Jessie Franklin Turner

Who was Jessie Franklin Turner?

Jessie Franklin Turner was an American fashion designer based in New York in the early 20th century. She was notable for being one of the first American designers to create unique designs, rather than imitating or copying Paris fashions.

Turner worked for Bonwit Teller's custom salon between 1916 and 1922, and also designed under the name of Winifred Warren Inc. in the early part of her career. Her shop, which she opened in 1922, was based at 200 Park Avenue, New York. She was particularly known for her draped tea gowns and exotic evening dresses, often using fabrics she had designed herself. When the clothing designer Elizabeth Hawes returned to New York in 1928 to launch her American couture house, she noted that Jessie Franklin Turner was possibly the only American dressmaker at that time to offer high end clothing that was completely her own, and not made in imitation of Paris fashions.

Dresses by Jessie Franklin Turner are in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute and the Art Institute of Chicago.