The New School Archives And Special Collections

Abstract

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.

Abstract

Norman Norell (1900-1972) was the first American fashion designer to compete successfully with French couture. In 1943, he received the first Coty American Fashion Critics Award, and was inducted into the Coty Hall of Fame in 1956. Norell served as a visiting critic at Parsons School of Design from 1943 to 1972. The collection includes biographical material, clippings, sketches, photographs, scrapbooks, and five examples of Norell's clothing.

Summary French-born Joset Walker (1902-1999) graduated from the New York School of Fine and Applied Art (later, Parsons School of Design) in 1928, and became a leading designer of ready-to-wear clothing for Saks Fifth Avenue's Theatrical Department. In 1932, Walker served briefly as head costume designer for RKO Pictures. After returning to New York and designing for manufacturer David M. Goodstein, Walker left to found Joset Walker Designs. Often incorporating Mexican and Guatemalan...

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.

Abstract

After graduating from the New York School of Fine and Applied Art (later, Parsons School of Design) in 1934, Tom Brigance (1913-1990) became a fashion designer specializing in women's swimwear and sportswear. The collection includes scrapbooks of clippings and photographs of Brigance's designs, sketches, publicity materials, and four original fashion illustrations of Brigance swimwear by Dorothy Hood, produced for Lord & Taylor.

Abstract

Collection mainly consists of publicity photographs, press clippings, fashion show programs, and other materials related to the fashion design career of Stephen Walton Biddle Mason, Jr., known professionally as Stefan, between the mid-1940s and early 1960s.

Summary

With a career that spanned the 1930s to the 1960s, Raymond Driscoll (1915-2004) was perhaps most widely known for his annual best and worst-dressed lists. He also gained recognition for his costume designs for Mexican film stars. The collection consists of Driscoll's scrapbook of photographs, clippings, invitations, and greeting cards from celebrities documenting his work in the 1940s and 1950s, as well as original fashion sketches.

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.

Summary

Dan Arje (1923-1993) was a designer and display director for Bonwit Teller. The collection primarily consists of albums of photographs and news clippings about Arje's displays, and correspondence regarding his decorating work for the White House during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, including decoration of the White House Christmas tree. Also present are materials about Bonwit Teller and Tiffany's designer Gene Moore.