Voris was the professional name of Voris Marker, an American designer of

suede Suede (pronounced ) is a type of leather with a fuzzy, napped finish, commonly used for jackets, shoes, Textile, fabrics, Handbag, purses, furniture, and other items. Suede is made from the underside of the animal skin, which is softer and m ...

sportswear Sportswear or activewear is athletic clothing, including footwear, worn for sports activity or physical exercise. Sport-specific clothing is worn for most sports and physical exercise, for practical, comfort or safety reasons. Typical spor ...

who won the

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 ...

in 1942 for her work. As Voris Marker, she also worked as a sculptor.

Early life and education

Born Voris Linthacum in

Baker City, Oregon Baker City is a city in and the county seat of Baker County, Oregon, United States. It was named after Edward D. Baker, Edward Dickinson Baker, the only U.S. Senator ever killed in military combat. The population was 10,099 at the time of the 20 ...

according to her marriage certificate,"Montana, County Marriages, 1865-1950," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/F3W9-473 : accessed 8 March 2015), Clifford H. Marker and Voris Linthacum, 29 Nov 1936; citing Marriage, Kalispell, Flathead, Montana, county courthouses, Montana; FHL microfilm 1,902,481. but growing up on a ranch near

Billings, Montana Billings is the most populous Lists of populated places in the United States, city in the U.S. state of Montana, with a population of 117,116 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located in the south-central portion of the state, i ...

, Voris worked as a

copywriter Copywriting is the act or occupation of writing text for the purpose of advertising or other forms of marketing. Copywriting is aimed at selling products or services. The product, called copy or sales copy, is written content that aims to incre ...

for an

advertising agency An advertising agency, often referred to as a creative agency or an ad agency, is a business dedicated to creating, planning, and handling advertising and sometimes other forms of promotion and marketing for its clients. An ad agency is generall ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

after finishing school in Montana.

Career

While in Chicago, she had to have an operation on her leg, which led to her returning home as an invalid. Whilst recuperating, Voris came across a piece of soft

chamois leather Chamois leather () is a type of porous leather, traditionally the skin of the chamois (''Rupicapra rupicapra''), a type of European mountain goat, but today made almost exclusively from the flesh split of a sheepskin. United Kingdom The Bri ...

, which inspired her to use it to make up clothing. She made a golf skirt for a Spokane woman to wear in a tournament. Other players and spectators noticed the skirt, and asked Voris to make them leather garments too. She founded her business, Suedes by Voris, in 1933, and by 1940, had shops in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

(where she sold garments to many actors) and across the Southwest, selling a wide range of clothing entirely made in suede. Her range included day and evening wear, hats, jewelry, and men's jackets, shirts, and ties, made in a wide range of colors. One noted design was a gold-plated evening jacket. When the couturier

Elsa Schiaparelli Elsa Schiaparelli ( , , ; 10 September 1890 – 13 November 1973) was an Italian fashion designer from an Italian nobility, aristocratic background. She created the Schiaparelli (fashion house), house of Schiaparelli in Paris in 1927, which she ...

visited

Neiman Marcus Neiman Marcus is an American department store chain founded in 1907 in Dallas, Texas by Herbert Marcus, his sister Carrie Marcus Neiman, and her husband Abraham Lincoln Neiman. It has been owned by Saks Global, a Corporate spin-off, spin-o ...

and was invited to choose any one thing she wanted from the store; she chose a Voris coat as "the most distinctive fashion she had ever seen by an American designer." It has been suggested that this inspired the decision to award Voris the

in 1942. Voris later gave up the business to dedicate herself to

sculpting Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

. Following her receipt of the Neiman Marcus award, she was commissioned to create a bronze portrait of

Herbert Marcus Herbert Marcus (September 6, 1878 – December 11, 1950) was one of the co-founders of Neiman Marcus, and later became its chief executive officer. Biography Herbert was born to a Jewish family in Louisville, Kentucky. He dropped out of high sc ...

, the co-founder of the store. She made a memorial bust of

Gary Cooper Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, silent screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, ...

for the

Friars Club of Beverly Hills The Friars Club of Beverly Hills (also known as the Friars Club of California) was a private show business club started in 1947 by comedian/actor Milton Berle, among other celebrities who had moved from New York. It was forced to change its na ...

in 1961.

Personal life

On 29 November 1936, Voris married Clifford H. Marker (1899–1987) who went on to become a President of the Board of Water and Power Commissioners in the early 1960s. She died on 22 May 1973."California, Death Index, 1940-1997," index, FamilySearc
Voris L Marker
accessed 8 March 2015, 22 May 1973; Department of Public Health Services, Sacramento.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Voris 1908 births 1973 deaths American fashion designers Artists from Montana 20th-century American sculptors People from Yellowstone County, Montana 20th-century American women sculptors American women fashion designers People from Baker City, Oregon Writers from Chicago American women copywriters Sculptors from Montana Sculptors from Oregon