Ben Zuckerman (July 29, 1890 – August 9, 1979) was a Romanian born, American fashion designer known particularly for his high-quality tailored coats and suits. He made clothes for
Jacqueline Kennedy while she was
First Lady of the United States.
Early life
Ben Zuckerman was born in
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...
on 29 July 1890, and immigrated along with his family when he was still a child. The family settled in
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
, where Zuckerman left school aged 15.
Career
The young Zuckerman started out as a floor sweeper for a dress factory, but built up his skills, until, aged 21, he was able to launch his first business in partnership with Joseph Hoffman. In the late 1920s, the company was succeeded by a new one, Zuckerman & Kraus, which lasted until 1949.
[
After travelling Europe and touring the United States, Ben Zuckerman came back to New York and launched his eponymous company "Ben Zuckerman" in 1950.][ His head designer was a former boxer and gas-pump attendant, Harry Shacter, who was also Zuckerman's partner personally as well as professionally.] Stanley Marcus recalled that Shacter had a particular knack for going to Paris couture presentations, where sketching was not allowed, and memorising up to fifty looks from the show which he would accurately draw afterwards. This enabled Ben Zuckerman to offer clothing that closely reproduced the latest Paris fashions without having to pay expensive reproduction fees.[
Zuckerman, although he could not sew,][ was known as the "Master Tailor of Seventh Avenue."] The quality of his boldly coloured suits and coats was much admired, and very influential on the way American women dressed.[ His work was described as looking like it had been made by couturiers such as Dior and Balenciaga.] Grace Kelly
Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982) was an American actress who, after starring in several significant films in the early to mid-1950s, became Princess of Monaco by marrying Prince Rainier III in April 1956.
Kelly ...
wore one of his coat and dress ensembles in 1956 when she arrived in Monaco to marry Prince Rainier
Rainier III (Rainier Louis Henri Maxence Bertrand Grimaldi; 31 May 1923 – 6 April 2005) was Prince of Monaco from 1949 to his death in 2005. Rainier ruled the Principality of Monaco for almost 56 years, making him one of the longest-ruling m ...
, and proudly wore the same coat nine years later whilst pregnant with her youngest child.
When Jacqueline Kennedy became First Lady of the United States, she consulted with Diana Vreeland
Diana Vreeland (September 29, 1903 – August 22, 1989) was a French-American fashion columnist and editor. She worked for the fashion magazine ''Harper's Bazaar'' and as editor-in-chief at ''Vogue'', later becoming a special consultant to the ...
to get names of all-American designers who would be appropriately patriotic choices to dress her for her role. After considering the request, particularly Kennedy's request for designers who could reproduce Paris-style elegance, Vreeland recommended Zuckerman alongside Norman Norell
Norman David Levinson (April 20, 1900 – October 25, 1972) known professionally as Norman Norell, was an American fashion designer famed for his elegant gowns, suits, and tailored silhouettes. His designs for the Traina-Norell and Norell fashion ...
, and the sportswear
Sportswear or activewear is clothing, including footwear, worn for sport or physical exercise. Sport-specific clothing is worn for most sports and physical exercise, for practical, comfort or safety reasons.
Typical sport-specific garments ...
designer Stella Sloat. A purple wool Zuckerman coat closely based on a Pierre Cardin
Pierre Cardin (, , ), born Pietro Costante Cardino (2 July 1922 – 29 December 2020), was an Italian-born naturalised-French fashion designer. He is known for what were his avant-garde style and Space Age designs. He preferred geometric sha ...
model was originally going to be worn for the Inauguration Day
The inauguration of the president of the United States is a ceremony to mark the commencement of a new four-year term of the president of the United States. During this ceremony, between 73 to 79 days after the presidential election, the pres ...
, although Kennedy changed her mind and wore it instead for a tour of the White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
with Mamie Eisenhower.[
The quality of Zuckerman's clothing was also noted by the poet ]Marianne Moore
Marianne Craig Moore (November 15, 1887 – February 5, 1972) was an American modernist poet, critic, translator, and editor. Her poetry is noted for formal innovation, precise diction, irony, and wit.
Early life
Moore was born in Kirkwood ...
, who wrote a short poem about it that was engraved on an award from the Coat and Suit Board in 1963.
Ben Zuckerman retired and closed his business in 1968. In 1973, Zuckerman and Shacter were elected charter members of the Council of Fashion Designers of America
The Council of Fashion Designers of America, Inc. (CFDA), founded in 1962 by publicist Eleanor Lambert, and headquartered in Manhattan, is a not-for-profit trade association comprising a membership of over 450 American fashion and accessory d ...
.
Awards
Ben Zuckerman won his first Coty Award in 1952, the Return Award in 1957, and the Hall of Fame Award in 1961. He was also a recipient of the Neiman Marcus Fashion Award The Neiman Marcus Award for Distinguished Service in the Field of Fashion was a yearly award created in 1938 by Carrie Marcus Neiman and Stanley Marcus. Unlike the Coty Award, it was not limited to American-based fashion designers. Recipients of th ...
in 1951, alongside the ceramicist Ernestine Cannon and the ready-to-wear designer Jane Derby
Jane Derby (May 17, 1895 – August 7, 1965) was an American fashion designer.
Born Jeanette Fleming Barr in Rocky Mount, Virginia in 1895, Derby first worked as an apprentice designer before opening her own business in 1936 in New York. She later ...
.
Death
Zuckerman died at his home in Palm Beach on August 9, 1979.[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zuckerman, Ben
1890 births
1979 deaths
American fashion designers
Artists from New York City
Romanian emigrants to the United States
American people of Romanian-Jewish descent
LGBT fashion designers
20th-century LGBT people