Klein, Anne

(1921-1974)

   Born Hannah Golofski in Brooklyn, New York, she attended the Traphagen School of Fashion and started in the industry as a sketcher at the age of fifteen. She changed her name to Anne Klein and, in 1939, began designing for Vardin Petites as a junior designer. In 1948, Klein launched her own company, Junior Sophisticates, and, in 1968, formed Anne Klein the company with her second husband Matthew Rubinstein. A true American designer, Anne had the talent to create practical as well as fashionable separates that the American lifestyle demanded. In 1967, Klein addressed the needs of the popular miniskirt by patenting a girdle specific to the constraints of the short skirt. Klein is the only designer to be a two-time recipient of the Neiman Marcus Award for fashion leadership. She was inducted into the Coty Fashion Hall of Fame in 1971. Donna Karan and Louis Dell'Olio, designers for Anne Klein at the time of her death, took over the creative direction of the company until the departure of Karan, when she broke out on her own.

   See also American look; Sportswear.