Cashin
Bonnie Cashin (1915). American designer famous for inventing the “layered” dress. She was able to combine different fabrics with great skill. These included leather and organza, as well as poplin, suede, cloth, and tweed. Considered among the most interesting designers, she always offered an independent style fit for active and daring women. Born in Oakland, California, with a dressmaker mother and a photographer father, she made her début at a very young age in a Los Angeles dance company. After going to New York to pursue her dance, she created the costumes for the company at the Roxy Music Hall. In 1937, she began to design for the prêt-à-porter brand Adler & Adler. In 1943, she moved to Hollywood, where she worked for six years at 20th Century Fox. She would dress one of the most elegant actresses of the time, Gene Tierney, in Laura (1944). Her great creative period was in the 1950s and 1960s. Some of her most successful designs were the kimono dresses, the high-neck knit dresses, and the several versions of her long-fringed poncho in mohair. She was given the Neiman Marcus Award and received the Coty prize five times.