Tina Leser (December 12, 1910 – January 23, 1986) was an American fashion designer. Part of a generation of pioneering sportswear designers, Leser was particularly known for her global influences.

Personal life

Tina Leser was born Christine Buffington. Her birth parents were Mary Edith Cox and Charles Buffington. Cox arranged Leser's adoption by her cousin Georgine after she and her husband, Charles Shillard-Smith, spent months wintering in California. Her name became Christine Wetherill Shillard-Smith in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. She studied art at the

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is a museum and private art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1805, it is the longest continuously operating art museum and art school in the United States. The academy's museum ...

, the School of Industrial Arts in Philadelphia, and the Sorbonne in Paris. Leser made her debut in Philadelphia in 1929. Tina married marine biologist Curtis Leser in November 1931 and the couple moved to

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

, where Curtis worked for the Academy of Science. Tina took up spearfishing and diving with Hawaiian locals. In 1936, the Lesers divorced, but Tina decided to keep Leser as her professional name for the remainder of her career. In 1948, Tina Leser married James J. Howley (1920-2012). The couple had one daughter. In 1949, Leser and Howley took a round the world honeymoon that helped to develop Leser's international aesthetic. In 1982, the Long Island home of Leser and Howey was burglarized. Two million dollars worth of art and silver were stolen, including a Picasso and a Monet. The thieves were caught. Leser's mother, Georgine Shillard-Smith, founded the Gulf Coast Art Center. Leser was president of the organization from 1952 to 1954. The Gulf Coast Art Center closed in 2009.

Career

Leser opened a speciality store in

in 1935 called Tina Leser Gowns, located across the street from the

Royal Hawaiian Hotel The Royal Hawaiian Hotel is a beachfront luxury hotel located in Waikiki in Honolulu, Hawaii, on the island of Oahu. It is part of The Luxury Collection brand of Marriott International. One of the first hotels established in Waikiki, the Royal ...

. Until it closed in 1942, the store sold resort wear, primarily playsuits and coverups, designed by Leser that she created with the help of a French

dressmaker A dressmaker, also known as a seamstress, is a person who makes clothing for women, such as dresses, blouses, and evening gowns. Dressmakers were historically known as mantua-makers, and are also known as a modiste or fabrician. Notable dr ...

. Fabrics used included sailcloth, Hawaiian and Filipino fabrics. Her client base included celebrities such as The Dolly Sisters and

Joan Crawford Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, 190? was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway theatre, Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion-picture cont ...

. The exposition allowed her to sell her designs to department stores

Bonwit Teller Bonwit Teller & Co. was an American luxury department store in New York City, founded by Paul Bonwit in 1895 at Sixth Avenue and 18th Street, and later a chain of department stores. In 1897, Edmund D. Teller was admitted to the partnership a ...

and

Saks Fifth Avenue Saks Fifth Avenue (Colloquialism, colloquially Saks) is an American Luxury goods, luxury department store chain founded in 1867 by Andrew Saks. The first store opened in the F Street and 7th Street shopping districts, F Street shopping distric ...

. After the

Attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Territory of ...

, she was required to close the shop and leave the island. Encouraged by

Edna Woolman Chase Edna Woolman Chase (; March 14, 1877 – March 21, 1957) was an American who served as editor-in-chief of '' Vogue'' magazine from 1914 to 1952. Early life Chase was born on March 14, 1877, in Asbury Park, New Jersey. She was the daughter of F ...

and

Carmel Snow Carmel Snow (born Carmel White; 21 August 1887 – 7 May 1961) was the editor-in-chief of the American edition of ''Harper's Bazaar'' from 1934 to 1958; and the chair of the magazine's editorial board. She was famously quoted as saying, "Ele ...

, Leser met with buyers at

who purchased 500 playsuits from Leser. Leser briefly ran her own company in New York from 1941 to 1943. Her 1941 collections included Hawaiian palaka fabric, hand-painted fabric, and menswear. At that time, her business was headquartered at 1 West 47th Street in Manhattan. A 1941 article describes her salon as having "hand-painted satin drapes and sea-shell chairs." From 1942 to 1952, Leser designed for the Edwin H. Foreman sportswear company. While working with Edwin H. Foreman, Leser introduced

harem pants Harem pants or harem trousers are baggy, long trousers, pants caught in at the ankle. Early on, the style was also called a harem skirt. Inspired by Middle East clothing styles, especially şalvar (Turkish trousers), so-called 'harem pants/skirts' ...

