Designer Spotlight: Mary McFadden

Mary McFadden, “design archaeologist,” “a high priestess of fashion,” and “an American fashion icon.”

As a young girl, Mary McFadden lived on a cotton plantation in Tennessee, then moved to Long Island, NY. She was schooled in New York and Paris, and studied sociology and anthropology at Columbia University. After working as a publicist for Christian Dior – New York and as an editor for Vogue South Africa, she launched her first collection in New York in 1973. She quickly became known for her exuberant use of color and her signature pleated polyester fabric, “Marii.”

Mary McFadden won a Coty Award in 1976 and entered the Coty Hall of Fame in 1979. Since then she has received many honors, including the Neiman Marcus Award for Excellence, the President’s Fellow Award of the Rhode Island School of Design, and the Fashion Week of the Americas Lifetime Achievement Award. She has served as President of the Council of Fashion Designers of America. McFadden collections have been shown all over the world – including New York, Paris, Rome, Milan, Tokyo, St. Petersburg, Russia, India, Thailand, Central and South America, and the Middle East.

Mary McFadden draws ideas and expressions from other cultures into her couture designs. One writer said that “the art of ancient civilizations is literally woven into her fabrics.” Her designs celebrate ancient Near Eastern, African, Classical Greek, Javanese, Pre-Columbian, Dynastic Chinese, Japanese and Korean cultures ...and give an art form to dressing.

Taken from: http://www.museum.upenn.edu/new/events/treasures/mcfadden.shtml

All dresses are available ar www.back-in-style.com