skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Ladies, if you love sophisticated clothing the name Saks Fith Avenue means for sure something to you. But we all might now the name and not the history behind this exclusive brand.
Well, it started as a joint venture between two of the largest retail establishments in New York City: Saks and Co, and Gimbels. 1924 they opened the first time their doors, and it was from the beginning the high-end clothing store for men and women.
Horace Saks who supervised the store, died in 1926 and Adam Gimbel became the president of the company until 1969.
Now, who was in charge of the designing? Nobody else than Adam Gimbel's wife, Sophie Gimbel. She designed under the label Sophie Originals, and it was carried by Saks' high-end department, the so-called Salon Moderne.
There you could find Sophie's designs amongst other French Paris designers such as Louise Boulanger, Chanel, Vionnet, Patou, Schiaperelli, Agnes, Reboux and Callot Soeurs.
In the 1970s they closed the couture and custom salons, as well as the millinery departments. Still Saks stores were built across the country, but without the level of customer service that had been available at the New York store during the Adam Gimbel days. The days of the Haute-Couture were over indeed.
In 1998, Saks merged with Proffitt's department store chain. (thanks to www.vintagefashionguild.org)
Blouse from the early 1990s
On that same etstat sale I found a very cool Lanz Originals blouse and there were about 5 or more "Dirndl"from Lanz which I did not buy. Can you belove it? I didn't buy them. Now when I think of it, I regret it a bit. Well, too late now. But I have the blouse and want to share some interesting data with you:
Lanz was started in Salzburg, Austria in 1922, by Josef Lanz and Fritz Mahler. They supplied traditional folkwear costumes for Austrians attending the Salzburg music festival (remember The Sound of Music?). They noted their costumes were also bought by tourists (Americans) travelling to Austria in the 1920s and early 1930s.
In the mid 1930, Josef Lanz left Austria, leaving the company there in the hands of other family members, and went to New York, where he opened a new branch of the business in 1936. About this time the hallmark Lanz Heart appeared on Lanz labels.
At the beginning of WW2, the label included Vienna when they relocated their HQ there in 1939. After the war, Lanz began to expand their business by creating fashions that were inspired by traditional Austrian folk-wear, but followed the lines of current fashions.
Lanz of California was established in 1947, and they began to manufacture Austrian-inspired clothing in the US. By the early 1950s, the Lanz of California label was owned by Nornie and Werner Scharff, and the European and American companies were totally independent of one another.
Lanz of California may have been a different company, but the designs still had a strong Old World influence. The chief designer was Nornie Scharff, and she and Werner spent a great deal of time each year in Europe buying fabrics .
By 1978, there were 2 Lanz companies in the US, Lanz Originals, which was still making dresses, and Lanz of Salzburg, a sleepwear maker. Around 2001, Lanz Originals stopped production.
There are still two Lanz companies today. The Austrian company is still owned by the Lanz family and produces traditional Loden suits and dirndls, as well as contemporary fashions with folkloric detailing. The American company, Lanz of Salzburg, still makes primarily woman's sleepwear... read more here...
Posts
