André and Creators Studios fashion drawings, 1937-1972 KA.0011 This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit February 28, 2017 Describing Archives: A Content Standard Kellen Design Archives December 13, 2010 66 5th Ave./ lobby level New York, NY, 10011 212.229.5942 archivist@newschool.edu
Table of Contents Collection Overview... 2 Historical Note... 3 Scope and Contents of Collection... 4 Organization and arrangement... 4 Administrative Information... 4 Related Materials... 5 Keywords for Searching Related Subjects... 5 Other Finding Aids note... 5 Collection Inventory... 6 Series I. André... 6 Series II. Creators Studios... 8 Collection Overview Repository Kellen Design Archives Creator - Designer Alexander, Pearl Creator Andre# (New York, N.Y.). Creator Creators Studios (Firm). Creator - Designer Steel, Howard Creator - Donor Teitelbaum, Walter Title André and Creators Studios fashion drawings - Page 2 -
Date [inclusive] 1937-1972 André and Creators Studios fashion drawings, 1937-1972 KA.0011 Extent 8.8 linear ft: 21 boxes Summary André and Creators Studios were Seventh Avenue fashion businesses that marketed their designs to clothing manufacturers by subscription. In the mid-1970s Pearl Alexander Lipman, André's co-owner and designer since the 1930s, retired, and the company's design drawings were sold to Creators Studios. The collection consists of reproductions of designs -- some vibrantly hand-colored -- produced and distributed by the two companies between 1937 and 1972. Preferred Citation note [Identification of item], [date (if known)], André and Creators Studios fashion drawings, KA.0011, box, folder, New School Archives and Special Collections, The New School, New York, New York. Historical Note André and Creators Studios were two competing fashion design enterprises that emerged from New York's Seventh Avenue. Creators Studios acquired the older André in the 1970s. André was established in New York in the early 1930s by Leonard Schwartzback and Pearl L. Alexander (later, Pearl Lipman). The company sold designs for women's suits and coats to garment manufacturers on a weekly subscription basis. Schwartzback acted as salesman, while Alexander directed the design department. After Alexander retired in the 1970s, Schwartzback sold André, including its fashion design sketches, to Creators Studios, and shepherded the transfer of his client list to the new firm. Creators Studios was established in New York around 1957 by Walter Teitelbaum, Leo Boren, and Howard Steel. Like André, Creators Studios sold fashion designs in sketch form to manufacturers. The company promised to deliver the latest trends to subscribers. By the mid-1970s, only Teitelbaum remained of the original partners. After Schwartzback sold his business to Teitelbaum, Creators Studios began incorporating details of André designs into new products. Creators Studios closed in the early 1980s. Source: letter from Walter Teitelbaum, 2000. - Page 3 -
André and Creators Studios fashion drawings, 1937-1972 KA.0011 Scope and Contents of Collection The collection consists of printed fashion design drawings for women's and children's garments. Some materials were formerly bound into volumes. André designs are exclusively for women's suits and coats and children's coats, prominently signed by Pearl Alexander. Earlier André designs are vibrantly hand-colored, while later designs are reproduced in black-and-white. The André Series contains drawings produced by Pearl Alexander, collectively titled "Fifth Avenue Reporter" and "Summer Resort Reporter" with the byline, "as seen by Pearl Alexander." These drawings, which are sometimes briefly annotated, function as visual reportage on upcoming fashion trends. Alexander's reports promised to help manufacturers prepare for consumer demand. Also of note is a February 1963 sales memo authored by Alexander. Addressed to Andre's clients who were receiving the designs on a subscription basis, the memo outlines trends for the Fall 1963 season. Creators Studios' prints of design drawings encompass women's coats, dresses, lingerie, sportswear, and suits. Many of the early Creators Studios design drawings are signed by