here. In the 1960s, Mackintosh branched out into womenswear design with Musette, a juniors label, which was sold at Bergdorf Goodman and Saks Fifth Avenue. He went on to design various other womens and menswear lines in the 1970s. ...

Abstract

Fashion illustration by René Robert Bouché depicting American fashion designer Sophie Gimbel. The illustration appeared in the April 15, 1961 issue of American Vogue with the caption, "Sophie's sari tactics for short evenings." A framed reproduction of this illustration hung at the entrance to Parson School of Design's Adam and Sophie Gimbel Design Library on West 13th Street. The portrait was taken down upon the 2014 closure of Gimbel Library.

Summary

After graduating from Parsons School of Design in 1945, Margaret Hodge became director of fashion marketing at Vogue, and in 1967 formed her own fashion publicity firm. Hodge led various marketing campaigns integrating the fashion of Hollywood films. The collection mainly consists of Hollywood promotional material, including publicity photographs, press kits, announcements and tear sheets. Most of the material was produced from 1962 to 1976.

Scope and Content of Collection

Contains the records of the Fashion Design Department of Parsons The New School for Design. Records include course syllabi and descriptions, look books, clippings scrapbooks, student work, and annual fashion benefit planning records, photographs, and programs. A name index for searching Parsons alumni and faculty in the clippings scrapbooks may be found here.