Muriel King (1900–1977) was an American fashion designer based in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. She was one of the first American fashion designers along with
Elizabeth Hawes
Elizabeth Hawes (December 16, 1903 – September 6, 1971) was an American clothing designer, outspoken critic of the fashion industry, and champion of ready to wear and people's right to have the clothes they desired, rather than the clothes di ...
and
Clare Potter
Clare Potter was a fashion designer who was born in Jersey City, New Jersey in 1903. In the 1930s she was one of the first American fashion designers to be promoted as an individual design talent. Working under her elided name Clarepotter, she ha ...
to achieve name recognition. She also designed costumes for several major films in the 1930s and 1940s.
Early life
Muriel King was born 27 August 1900, in
Bayview, Washington. King began her design studies at the
Cornish School
Cornish College of the Arts (CCA) is a private art college in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1914.
History
Cornish College of the Arts was founded in 1914 as the Cornish School of Music, by Nellie Cornish (1876–1956), a teacher of p ...
, now
Cornish College of the Arts
Cornish College of the Arts (CCA) is a private art college in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1914.
History
Cornish College of the Arts was founded in 1914 as the Cornish School of Music, by Nellie Cornish (1876–1956), a teacher of pi ...
, in scenic design under
Maurice Browne
Maurice Browne (12 February 1881 – 21 January 1955), born in Reading, England, was best known as a theater producer in the United States and the UK. The Cambridge-educated Browne was also a poet, actor, and theater director. He has been cred ...
, co-founder of Cornish's Theater Department, and head designer Thilda Olson—all while attending the University of Washington. She later studied
watercolor painting
Watercolor (American English
American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the Languages of the U ...
and theatre design at the
New York School of Fine and Applied Arts
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 ...
.
[ Afterwards, she went to Paris and worked as a fashion illustrator for magazines such as '' Femina'' and '']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'', ...
''.[ She opened her salon at East 61st Street, New York, in 1932.
]
Fashion design
King specialised in good-quality separates and day-into-evening looks, which proved versatile and good value during the Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
.[Press release for the Muriel King exhibition]
Fashion Institute of Technology, March 5, 2009 King kept her designs simple and high quality, believing that dresses should just have one detail. Her method of working was unusual, as she was not a formally trained fashion designer, and did not cut, drape or sew. She created fully finished watercolour sketches showing her designs, which her tailors and sewing staff then interpreted into proper garments.[
In September 1933 King entered a partnership with the department store ]B. Altman and Company
B. Altman and Company was a luxury department store and chain, founded in 1865 in New York City, New York, by Benjamin Altman. Its flagship store, the B. Altman and Company Building at Fifth Avenue and 34th Street in Midtown Manhattan, ...
, who sold her clothing through their Shop for American Design. Her collection for that season was inspired by 1400s armour, with a suit costing $250 (equivalent to $4625 in 2015) whilst the Altman's reproduction cost $75 (equivalent to $1387.25 in 2015).[ King also signed a licensing partnership with ]Lord & Taylor
Lord & Taylor was the oldest brick and mortar department store in the United States, in business from 1826 to 2020. The brand was purchased during former owner Le Tote's 2020 liquidation bankruptcy and relaunched by new owner, Saadia Group, as ...
. In 1936, Muriel King was featured alongside Elizabeth Hawes
Elizabeth Hawes (December 16, 1903 – September 6, 1971) was an American clothing designer, outspoken critic of the fashion industry, and champion of ready to wear and people's right to have the clothes they desired, rather than the clothes di ...
and Clare Potter
Clare Potter was a fashion designer who was born in Jersey City, New Jersey in 1903. In the 1930s she was one of the first American fashion designers to be promoted as an individual design talent. Working under her elided name Clarepotter, she ha ...
in the second Lord & Taylor "American Look" promotion which championed home-grown American design talent.
King went on to design the personal wardrobe for movie actress Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress in film, stage, and television. Her career as a Hollywood leading lady spanned over 60 years. She was known for her headstrong independence, spirited perso ...
. From 1935 to 1944, she designed costumes for eight major movies, including two of Hepburn's. She was on the short list to design the costumes for ''Gone with the Wind
Gone with the Wind most often refers to:
* Gone with the Wind (novel), ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell
* Gone with the Wind (film), ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel
Gone with the Win ...
'', but despite being the author Margaret Mitchell
Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell (November 8, 1900 – August 16, 1949) was an American novelist and journalist. Mitchell wrote only one novel, published during her lifetime, the American Civil War-era novel '' Gone with the Wind'', for which she wo ...
