Hankin, Leonard (1917-1998)

Person

Dates

Existence: 1917-1998

Biography

Leonard Hankin was an American business man who served as Executive Vice President of Bergdorf Goodman. Hankin's career at Bergdorf Goodman started when he was 16, at the Fifth Avenue store in 1933, where he served as a stock boy. An expert on Germany and the USSR, with the ability to speak 14 languages fluently, Hankin took a break from Bergdorf to work with the Office of Strategic Services during WWII beginning in 1939. In 1944, Hankin returned to Bergdorf Goodman where he rose through the ranks to become a fur buyer and eventually Executive Vice President of the company. After retiring from Bergdorf Goodman, Hankin became a senior adviser to Maximilian furs until 1984. Hankin was also a board member of the Education Alliance and taught marketing at the Fashion Institute of Technology in the 1980s.

Found in 1 Collection or Record:

Sidney Bernstein interview, 1985 February 5, 1985 February 5

Item

Identifier: SC.FITA.3.20.4.9.12.7

Scope and Contents Vice President of the Educational Foundation for the Fashion Industries Sidney Bernstein discusses his childhood and educational development in New York City. The launch of his successful real estate career put him in proximity to myriad furriers in the city. Eventually this led him to become more and more involved with the fur industry. He discusses the origins of the Educational Foundation for the Fashion Industries and its work abroad at the Shenkar School in Israel. Bernstein initially...

Dates: 1985 February 5

Found in: Special Collections and FIT Archive / Academic Affairs records / Gladys Marcus Library records / Special Collections and FIT Archive / FIT oral histories collection / Oral History of FIT