Jo Copeland (1899– March 20, 1982) was an American fashion designer. She received the Neiman Marcus Fashion Award in 1944.

Early life and education

Copeland was born in New York City in 1899 to parents Samuel and Minna Copeland, however her mother died during childbirth. Copeland was educated in New York at

Parsons School of Design Parsons School of Design, known colloquially as Parsons, is a private art and design college located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. Founded in 1896 after a group of progressive artists broke away from established Manhatt ...

and

Art Students League of New York The Art Students League of New York is an art school at 215 West 57th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may stu ...

Career

After graduating from the Parsons School of Design, she began working as a designer which paid enough to help put her older brothers through

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

. Copeland began selling her own designs as a commercial artist to manufacturing firms and was hired by Pattulo Models Inc in 1920 as a fashion illustrator. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

led to the liberation of Paris, Copeland began looking at other sources of inspiration for fashion including China and South America. She also persuaded other American fashion designers to become independent from Paris' influence. Copeland was so determined to not be influenced by Paris that she refused to travel to the city after 1947. By 1949, she was promoted to partner at the firm Pattulo Models Inc and eventually became Vice-President and Head Designer at Pattulo-Jo Copeland Inc. where she earned a reputation for refusing to conform to typical fashion norms. Copeland designed the buttoned, two-piece suit for women to wear without a blouse. She rejected the

Mod Mod, MOD or mods may refer to: Places * Modesto City–County Airport, Stanislaus County, California, US Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Mods (band), a Norwegian rock band * M.O.D. (Method of Destruction), a band from New York City, US ...

style as desperation to be noticed and a sign of immaturity. As a result, many of her designs incorporated an extended torso and skirts no shorter than two inches above the knee. She received the 1944 Neiman Marcus Fashion Award for her designs. Copeland died on March 20, 1982, from a stroke. A collection of her designs is on display at 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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Copeland, Jo 1982 deaths 1899 births American fashion designers American Jews Jewish women in business Parsons School of Design alumni 20th-century American businesswomen 20th-century American businesspeople American women fashion designers