Wedding dress

Bonnie Cashin created award-winning clothing known for its casual comfort. As the daughter of a dressmaker, she was exposed to textiles and fashion nearly from birth and began designing professionally in 1925, at age 17. Prior to establishing her own company in 1951, she designed for Adler & Adler and Twentieth Century-Fox. Thereafter she worked with manufacturers such as Sills and Co. and Coach to offer fashion and accessories in every price bracket. She was adept at manipulating organic components into modern basics which could easily be mixed, matched and layered for the active woman. Her brightly colored leather trim, metallic toggle hardware and shaped knits are still a recognizable trademark of her work today. In 1962 the Brooklyn Museum, with her assistance and donations, staged, "Bonnie Cashin Presents Her Living Sketch Book," which was a retrospective of her work. Cashin's forethought to preserve her past while still designing is one which makes her work still accessible today.

Cashin's propensity for experimenting with leather is apparent in this unique wedding gown. The supple leather bodice is carefully molded to form and the flowers are nicely crafted to create a realistic appearance from an un-conventional material. This classic Cashin shape is distinctive and can be seen resonating in much of her work during this period. Cashin created this dress for the "Leather Originals Gala," a ballet performance and fashion show, presented by the Leather Industries of America at the Brooklyn Museum in July 1953.