Ripault, Sara (1910-2005)

Person

Dates

Existence: 1910-2005

Biography

French-born Sara Ripault (1910-2005) began her career as a freelance sketcher, providing fashion illustrations to Paris couture houses such as Marcel Rochas, Molyneux and Balenciaga. Seeking refuge from Germany's invasion during WWII, Ripault accepted an offer in New York from Adele Simpson and assumed the role of Simpson's in-house designer in 1941. Her professional timeline is detailed as follows: A. Simpson Ltd. 1941-50, Mollie Parnis 1951-54, A. Simpson Ltd. 1955-59, Herbert Sondheim 1960-63, M. Parnis 1963-1974, Richelene 1973. Deploring New York's copying of French designs and resisting the general industrialization of the wholesale business, Ripault maintained her practice of sketching extensively after selecting fabrics for a collection.

Found in 1 Collection or Record:

Sara Ripault collection

Collection

Identifier: SC.275

Scope and Contents This collection consists of files kept by French-born American fashion designer Sara Ripault (1910-2005). Ripault worked under three major design houses from the 1941 to 1974, thus most of the content lies within these publication dates. Series 1 covers her original sketches and illustrations, undated but reflective of fashion styles from the 1940s-1950s. The majority of the content is related to women's clothing, but there are designs for accessories as well as furniture design. This series...

Dates: 1949-1974

Found in: Special Collections and FIT Archive