Sutherland

Lucy Christiana (1862-1935). English dressmaker. Lucy Sutherland was a survivor of the Titanic. She used to cut and sew dresses for her sister, the writer Elinor Glyn, and, when she was forced to enter into an uncertain marriage, she decided to go against the grain and take up dressmaking. In her work she looked back to the elegance of the 18^th century, and became successful, partly because her already famous sister introduced members of high society to her workshop in Old Burlington Street. She also designed costumes for the theater. At the beginning of the 20^th century she moved to Hanover Square and called her fashion house Lucille. In 1910, she set up shop in New York, in 1912 in Paris, and in 1915 in Chicago. Between 1916 and 1920, Ziegfeld had her make the magnificent costumes for his musicals. But, immediately after World War I tastes changed. In the space of just a few years, Lucille’s glory waned and her company went bankrupt in 1923. She, however, remarried and became Lady Duff Gordon. Her autobiography was entitled Discretions and Indiscretions.