Polly Smith (born November 10, 1949), is an American inventor, and costume designer. Smith was a costume designer for ''

The Muppet Show ''The Muppet Show'' is a sketch comedy television series created by Jim Henson and featuring the Muppets. The series originated as two television pilot, pilot episodes produced by Henson for American Broadcasting Company, ABC in 1974 and 1975. ...

,'' and ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) and ...

''. In 1977, Smith co-created the "Jogbra", the first

sports bra A sports bra is a bra that provides support to the breasts during physical exercise. Sturdier than typical bras, they minimize breast movement and alleviate discomfort. Many women wear sports bras to reduce pain and physical discomfort caused ...

, working alongside Lisa Lindahl and

Hinda Miller Hinda Miller, ''nee'' Schreiber (born April 18, 1950 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada) is a former Democratic member of the Vermont State Senate, representing the Chittenden senate district. Hinda Miller was elected to the Vermont State Senate in ...

. She was inducted into the

National Inventors Hall of Fame The National Inventors Hall of Fame (NIHF) is an American not-for-profit organization, founded in 1973, which recognizes individual engineers and inventors who hold a U.S. patent of significant technology. Besides the Hall of Fame, it also oper ...

in 2022.

Early life and education

Polly Palmer Smith was born November 10, 1949 in

Montclair, New Jersey Montclair () is a Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated on the cliffs of the Watchung Mountains, Montclair is a wealthy and diverse commuter town and suburb of New Yor ...

. Smith attended

Montclair Kimberley Academy Montclair Kimberley Academy (MKA) is a co-educational private school for students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade located in Montclair in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. One of New Jersey's largest independent day schools, ...

. Her mother made quilts and her grandfather was an illustrator. She earned a

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students for pursuing a professional education in the visual, fine or performing arts. It is also called Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA) in some cases. Background The Bachelor ...

(1971) in fashion design at the

Moore College of Art and Design Moore College of Art & Design is a private art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its undergraduate programs are available only for female students, but its other educational programs, including graduate programs, are co-educational. Histo ...

, and a master's degree (1975) in

costume design Costume design is the creation of clothing for the overall appearance of a character or performer. Costume may refer to the style of dress particular to a nation, a class, or a period. In many cases, it may contribute to the fullness of the arti ...

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, ...

Career

In 1978, Smith joined

The Jim Henson Company The Jim Henson Company (formerly known as Muppets, Inc., Henson Associates, Inc., and Jim Henson Productions, Inc.; commonly referred to as Henson) is an American entertainment company located in Los Angeles, California. The company is known for ...

. She was a costume designer on ''

'' and ''

''. Her design for

Miss Piggy Miss Piggy is one of the Muppet characters known for her breakout role in Jim Henson's '' The Muppet Show''. Since her debut in 1976, Miss Piggy has been notable for her temperamental diva superstar personality, tendency to use French phrases i ...

was featured in an exhibition on Women Designers in the USA. She received 7

Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

for her work on Sesame Street. In 1977, Smith was working with Lisa Lindahl on costumes for the

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

festival in Burlington, Vermont. Lindahl was a keen athlete, and experienced discomfort when running in a regular bra. Together they came up with the design for a

, and worked with

to source the materials and conduct a test run. When Smith visited

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

for work, she returned with new fabrics – elastics and

Lycra Spandex, Lycra, or elastane is a synthetic fiber known for its exceptional elasticity. It is a polyether- polyurea copolymer that was invented in 1958 by chemist Joseph Shivers at DuPont's Benger Laboratory in Waynesboro, Virginia, US. ...

– and created a bra for Lindahl's measurements. Lindahl and Miller co-founded Jogbra, Inc. In 1989, she won a

British Academy of Film and Television Arts British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

(BAFTA) award for her costume work on the television series ''The StoryTeller''. When asked about their contributions to the design of the sports bra, Smith commented, “Lisa was the idea, I was the fabrication, and Hinda was the driving force behind making it happen. And this is one of the things we all agreed on —

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mech ...

it couldn’t have happened if one of us had been missing — because it needed all three.”

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Polly 1949 births Living people 20th-century American inventors Women inventors Inventors from New Jersey Montclair Kimberley Academy alumni People from Montclair, New Jersey Moore College of Art and Design alumni New York University alumni American costume designers Women costume designers