Howard Steel, while later drawings are unsigned. Like the André drawings, the Creators Studios drawings are hand-colored, with the exception of lingerie designs. The run of Creators Studios designs is more complete than the André designs. A large percentage of the designs featured in both firms' drawings are labeled "adaptations" or "import adaptations," indicating they were based on designer apparel. The André designs feature codes indicating which couture designer inspired a particular outfit. A code key will be found in Box 1, Folder 11. Organization and arrangement Organized in 2 series. André series is chronological by publication date; Creators Studios series is alphabetical by garment type. I André, 1937-1967 II Creators Studios, 1957-1972 Administrative Information Publication Information Kellen Design Archives December 13, 2010 - Page 4 -
Conditions Governing Access note André and Creators Studios fashion drawings, 1937-1972 KA.0011 Collection is open for research use. Please contact archivist@newschool.edu for appointment. Use Restrictions To publish images of material from this collection, permission must be obtained in writing from the New School Archives. Please contact: archivist@newschool.edu. Immediate Source of Acquisition note All materials except 1950 André drawings donated by Walter Teitelbaum, 2000. André drawings from 1950 donated by Josseline Van Nuffel, 2017. Related Materials The New York Public Library and the Fashion Institute of Technology hold related collections of André and Creators Studios fashion sketches. The Abe Grubère papers at Yeshiva University Museum contain André fashion designs by Pearl Alexander dating from 1933 through 1966 (Series II. Other Designers, 1922-1960). The Abe Gruber Archives at the Brooklyn Museum also include fashion designs by Pearl Alexander for André. Keywords for Searching Related Subjects Genre(s) Drawings. Newsletters. Subject(s) Clothing trade -- New York (State) -- New York. Fashion design. Fashion illustration. Fashion merchandising. Women's clothing industry. Women-owned business enterprises. Other Finding Aids note - Page 5 -
For selected item-level description and images from the André and Creators Studios fashion drawings, see The New School Archives Digital Collections at http://digitalarchives.library.newschool.edu/index.php/ Detail/collections/KA0011. Collection Inventory Series I. André 1937-1967 Box Folder 1937 Spring 1 1-8 1938 Oct 1 9-10 Nov 1 11 2 1-2 Dec 2 3 1941 Nov 2 4 1941 Dec 2 5-7 1942 Jan 2 8-9 Feb 2 10-11 Mar 2 12 Sept-Oct 3 1 Oct 3 2 Nov 3 3-4 Dec 3 5 1943 Jan 3 6 Jan-Feb 3 7 Feb 3 8 1949 Collection examples 3 9 Feb 3 10 Feb-Mar 3 11 Mar 3 12 Apr 4 1 Apr-May 4 2 - Page 6 -
May 4 3 Jun 4 4 Jun-Jul 4 5 Jul 4 6 1950 Aug 28 k_7 18 1953 Feb 4 7 Feb-Mar 4 8 Mar 4 9 Apr 4 10 Apr-May 4 11 May 4 12 Jun 4 13 Jun-Jul 5 1 Jul 5 2 1957 Adaptations 5 3 Feb 5 4 Feb-Mar 5 5 Mar 5 6 Apr 5 7 Apr-May 5 8 May 5 9 Jun 5 10 Jun-Jul 5 11 Jul 5 12 1958 Feb 5 13 Feb-Mar 5 14 Mar 5 15 Apr 6 1 May 6 2 May-Jul 6 3 Jun-Jul 6 4 Jul-Aug adaptations 6 5 - Page 7 -
Aug 6 6 Sept 6 7 Oct 6 8 Nov 6 9 Dec 6 10 1959 Jan 6 11 1962 Adaptations 6 12 Feb 6 13 Mar 6 14 Apr 7 1 May 7 2 Jun-Jul 7 3 Aug 7 4 Sept 7 5 Oct 7 6 Nov 7 7 1962 Dec-1963 Jan 7 8 1963 Feb adaptations 7 9 1967 Mar-Apr 7 10 May-Jun 7 11 Jul-Aug 8 1 Series II. Creators Studios 1957-1972 Coats 1958-1972 Box Folder 1958 8 2 1959 8 3 1960 8 4-6 1961 8 7 1962 8 8 1963 8 9-10 9 1 1964 9 2-3 1965 9 4-5 - Page 8 -
1966 10 1 9 6 1967 10 2 1968 10 3 1969 10 4 1970 Fall-1971 Spring 10 5 1971 Fall-1972 Spring-Summer 10 6-7 Dresses 1958-1972 1958 10 8-10 11 1-7 12 1-3 1959 12 4-8 1961 13 1 1962 13 2 1963 13 3 1964 13 4-6 1965 13 7 14 1 1966 14 2-4 1967 14 5 15 1-3 1968 15 4 1969 15 5-6 1970 Fall-1971 Spring 15 7 16 1 1971 Fall-1972 Spring-Summer 16 2-3 Box Folder Lingerie 1957 16 4-7 Sportswear 1959-1971 Box Folder 1959 17 1-6 1960 17 7 1961 17 8-9 1963 18 1-2 1965 18 3 - Page 9 -
1966 18 4 1970 Fall-1971 Spring 18 5 Suits 1958-1972 Box Folder 1958 18 6-10 1961 19 1 1962 19 2-3 1963 19 4-5 1964 19 6 20 1 1965 20 2-3 1966 20 4 1967 20 5 1968 20 6 1969 21 1 1970 Fall-1971 Spring 21 2-4 1971 Fall-1972 Spring-Summer 21 5-6 - Page 10 -