, dhoti pants, and toreador pants as "at home" clothing for American women. In 1952, Leser again founded her own company, Tina Leser Inc., which she headed until her retirement in 1964. The headquarters were at 550 7th Avenue in Manhattan. During this phase in her career, Leser promoted hand painted Hawaiian print, sarong-type play clothes, and cashmere dresses. From 1949 to 1953, Leser organized the Tina Leser prize for Japanese designers. Leser's celebrity clients included

Joan Fontaine Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland (October 22, 1917 – December 15, 2013), known professionally as Joan Fontaine, was an English-American actress best known for her roles in Hollywood films during the Golden Age of Hollywood. Fontaine appeared in ...

Paulette Goddard Paulette Goddard (born Marion Levy; June 3, 1910 – April 23, 1990) was an American actress and socialite. Her career spanned six decades, from the 1920s to the early 1970s. She was a prominent leading actress during the Golden Age of Hollywood ...

Audrey Hepburn Audrey Kathleen Hepburn ( Ruston; 4 May 1929 – 20 January 1993) was a British actress. Recognised as a film and fashion icon, she was ranked by the American Film Institute as the third-greatest female screen legend from the Classical Holly ...

, and

Kim Novak Marilyn Pauline "Kim" Novak (born February 13, 1933) is an American retired actress and painter. Her contributions to cinema have been honored with two Golden Globe Awards, an Honorary Golden Bear, a Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, and a s ...

. Leser designed costumes for the 1950 film '' Born to be Bad''. Star

said "the only acceptable art of the film was my wardrobe designed by Tina Leser." Leser also designed the costumes for the 1946 Broadway musical ''

Park Avenue Park Avenue is a boulevard in New York City that carries north and southbound traffic in the borough (New York City), boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the wes ...

''. Tina Leser died on January 23, 1986.

Legacy

Liz Claiborne Anne Elisabeth Jane Claiborne (March 31, 1929 – June 26, 2007) was an American fashion designer and businesswoman. Her success was built upon stylish yet affordable apparel for career women featuring colorfully tailored separates that cou ...

's began her career as a model and sketch artist for Tina Leser. From Leser, Clairborne learned "that being a designer meant hard, long, interminably long hours of work..." Tina Leser's work is held by the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

, Museum of Fine Arts in Boston,

Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) is an List of art museums#North America, art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at ...

Phoenix Art Museum The Phoenix Art Museum is the largest art museum, museum for visual art in the southwest United States. Located in Phoenix, Arizona, the museum is . It displays international exhibitions alongside its comprehensive collection of more than 18,0 ...

, and

Kent State University Kent State University (KSU) is a Public university, public research university in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio located in Kent State University at Ashtabula, Ashtabula, Kent State ...

Museum,

Awards

Neiman Marcus Fashion Award The Neiman Marcus Award for Distinguished Service in the Field of Fashion was a yearly award created in 1938 by Carrie Marcus Neiman and Stanley Marcus. Unlike the Coty Award, it was not limited to American-based fashion designers. Recipients of th ...

, 1945 *

Coty Award The Coty American Fashion Critics' Awards (awarded 1943–1984) were created in 1942 by the cosmetics and perfume company Coty to promote and celebrate American fashion, and encourage design during the Second World War. In 1985, the Coty Awards we ...

, 1945 * Outstanding Designer, Philadelphia Museum School of Art, 1955 * Sportswear Design Award, ''Sports Illustrated'', 1956

References

External links

"Doves," Metropolitan Museum of ArtBeach cover-up, Metropolitan Museum of ArtEvening ensemble, Metropolitan Museum of ArtWoman's swimsuit, Museum of Fine Arts
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leser, Tina 1910 births 1986 deaths American fashion designers American women fashion designers Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts alumni 20th-century American women