Mildred Orrick fashion and costume sketches
Online Access
Available digital items: https://digital.archives.newschool.edu/index.php/Detail/collections/KA0067.
Abstract
Mildred Orrick (1906-1994) graduated from the New York School of Fine and Applied Art (later, Parsons School for Design) in 1928 and went on to a career as a fashion and costume designer and illustrator, and designed part of the Futurama exhibition at the 1939 New York World's Fair. Orrick was a visiting critic at Parsons from 1947 to 1962. The collection consists of Orrick's fashion and theater costume sketches, 1920s-1950s.
Dates
- circa 1928-1962
Creator
- Orrick, Mildred (Person)
Extent
2.3 Cubic Feet (5 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Scope and Contents of Collection
The collection primarily consists of costume and fashion design sketches executed in charcoal, crayon, pencil, and watercolor. The bulk of the sketches contain no identifying information, such as dates or commissioner. Fabric swatches are attached to many of the sketches. The largest group of sketches depicts women's apparel. A smaller number of costume design sketches were executed earlier in Orrick's career and feature costumes for the plays Lysistrata, Hamlet, Beyond the Horizon, and an unproduced play about Joan of Arc, in addition to costumes for General Motors' 1939 New York World's Fair exhibit, "Futurama," produced by Norman Bel Geddes. Also included are illustrations for a yoga book and research sketches of ethnic and historical costume.
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research use. Please contact archivist@newschool.edu for appointment.
Use Restrictions
To publish images of material from this collection, permission must be obtained in writing from the New School Archives. Please contact: archivist@newschool.edu.
Biographical note
Mildred (Boykin) Orrick was born in 1906 in Virginia. She studied at the Florida State College for Women prior to enrolling at the New York School of Fine and Applied Art (later, Parsons The New School for Design). As a student, Orrick was a classmate of Claire McCardell and Joset Walker with whom she maintained lifelong personal and professional relations.
Orrick graduated from Parsons in 1928 and obtained her first design work sketching and modeling for Natasha Rambova in her fashion atelier. Rambova later introduced Orrick to Norman Bel Geddes, who commissioned several projects from her during the 1930s. It was also during this decade that she married architect Jesse Orrick and began freelancing as a magazine illustrator and fashion designer to support a growing family.
In approximately 1943, Joset Walker hired Orrick as a sketcher, thus introducing Orrick to Seventh Avenue. Although Orrick continued her illustration work, she was also working in the fashion industry as a designer, predominantly for the Janice Milan label. In 1957, Claire McCardell asked Orrick to assist her with the summer 1958 collection for Townley Frocks. Following McCardell's death in 1958, Orrick stayed with Townley until the McCardell label was discontinued the following year. Throughout the next two decades, she designed for several labels, including Darlyn Junior, Anne Fogarty, and Villager Clothes.
Mildred Orrick died in Virginia on December 4, 1994.
Mildred (Boykin) Orrick was born in 1906 in Virginia. She studied at the Florida State College for Women prior to enrolling at the New York School of Fine and Applied Art (later, Parsons The New School for Design). As a student, Orrick was a classmate of Claire McCardell and Joset Walker with whom she maintained lifelong personal and professional relations.
Orrick graduated from Parsons in 1928 and obtained her first design work sketching and modeling for Natasha Rambova in her fashion atelier. Rambova later introduced Orrick to Norman Bel Geddes, who commissioned several projects from her during the 1930s. It was also during this decade that she married architect Jesse Orrick and began freelancing as a magazine illustrator and fashion designer to support a growing family.
In approximately 1943, Joset Walker hired Orrick as a sketcher, thus introducing Orrick to Seventh Avenue. Although Orrick continued her illustration work, she was also working in the fashion industry as a designer, predominantly for the Janice Milan label. In 1957, Claire McCardell asked Orrick to assist her with the summer 1958 collection for Townley Frocks. Following McCardell's death in 1958, Orrick stayed with Townley until the McCardell label was discontinued the following year. Throughout the next two decades, she designed for several labels, including Darlyn Junior, Anne Fogarty, and Villager Clothes.
Mildred Orrick died in Virginia on December 4, 1994.
Arrangement
Organized in 5 series: 1. General, 1920s-1950s; 2. Costume design, circa 1928-circa 1944; III.Private commissions, 1934-1944; IV.Publicity, 1943-1962; 5. Research studies, 1940s
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Sarah Orrick and Martha Orrick, 1996.
Processing Information
Series and folder titles are taken from labels presumably created by Orrick. The original title is noted if labels were altered for clarification during processing.
- Costume design (Subject) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Costume designers (Occupation) Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Drawings (Type of Material) Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Fashion design (Subject) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Fashion designers (Occupation) Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Geddes, Norman Bel, 1893-1958
- Harper's bazaar
- New York World's Fair (Location of meeting: New York, N.Y.). Date of meeting or treaty signing: (1939-1940 :.)
- Photographs (Type of Material) Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Rambova, Natacha
- Research notes (Type of Material) Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Sketches (Type of Material) Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Strange, Michael, 1890-1950
- Swatches (Type of Material) Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Townley Frocks (Firm)
- Women designers (Subject) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Women's clothing industry (Subject) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Yoga -- Pictorial works (Subject) (Type of Material) Subject Source: Local sources
- Title
- Guide to the Mildred Orrick fashion and costume sketches
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- New School Archives and Special Collections Staff
- Date
- April 5, 2010
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin