MyVintageCocktail
VFG Member
Who\'s Your Fave \"Non-Name\" Designer?
There are a lot of what I call "second- or third-tier" designers. By that I mean the slew of great American designers (they don't have to be American, but I find that my favorites are) who don't have the big names but who did high-quality, stylish work, couture or RTW, and "don't get no respect," or much.... They used high-quality fabrics in interesting ways, or produced quirky designs, or traditional ones with a twist. Often they had small NYC design houses that are now gone. Everybody raves about the Chanels (who personally I don't care for) of the world, the YSLs, Diors, etc. I'm not even talking names like Ceil Chapman, Oleg Cassini, or the like. More like these, who are some of my favorites, but not household names:
Ben Barrack--his work in the 40s & 50s was superb. Great silks and wools, simple designs with nice details.
Bill Atkinson--his hippie and mod designs in the 60s were totally cool. Nice 50's stuff, too, but I really like his 60's designs. Love most of his stuff & buy it whenever I see it, which isn't often. He's a very interesting story as well.
Nathan Strong--great quality fabrics, sophisticated designs
Early Shannon Rodgers--while he's well known, not all of his work is. I've seen only a few examples--and had one at one time--of his work from the 50s before he teamed up with Silverman. Great stuff!
So, who do you love? Do you collect a particular designer who's not a household name? Who else did great work but has gone largely unnoticed?
There are a lot of what I call "second- or third-tier" designers. By that I mean the slew of great American designers (they don't have to be American, but I find that my favorites are) who don't have the big names but who did high-quality, stylish work, couture or RTW, and "don't get no respect," or much.... They used high-quality fabrics in interesting ways, or produced quirky designs, or traditional ones with a twist. Often they had small NYC design houses that are now gone. Everybody raves about the Chanels (who personally I don't care for) of the world, the YSLs, Diors, etc. I'm not even talking names like Ceil Chapman, Oleg Cassini, or the like. More like these, who are some of my favorites, but not household names:
Ben Barrack--his work in the 40s & 50s was superb. Great silks and wools, simple designs with nice details.
Bill Atkinson--his hippie and mod designs in the 60s were totally cool. Nice 50's stuff, too, but I really like his 60's designs. Love most of his stuff & buy it whenever I see it, which isn't often. He's a very interesting story as well.
Nathan Strong--great quality fabrics, sophisticated designs
Early Shannon Rodgers--while he's well known, not all of his work is. I've seen only a few examples--and had one at one time--of his work from the 50s before he teamed up with Silverman. Great stuff!
So, who do you love? Do you collect a particular designer who's not a household name? Who else did great work but has gone largely unnoticed?
