B3 - LET’S TALK ABOUT DONALD BROOKS!

Bill Blass, Geoffrey Beene and Donald Brooks were known inside the fashion industry as "the three B's of fashion."

Donald Brooks however, never became as famous as Claire McCardell, Bonnie Cashin, Bill Blass and Geoffrey Beene, the design legends of his era. It is extremely surprising to me after pouring through pictures, press releases, bios and his work that Donald Brooks was not a HUGE star known to everyone!

According to the New York Times:

“Mr. Brooks emerged as American designers began to develop their own style during and after World War II, introducing more casual sportswear while stepping out of the backrooms of garment manufacturing to become fashion personalities with their own labels. “

Mr. Brooks's passion, however, and the majority of his career, belonged to stage and film costume design. I have been doing a lot of research lately and have been completely taken by Donald Brooks and his work and his incredible career...

Much more to come on Donald Brooks…. but in the meantime, enjoy these pictures from the archives...

B1: BILL BLASS -- ONE OF THE 3B's

If you guessed Bill Blass as one of "The Three B's" then you were correct! It was a tie between my friends Christian May of Masion 21 and Superstar Matt O'Grady!

Two more to go... who were the other Two B's...???

Hint: Miss Lambert did public relations for all three...

Keep guessing!

THEY CAME FROM INDIANA... PART 3 LAMBERT

Eleanor Lambert at her desk

Last week I wrote that there are lots of successful people in the fashion business from all over the world, but it seems that there has been an inordinate amount of fashion talent from Indiana.

First I talked about Halston who made his way to New York from Evansville via Chicago. Then we showed some highlights of Bill Blass who came from Fort Wayne... and of course the Empress of Fashion herself, Eleanor Lambert was from Indiana as well!

Born in Crawfordsville, Indiana, Miss Lambert attended John Herron Art Institute in Indianapolis and the Chicago Art Institute studying sculpture and doing fashion sketches and fashion reporting to earn her way to a professional career in New York.

THEY CAME FROM INDIANA... PART 2 BLASS

Bill Blass

Cover Girl Ad featuring Bill Blass, early 1970s

Marissa Berenson in Bill Blass 1966, Vogue

Bill Blass and model, Vogue, early 1960s

Bill Blass was also from Indiana… making his way to New York from Fort Wayne.

Bill Blass was known for his tailoring and his innovative combinations of fabric texures and patterns. He is the recipient of many fashion awards, including seven Coty Awards and the Fashion Institute of Technology’s (FIT) Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999.

Blass began his New York career in 1946 working for Baron de Gunzburg, who was a client of Eleanor Lambert. It was not too long before Miss Lambert added Bill Blass to her roster of clients and was promoting his work. At the beginning of his career he was an in-house designer working for clothing manufacturers. He eventually bought Maurice Rentner which he had joined in 1959, and renamed it Bill Blass Limited. Over the next 30 years he expanded his line to include swimwear, furs, luggage, perfume, and chocolate.

The thing I personally remember was how impressive a Bill Blass fashion show was. The Bill Blass shows I attended were in the tents in Bryant Park and I will never forget the crowd... editors and ALL the society ladies arriving - one after the other - creating complete towncar gridlock outside the tents and the presentations themselves being incredible season after season.

"Bill Blass took American sportswear to its highest level…giving it a clean modern, impeccable style… He, probably more than any designer knew his customer and understood her.”

- Ellin Saltzman, The New York Times

THEY CAME FROM INDIANA... Part I HALSTON

A young Halston

"Halston of Bergdorf Goodman" with actress Anita Cobb 1965, photo by Ormond Gigli

photo of Halston in the 1970s by Andy Warhol

Harper's Bazaar editorial spread 1970s, photo by Bill King

Halston at his NYC townhouse, photo by Harry Benson

There are lots of successful people in the fashion business from all over the world, but it seems that there has been an inordinate amount of fashion talent from Indiana. Halston made his way to New York from Evansville, Indiana via Chicago.

Halston's first job in New York was working for the famous hat designer Lilly Dache, who happened to be a long-time client of Eleanor Lambert. Miss Lambert had an amazing eye for recognizing new talent... and soon she was promoting Halston too!

Halston won the first of numerous Coty Awards beginning in 1962. In the early 1960s he was the famous hat designer "Halston of Bergdorf Goodman" designing hats for Jackie Kennedy. In the 1970s, he reached the height of his fame and his designs helped to define the decade and American style. Bill Blass said it best:

"Halston was really the first American designer to make

an original statement,

particularly in a time when fashion

was so derivative of European designs,

it sounds corny,

but he was the quintessential American designer."

-Bill Blass