Herbert Kasper

Who is Herbert Kasper?

Herbert Kasper is an American fashion designer who is known as Kasper. He studied English and advertising at New York University and fashion at the Parsons School of Design in New York from 1951–53 and l'Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne in 1953. He left NYU to serve in the US Army in Europe. After WWII he enrolled at Parson and then returned to Paris for two years developing his skills in design. He had positions at Jacques Fath, Christian Dior and Marcel Rochas. When he returned to the US, he worked for Mr. Fred, a milliner, where his reputation grew. His talent was for making inexpensive clothes look "exquisite" and expensive, which endeared him to several other Seventh Avenue manufactures in the 1950s. He then worked as a dress designer for Penart, Lord & Taylor in New York. His works were known as Kasper of Penart. In the 1960s he started to make clothing under his own label. In 1963, he won the Coty Award for American designers.

Joan Leslie had a women's dress and sportwear company that Mr. Kasper worked for, when she died, Mr. Kasper became the head designer for the company and eventually became Vice-President for the company, the Lesley Fay Co. Inc.