Bonnie Cashin

Considered to be one of the great innovators of modern fashion, Cashin was introduced to clothing design by her mother, a custom dress maker. Her first foray into fashion was a collection she produced in 1937 for the sportswear company Adler & Adler in New York. In 1943 she moved to Hollywood, CA where she created costumes for more than 30 major motion pictures. In 1949 Cashin returned to New York to work for Adler & Adler where she designed wool and tweed coats and 4 years later she open her own business. Cashin believed in clean, uncomplicated designs and her clothing was loose fitting and functional, often designed to be layered. Still very relevant today, her collections mixed fabrics like leather, suede, tweed, poplin and canvas. At her height in the 1950s and 60s she created some of the styles she is most famous for - Kimono coats piped in leather and the Poncho as a fashion garment.