's favourite, failed to win the job (which went to Walter Plunkett
Walter Plunkett (June 5, 1902 in Oakland, California – March 8, 1982) was a prolific costume designer who worked on more than 150 projects throughout his career in the Hollywood (film industry), Hollywood film industry.
Born in Oakland, Ca ...
).[ She also created film clothes for ]Rita Hayworth
Rita Hayworth (born Margarita Carmen Cansino; October 17, 1918May 14, 1987) was an American actress, dancer and producer. She achieved fame during the 1940s as one of the era's top stars, appearing in 61 films over 37 years. The press coined th ...
, Margaret Sullavan
Margaret Brooke Sullavan (May 16, 1909 – January 1, 1960) was an American stage and film actress.
Sullavan began her career onstage in 1929 with the University Players. In 1933, she caught the attention of film director John M. Stahl and had ...
, and Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer and singer during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starri ...
.[
During the 1940s, in addition to her Hollywood work, King produced ready-to-wear designs for department stores. In 1943, she created a collection of clothes specially for female factory workers at ]Boeing
The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product ...
and other West Coast aerospace firms, called ''Flying Fortress Fashions''.[
In 1945, she was hired director of the Fine and Applied Fashion Department at ]Stephens College
Stephens College is a private women's college in Columbia, Missouri. It is the second-oldest women's educational establishment that is still a women's college in the United States. It was founded on August 24, 1833, as the Columbia Female Acade ...
, a women's college in Columbia, Mo., and helped establish its fashion program.
Later life
King retired from fashion in 1957 to paint full-time. She died in 1977.[
]
Exhibitions
* ''Muriel King: Artist of Fashion'' at 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 ...
, 10 March - 4 April 2009.
Film wardrobe
Muriel King worked on wardrobe for the following films:
* ''Sylvia Scarlett
''Sylvia Scarlett'' is a 1935 American romantic comedy film starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant, based on '' The Early Life and Adventures of Sylvia Scarlett'', a 1918 novel by Compton MacKenzie. Directed by George Cukor, it was notorious ...
'' (1935, Katharine Hepburn's clothes.)
* ''Stage Door
''Stage Door'' is a 1937 RKO film directed by Gregory La Cava. Adapted from the play of the same name, it tells the story of several would-be actresses who live together in a boarding house at 158 West 58th Street in New York City. The film s ...
'' (1937, gowns)
* ''Manhattan Merry-Go-Round
''Manhattan Merry-Go-Round'' is an NBC musical variety radio program that was broadcast from November 6, 1932, until April 17, 1949. The musical revue was produced by Frank and Anne Hummert. Sponsored by Dr. Lyons Tooth Powder, the radio series wa ...
'', (1937, Tamara Geva
Tamara Geva (russian: Тамара Жева, born Tamara Levkievna Zheverzheeva, russian: Тамара Левкиевна Жевержеева; 17 March 1906 – 9 December 1997) was a Soviet and later an American actress, ballet dancer, and ch ...
's gowns)
* ''Appointment for Love
''Appointment for Love'' is a 1941 romantic comedy film directed by William A. Seiter and starring Charles Boyer and Margaret Sullavan. It was made by Universal Pictures.
It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Sound, Recording ( Bern ...
'' (1941, Margaret Sullavan's gowns)
* '' Back Street'' (1941, Margaret Sullavan's gowns)
* '' The Woman in the Window'' (1944)
* ''Casanova Brown
''Casanova Brown'' is a 1944 American comedy romantic film directed by Sam Wood, written by Nunnally Johnson, and starring Gary Cooper, Teresa Wright, and Frank Morgan. The film had its world premiere in western France after the Allies had liber ...
'' (1944)
* ''Christmas Holiday
''Christmas Holiday'' is a 1944 American film noir crime film directed by Robert Siodmak and starring Deanna Durbin and Gene Kelly. Based on the 1939 novel of the same name by W. Somerset Maugham, the film is about a woman who marries a South ...
'' (1944)
* ''Cover Girl
A cover girl is a woman whose photograph features on the front cover of a magazine. She may be a model, celebrity or entertainer. The term would generally not be used to describe a casual, once-off appearance by a person on the cover of a magaz ...
'' (1944, gowns)
References
External links
*
*
American Ingenuity: Sportswear 1930s-1970s
an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Muriel King (see index)
{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Muriel
1900 births
1977 deaths
American fashion designers
20th-century American painters
American costume designers
Women costume designers
American women fashion designers
20th-century American women