Carolyn Schnurer (born in New York City as Carolyn Goldsand on January 5, 1908 and died on March 15, 1998 in Palm Beach, Florida
/ref>) was a fashion designer and a pioneer in American

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 ...

. Schnurer's designs have been featured in the magazines ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

'', ''

Harper's Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. It was first published in New York City on November 2, 1867, as the weekly ''Harper's Bazar''. ''Harper's Bazaar'' is published by Hearst and considers itself to be the st ...

'', and ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

'' as well as in the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

.Metropolitan Museum of Art
/ref> She has also received awards for her designs from Coty, The Cotton Council, International Sportswear, Miami Sportswear, and Boston Sportswear.

Early life and education

Carolyn Schnurer was born in New York City on January 5, 1908 as Carolyn Goldsand.Fashion Encyclopedia
/ref> As a young woman, Schnurer studied at the New York Training School for Teachers. She taught art and music at a public school, where she would occasionally design styles as part of her work. She married Harold Teller "Burt" Schnurer, a bathing suit designer, in 1930, who encouraged her to pursue fashion design instead of teaching. Schnurer received her B.S. degree from New York University (NYU) in 1941. Schnurer studied fashion at the

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 (1883–1963) with a focus on the foundational ...

class of 1939 in Costume Design.

Fashion career

Carolyn Schnurer is best known for her beach and play clothes, particularly her cotton bathing suits as opposed to the more common knit bathing suits. Schnurer was also noted for her culturally-inspired resort collections. According to the

, Schnurer's globally inspired designs were not costumes, they "typically featured one or two understated thematic details in the cut or fabric, while maintaining a classic American silhouette." In 1944, Schnurer traveled to the Andes for inspiration. According to the Milwaukee Journal, she covered "15,000 air miles of mountainous roads" during the trip. Schnurer's Andes-inspired collected was presented in 1945 as "Serrano Fashions." The fashions used fabric familiar to American consumers in a range of light and dark colors. The cholo coat and pollera skirt were considered particular highlights of the collection. Over the years, Schnurer traveled to France, Ireland, Turkey, Japan, Hong Kong, Myanmar, Ghana, South Africa, and India for inspiration. According to Richard Martin of the

, Schunrer was a "devoted researcher" who consulted museum experts before creating her collection. In 1956, Schnurer's fashion line was reportedly making seven million dollars a year in sales.

Schnurer in the textile industry

Carolyn Schnurer was successful in textile design as well as fashion design because of her unique textiles. Her clothing materials were often praised in ''American Fabrics'', a popular magazine founded in 1949 which featured samples of various fabrics.SVA Library for Pictures & Periodicals Collections
/ref> In addition to her own line, Schnurer also designed fabrics for ABC fabrics during the early 1950s. Examples of her textiles can be found in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection:
Textile 1 Textile 2

Later life and legacy

Schnurer's fashion career spanned twenty years, lasting from 1944 until her retirement in 1964. Carolyn Schnurer encouraged leisure time for the average American woman through her popular casual clothing designs. She also encouraged American fashion designers to take influences from cultures outside of America and to a lesser extent Europe. In 2016, an embroidered, elephant-motif top by Carolyn Schnurer opened "The Women of Harper's Bazaar" exhibit at Gallery FIT.

References

External links

Bathing suit, circa 1944–45, Metropolitan Museum of ArtRice Bowl Dress, 1952, Metropolitan Museum of ArtCarolyn Schnurer collection, 1950-1955
from The Irene Lewisohn Costume Reference Library at the Costume Institute, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York {{DEFAULTSORT:Schnurer, Carolyn 1908 births 1998 deaths American fashion designers American women fashion designers Artists from New York City New York University alumni Traphagen School of Fashion alumni 20th-century American women 20th-century American people