Ann Lowe facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ann Lowe
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Ann Cole Lowe
1898 Clayton, Alabama, U.S.
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| Died | February 25, 1981 (aged 82) |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Annie Cohen Anne Lowe |
| Alma mater | S.T. Taylor Design School |
| Occupation | Fashion designer |
| Years active | 1919–1972 |
| Known for | Wedding dress of Jacqueline Bouvier |
| Children | 2 |
Ann Cole Lowe (December 14, 1898 – February 25, 1981) was a super talented fashion designer. She was the first African American person to become a famous designer. Ann Lowe's beautiful clothes were loved by rich and important women for about 50 years, from the 1920s to the 1960s.
She is most famous for creating the amazing ivory silk taffeta wedding dress for Jacqueline Bouvier. Jacqueline wore this dress when she married John F. Kennedy in 1953.
Contents
Early Life
Ann Lowe was born in a small town called Clayton, Alabama, in 1898. Her parents were Jane and Jack Lowe. Her great-grandmother was an enslaved woman. Ann had an older sister named Sallie. She went to school in Alabama until she was 14 years old.
Ann learned to love fashion, sewing, and designing from her mother, Janey, and her grandmother, Georgia. Both of them were skilled seamstresses. They had a dressmaking business that was very popular. Important families from Montgomery and other wealthy people often came to them for clothes. When Ann was 16, her mother passed away. Ann then took over the family business.
In 1912, Ann married Lee Cohen. They had one son together, Arthur Lee. Arthur Lee later became Ann's business partner.
Career
In 1917, Ann and her son moved to New York City. Ann enrolled at the S.T. Taylor Design School. Because of segregation, Ann had to take her classes in a room by herself. But this didn't stop her! She was so good that her teachers often showed her work to the other students. She was so talented that she finished school in only half a year.
After graduating in 1919, Ann and her son moved to Tampa, Florida. In 1920, she opened her first dress salon there. Her salon was very popular with wealthy people and quickly became a big success. Ann saved $20,000 from her earnings. In 1928, she used this money to move back to New York City.
During the 1950s and 1960s, Ann Lowe created custom designs for famous stores. These included Henri Bendel, Montaldo's, I. Magnin, and Saks Fifth Avenue. In 1946, she designed a dress for Olivia de Havilland. Olivia wore this dress when she won an Academy Award for Best Actress. However, Ann did not get credit for her work at that time.
Because she wasn't getting credit, Ann and her son opened their own salon in New York City in 1950. It was called Ann Lowe's Gowns. Her unique designs were made from the best fabrics. They quickly became very popular with rich clients. She was known for her beautiful handwork, special flower designs, and a sewing method called trapunto. These special touches helped her finally get recognized for her amazing work.
In 1964, The Saturday Evening Post magazine called Ann Lowe "society's best kept secret." In 1966, Ebony magazine called her "The Dean of American Designers." Ann was very particular about who wore her clothes. She once said she was "an awful snob" because she loved her clothes so much. She wanted only certain people to wear them. She designed for many famous families like the Auchincloss, Rockefeller, Roosevelt, and Kennedy families. She also made dresses for important black clients, like pianist Elizabeth Mance.
In 1953, Janet Lee Auchincloss asked Ann Lowe to design a wedding dress for her daughter. Her daughter was Jacqueline Bouvier, who would become the future First Lady. Ann also designed the dresses for Jacqueline's bridesmaids. Janet Lee Auchincloss had also chosen Ann to design her own wedding dress in 1942.
The wedding dress Ann made for Jacqueline Bouvier was truly special. It used fifty yards of "ivory silk taffeta." It had woven bands of tucking on the top part and large circular designs of tucking on the full skirt. Just 10 days before the wedding, Ann's studio flooded! She and her team worked very hard to remake the dress. Ann never told the family about the flood. She paid for all the extra costs herself. The dress cost $500 back then. The New York Times wrote all about the dress in their wedding coverage. Even though the wedding was a huge event, Ann Lowe didn't get public credit for her work until after John F. Kennedy passed away.
Ann Lowe often didn't make much money from her designs. Her wealthy clients would talk her into charging less. After paying her staff, she often had no profit left. Ann later said that even when she was most famous, she was almost broke. In 1961, she won the Couturier of the Year award. But in 1962, she lost her salon in New York City because she couldn't pay her taxes. That same year, she had surgery to remove her right eye due to glaucoma. While she was recovering, a secret friend paid off her debts. This allowed her to work again. In 1963, she declared bankruptcy. Soon after, she had a cataract in her left eye, but surgery saved her sight. In 1968, she opened a new store called Ann Lowe Originals. She retired in 1972.
Death
For the last five years of her life, Ann Lowe lived with her daughter Ruth in Queens. She passed away at her daughter's home on February 25, 1981. She was 82 years old and had been sick for a while. Her funeral was held at St. Mark's United Methodist Church.
Legacy
You can see some of Ann Lowe's designs in museums today. Five of her designs are at the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Three more are on display at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. Other designs were part of a fashion exhibit at the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology in 2016.
A children's book about her, Fancy Party Gowns: The Story of Ann Cole Lowe, was published in 2017. Author Piper Huguley also wrote a historical novel about Ann Lowe's life. Famous designers like Christian Dior and costumer Edith Head admired her work. In September 2023, the Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library will show a collection of Ann Lowe's works.
See also
In Spanish: Ann Lowe para niños
