Suit

Designer Bonnie Cashin American

Not on view

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.

This ensemble, made from the un-expected plush zibeline, is a flirtatious example of a 1950 suit. The jacket's inventive cut creates a rounded voluminous front and forms a cowl-like stand away neck in the back. While the more traditional round skirt has common Cashin touches such as large rounded side pockets, with seam lines exposed, and pink lining.

Suit, Bonnie Cashin (American, Oakland, California 1908–2000 New York), wool, silk, American

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