Book review of “Empresses of Seventh Avenue, World War II, New York City and the Birth of American Fashion,” by Nancy MacDonell
Ever since France’s Louis XIV ruled the fashion world, the most Seventh Avenue could do was copy, counterfeit and create cheap knockoffs of Paris’ elite fashions. All styles came from there so the most designers here could do is simply look to Paris for inspiration.
But when the Nazis invaded France in 1940, the fashion capital was cut off from the rest of the world and the biggest names in American fashion – who had been working anonymously – rose to the forefront: Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, Donna Karan, Halston, Tom Ford, Marc Jacobs and Michael Kors.
The story of how this Nazi invasion of France affected American fashion revealed the rise of the American fashion industry. Starting in September 1940, these American designers began to shine on their own, and by 1945, they rivaled France. Then New York truly challenged Paris!
The democratic principles of American designers created couture for all types of women. It included sportswear, ready-to-wear, and mix-and-match outfits so the first American designers became the “empresses” of Seventh Avenue. No more were the French legends the only source of haute couture. Claire McCardell gave us unstructured bathing suits, wool leggings, separates, denim and ballet flats. Diana Vreeland and Lois Long gave us fashion criticism. Fashion publicist Eleanor Lambert founded the Met Gala in 1948. Model Lauren Bacall who was the “French Girl” in America in her day.
Author MacDonell, fashion historian and journalist, is the former archivist of the Fashion Institute of Technology, and columnist for the Wall Street Journal where she explained the genesis of the polka dot and the history of the “It Bag.” She incorporates details with insider gossip, facts, and colorful characters. This historical account explains the people, stores, magazines, and companies that launched American fashion and resulted in fashion design’s relocation to New York.
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These New York-based designers, retailers, editors, and photographers gave us clothes suited to our American way of life—modern, comfortable, affordable, practical, and sophisticated. By the war’s end, “The American Look” was firmly established. It was fresh, less fussy, more useful, stylish, chic, functional and it included sportswear, denim and sneakers, all thanks to a small group of women who put American fashion on the world stage and helped a $500 billion industry that employed millions become the largest in the world.
MacDonell’s colorful quotes, scandalous tidbits of gossip and hilarious accounts of the personalities of those who made Seventh Avenue the center of fashion make for a fun read. One reviewer said, “This narrative reads like a marvelous novel. Her engaging writing doesn’t need any enhancement because her sentences are as fetching as a haute couture ensemble.”
