Elizabeth Hawes papers, 1967-1970
Scope and Contents
This collection is comprised of working manuscripts and drafts of essays.
Dates
- Creation: 1967 - 1970
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
Access is open to researchers by appointment at the Fashion Institute of Technology Library, Department of Special Collections and FIT Archive. If you have any questions, or wish to schedule an appointment contact us at [email protected] or call (212) 217-4385.
Conditions Governing Use
The Department of Special Collections and FIT Archive does not own copyright for all material held in its physical custody. It is the researcher's obligation to abide by and satisfy copyright law (Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 108) when copying or using materials (including digital materials) found in or made available from the department. When possible, the department will inform a researcher about the copyright status of material, the researcher's obligations with regard to such material, and, wherever possible, the owner or owners of the copyrights. Any and all reproduction of originals is at the archivist's discretion.
Biographical / Historical
Elizabeth Hawes was an American fashion designer and outspoken fashion industry critic. Hawes was a champion of the ready to wear industry and people's right to have the clothes they desired, rather than what was specified as "fashionable." These ideas are encapsulated in her 1938 book Fashion Is Spinach. Hawes began her career as a dress copier in Paris in 1925. In 1926, after the garment firm she worked for closed, she began work as a fashion sketcher. Returning to New York in 1928, and began to produce ready-to-wear copies of French designs with Rosemary Harden for their company, Hawes-Harden. After Harden sold her portion of the company to her, Hawes began to work on designs of her own. In 1931, she became the first non-French designer to show at the Paris Spring Fashion Shows, garnering her a great deal of media attention. In 1935, she showed her designs in Moscow, the first display of Western Fashion there since the Russian Revolution of 1917. In 1937, she presented an all-male fashion show of her own brightly colored designs, followed in 1939 by the publication of another book, Men Can Take It. Throughout her career, she became one of the first American designers to establish their reputation outside of the Parisian haute couture model. In addition to her work in the fashion industry, she was an author, union organizer, champion of gender equality, and political activist.
Full Extent
1 placeholder : .5 linear feet
Language of Materials
Undetermined
Arrangement
Thematic and chronological if known
General
Elizabeth Hawes was an American fashion designer and outspoken fashion industry critic. Hawes was a champion of the ready to wear industry and people's right to have the clothes they desired, rather than what was specified as "fashionable." These ideas are encapsulated in her 1938 book Fashion Is Spinach. Hawes began her career as a dress copier in Paris in 1925. In 1926, after the garment firm she worked for closed, she began work as a fashion sketcher. Returning to New York in 1928, and began to produce ready-to-wear copies of French designs with Rosemary Harden for their company, Hawes-Harden. After Harden sold her portion of the company to her, Hawes began to work on designs of her own. In 1931, she became the first non-French designer to show at the Paris Spring Fashion Shows, garnering her a great deal of media attention. In 1935, she showed her designs in Moscow, the first display of Western Fashion there since the Russian Revolution of 1917. In 1937, she presented an all-male fashion show of her own brightly colored designs, followed in 1939 by the publication of another book, Men Can Take It. Throughout her career, she became one of the first American designers to establish their reputation outside of the Parisian haute couture model. In addition to her work in the fashion industry, she was an author, union organizer, champion of gender equality, and political activist.
General
Published
General
US
General
NNFIT
Processing Information
These manuscripts were written while in residence at the Hotel Chelsea between 1967 and 1970/1971, the year of her death. At the time of creation, Hawes' health was suffering from chronic alcoholism; she died of cirrhosis of the liver September 6, 1971.
Arrangement, description, and archival processing by April Calahan, FIT, NY, NY, USA.
Subject
- Hawes, Elizabeth, 1903-1971 (1903-1971) (subject, Person)
- Hotel Chelsea (subject, Organization)
- Fashion Institute of Technology (New York, N.Y.). Museum (subject, Organization)
- Title
- Elizabeth Hawes papers, 1967-1970
- Date
- 2019-01-24
- Description rules
- Aat; Ansi; Dacs; Dcmi; Isad(g); Iso; Lo C; Niso; Etc
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- English Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections and FIT Archive Repository