Jacob H. Horwitz (1 January 1892 – 11 October 1992), known as Jack, was an American businessman and philanthropist and a fashion innovator whose company, Horwitz and Duberman (founded 1925), was one of the first to specialise in junior miss and teenage clothing.

Early life

Horwitz was born 1 January 1892, in London. His family migrated to America while he was a child, with the assistance of the

Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society HIAS (founded as the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society) is a Jewish American nonprofit organization that provides humanitarian aid and assistance to refugees. It was originally established in 1881 to aid Jewish refugees. In 1975, the State Department ...

. He went to school in Connecticut, graduating in 1910. Rather than study engineering at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

, the young Horwitz and a friend decided to launch a grocer's in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. As a member of the

National Guard of the United States The National Guard is a state-based military force that becomes part of the reserve components of the United States Army and the United States Air Force when activated for federal missions.John J. Pershing General of the Armies John Joseph Pershing (September 13, 1860 – July 15, 1948), nicknamed "Black Jack", was a senior United States Army officer. He served most famously as the commander of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) on the Wes ...

to participate in the

Pancho Villa Expedition The Pancho Villa Expedition—now known officially in the United States as the Mexican Expedition, but originally referred to as the "Punitive Expedition, U.S. Army"—was a military operation conducted by the United States Army against the p ...

. When he returned, he found the grocery business had been bankrupted. Horwitz then served in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in France as a sergeant, and as a

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...

man in Argonne.

Fashion

Horwitz formed the Horwitz & Duberman company in 1925. His partner, Duberman, was a Ukrainian Russian Jew who had emigrated from Hamburg in April 1913 after deserting from the Russian Army, and became a naturalised citizen in 1920. Horwitz & Duberman originally produced

shirtwaist From the early 19th century through the Edwardian period, the word ''waist'' was a term common in the United States for the bodice of a dress or for a blouse or woman's shirt. A shirtwaist was originally a separate blouse constructed like a shirt; ...

s, which Horwitz added skirts to in order to create dresses. In 1987 Horwitz recalled that when young women and teenagers had to buy clothing, they were forced to buy adult size clothing and then alter it to make it fit. At that time, the "junior miss" market was largely overlooked, and by offering clothing under the "Judy and Jill Fashions" label specifically for teenagers and young women, Horwitz's business proved successful. In 1939 the company offered dresses branded with the name of the popular actress and singer

Deanna Durbin Edna Mae Durbin (December 4, 1921 – April 17, 2013), known professionally as Deanna Durbin, was a Canadian-born actress and singer, who moved to the USA with her family in infancy. She appeared in musical films in the 1930s and 1940s. With t ...

, who was in her late teens at the time, and a Junior Miss size. Horwitz was awarded the

Coty Award The Coty American Fashion Critics' Awards (awarded 1943–1984) were created in 1942 by the cosmetics and perfume company Coty, Inc. to promote and celebrate American fashion, and encourage design during the Second World War. In 1985, the Coty Awa ...

in 1947 alongside

Nettie Rosenstein Nettie Rosenstein (1890 - March 13, 1980) was an American fashion designer, based in New York City between c.1913 and 1975. She was particularly renowned for her little black dresses and costume jewelry.Libo, Dr. Kenneth; & Skakun, Michael, Two Ou ...

Adele Simpson Adele Simpson (December 8,''Adele Simpson'', Current Biography Yearbook, H.W. Wilson Company, 1971, p. 397. 1903 '' – '' August 23, 1995) was an American fashion designer with a successful career that spanned nearly five decades, as well as a ...

, and Mark Mooring, the made-to-order designer for

Bergdorf Goodman Bergdorf Goodman Inc. is a luxury department store based on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York. The company was founded in 1899 by Herman Bergdorf and was later owned and managed by Edwin Goodman, and later his son, Andrew Goodman. To ...

. That year, the awards were selected to reflect the best examples of each of the industry's four main branches, with Horwitz chosen to represent junior fashion. Horwitz said in 1987 that he received the award as much for his encouragement and support of his young employees as for his own work, particularly as he was conscious to hire young women whom he would teach design and sales skills. Although Horwitz designed clothing, he saw himself as "more of a stylist than a designer," and worked closely with his young employees, choosing what to make up from their design drawings. In March 1953 ''

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 ...

'' ran an article showing a weekend

capsule wardrobe A capsule wardrobe is a collection of clothing that is composed of interchangeable items only, to maximise the number of outfits that can be created. The aim is to have an outfit suitable for any occasion without owning excessive items of clothing ...

designed by Betse Cann for Horwitz & Duberman, offering six crushproof outfits which could be fitted, along with underwear and accessories, into a single handbag. In the early 1950s Horwitz bought out Duberman, and the company became Jack Horwitz Associates. He had retired from his business by 1960, but went on to assist a friend who worked in the coat-making business before retiring finally in 1970.

Philanthropy

As a philanthropist Horwitz was particularly remembered for his role in founding the

Long Island Jewish Medical Center Long Island Jewish Medical Center (LIJMC or LIJ) is a clinical and academic hospital within the Northwell Health system. It is a 807-bed, non-profit tertiary care teaching hospital serving the greater New York metropolitan area. The campus is e ...

in 1949, on whose board of directors he sat for over forty years. At the age of 94 he was still actively attending the center's board and committee meetings. He was also involved in the founding of 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 ...

Costume Institute The Anna Wintour Costume Center is a wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's main building in Manhattan that houses the collection of the Costume Institute. The center is named after Anna Wintour, the longtime and current editor-in-chief of ''V ...

, and fundraising for the Institute. He also supported and served as an officer for the

Fashion Institute of Technology The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) is a public college in New York City. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) and focuses on art, business, design, mass communication, and technology connected to the fashion industry. It ...

and the

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militi ...

alongside Jewish organisations such as the HIAS (who had assisted him and his family to come to the United States), the

Federation of Jewish Philanthropies UJA-Federation of New York (United Jewish Appeal⁣ – ⁣Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York, Inc.) is the largest local philanthropy in the world. Headquartered in New York City, the organization raises and allocates funds annually ...

, the Five Towns Young Men's and Young Women's Hebrew Association, and the Temple Israel synagogue in Lawrence, Long Island.

Later life and death

Horwitz was married to Rose Greenberger for 59 years until her death in 1986. He died at home in

Lawrence, Nassau County, New York Lawrence is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, New York (state), New York, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the village population was 6,483. The Village of Lawre ...

, aged 100, on 11 October 1992 of congestive heart failure.

Early life

Fashion

Philanthropy

Later life and death

References

Further reading