Traphagen School of Fashion


Traphagen School of Fashion was an art and design school in operation from 1923 to 1991, and was located at 1680 Broadway in New York City. The school was founded and directed by Ethel Traphagen Leigh with a focus on the foundational concepts of the American design movement. This was one of the earliest fashion schools and played a role in the development of American fashion by educating over 28,000 students in 68 years of operation.

History

Traphagen School of Fashion was founded in 1923 by Ethel Traphagen Leigh with a focus on the foundational concepts of the American design movement.
Traphagen School encouraged student experimentation with materials and construction techniques. One of the educational tenets of the Traphagen School of Fashion was a "design-by-adaptation" method, which included historical research. The school had a large collection of books and historic fashion plates, which was a source of inspiration for student work. The "design-by-adaptation" method often resulted in the appropriation of fashion in different cultures, including Native American and African American fashion.
The semi- quarterly alumni magazine was called Fashion Digest, highlighting industry partnerships, honors and work by alumni.
In March 2019, the Museum at Fashion Institute of Technology hosted a survey exhibition of the school, ''The Traphagen School: Fostering American Fashion.''

Alumni

Actors, entertainment industry

  • Edie Adams, comedienne, actress, singer, businesswoman, and Tony Award winner.

    Fashion designers

  • Geoffrey Beene, fashion designer.
  • Hazel Rodney Blackman, Jamaican-born American fashion designer
  • Luis Estévez, Cuban-born American fashion designer, costume designer.
  • James Galanos, fashion designer.
  • Stan Herman, fashion designer of corporate uniforms.
  • Victor Joris, fashion designer known for women's apparel and pioneering pantsuits and long coats.
  • Anne Klein,, fashion designer.
  • John Kloss, fashion designer, known for lingerie and sleepwear designs.
  • Robert Knox, fashion designer at Ben Gershel.
  • Helen Lee, fashion designer for children's clothing. Her own line, Designs by Helen Lee Inc., was established in 1955.
  • Maurice Levin, fashion designer for Jantzen, and West Coast mid-century modern fashion for men and women.
  • Mary McFadden, fashion designer.
  • Arthur McGee, fashion designer, first African American designer working in design studio on Seventh Avenue in the Garment District in New York City.
  • Franklin Rowe, fashion designer.
  • Carolyn Schnurer fashion designer and a pioneer in American sportswear.

    Illustrators

  • Antonio Lopez Puerto Rican-born American fashion illustrator.
  • Esta Nesbitt, fashion illustrator and xerox artist.
  • Robert William Meyers, magazine and children's book illustrator.
  • Ann Kempner Levere, worked in several Manhattan pattern companies including Simplicity Pattern in the 1950s and 60s.

    Painters

  • Nela Arias-Misson, Cuban-American abstract expressionist painter.
  • Mavis Pusey, Jamaican abstract painter, printmaker.

    Other

  • Carolyn Cassady, author associated with Beat Generation.
  • Vera Neumann, textile artist and entrepreneur, known for her scarves.
  • Gladys Parker, cartoons and comics artist.

    Faculty

  • Alon Bement, served as Dean of Traphagen between 1946 until 1951, where he taught interior design courses.
  • Edward Dufner, painter