Hattie Carnegie
Fashion designer
1880 – 1956
Who was Hattie Carnegie?
Hattie Carnegie was a fashion entrepreneur based in New York City from the 1920s to the 1960s. She was born in Vienna, Austria-Hungary as Henrietta Kanengeiser.
The second oldest of seven children, Hattie Carnegie's father was an Austrian Jewish artist and tailor, thought to have introduced her to the world of fashion.
Carnegie, who emigrated with her family to the United States at the age of six years old in 1886, was known for her elegant couture collection and secondary ready-to-wear lines. Her company was revolutionary in the sense that it was one of the first to introduce ready-to-wear to the high-end market. She pioneered the 'head-to-hem' boutique concept that paved the way for the future success of Ralph Lauren in America. Her company discovered some of the most prominent American fashion designers of the twentieth century, such as Norman Norell, Pauline Trigère and James Galanos; for nearly a decade, the made-to-order department was headed by Pauline Fairfax Potter.
Hattie Carnegie was originally a milliner and owned a successful shop on East Tenth Street in New York named Carnegie - Ladies' Hatter. Despite the fact she had never sewed a seam in her life and had no formal training, she swiftly opened a dress shop on the Upper West Side and finally in 1923, she opened the famous Hattie Carnegie boutique at 42 East 49th street, close to the current address of Saks Fifth Avenue. Her shop, at its peak, carried her own 'Hattie Carnegie Couture' collection, Paris couture imports from Chanel, Vionnet and Dior, a fur line, her several ready-to-wear lines under different names, a costume jewelry line, a cosmetic line and even a chocolate line. Her dress designs were a massive success and soon she had such clients as Joan Crawford and the Duchess of Windsor. Hattie Carnegie's colorful clothing and ultra-chic costume jewelry, even today, are greatly sought after by fashion and jewelry collectors.
We need you!
Help us build the largest biographies collection on the web!
- Born
- Mar 15, 1880
Vienna - Religion
- Judaism
- Nationality
- United States of America
- Austria
- Profession
- Lived in
- Vienna
- Died
- Feb 22, 1956
New York City
Submitted
on July 23, 2013
Citation
Use the citation below to add to a bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Hattie Carnegie." Biographies.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 26 Apr. 2024. <https://www.biographies.net/people/en/hattie_carnegie>.
Discuss this Hattie Carnegie biography with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In