Design in Exile: Jewish Contribution to Fashion

Woman in a Blue Jacket
Lucie Marcus Ritter for Inez Gowns
1940s

Fashion illustration designed by Lucie Marcus Ritter of a woman wearing a navy suit and a blue and white striped cap. She holds yellow gloves. Includes a detachable blue jacket that used to be attached.

Yellow Black Polka Dots
Lucie Marcus Ritter for Inez Gowns
1940s


Fashion illustration by Lucie Marcus Ritter of a woman wearing a yellow black polka dots dress.

During the Nazi period, she moved with her husband to New York, where she received a job as a fashion designer for Inez Gowns.

Black Grecian Gown with Pink Cape
Lucie Marcus Ritter for Inez Gowns
1940s

Fashion illustration designed by Lucie Marcus Ritter of a woman in a black Grecian dress with a pink cape. Sketch of another Roman figure on the left. Tracing paper attached to paper.

Pink Chiffon Bridesmaid Dress
Lucie Marcus Ritter for Inez Gowns
1940s

Fashion illustration designed by Lucie Marcus Ritter of a woman wearing a pink evening gown and flowers around her neck. She holds a pink handkerchief.

Woman in a Black Cape
Lucie Marcus Ritter for Inez Gowns
1940s

Fashion illustration designed by Lucie Marcus Ritter of a woman wearing a white evening gown. Affixed to the paper is a detachable black cape.

Grey Wool Suit with Green Hat
Lucie Marcus Ritter for Inez Gowns
1940s

Fashion illustration designed y Lucie Marcus Ritter of a woman wearing a grey suit and green hat, holding black gloves in one hand and a purse in the other. On each side of the woman are two smaller figures showing details on the clothing.

White Gown with Organdy Tucks
Lucie Marcus Ritter for Inez Gowns
1940s

Fashion illustration designed by Lucie Marcus Ritter of a woman wearing a white dress with a bow at her throat. She holds a pink handkerchief and a rose in her hands.

Marcus Ritter's work at Inez Gowns led to more fashion design work in Los Angeles. She died in 1967.

Drawing of Woman's Dress Suit
1920 - 1960
Abe Grubère

Drawing of a woman's dress suit designed by Abe Grubère, a New York City fashion designer, active in the field of fashion from the 1920s to the 1960s. He had a long and illustrious career as a coat and suit designer and worked as a consultant to many leading coat and suit manufacturers.

Grubère's career

Grubère enjoyed a long and prolific career as a designer in the fashion industry, working for manufacturers such as Morris W. Haft & Bros., which was at the time the country's largest manufacturer of women's and misses' coats and suits. Professionally active on many different levels, Grubère was elected President of the Guild of Designers (1943) and also served on Mayor La Guardia's Committee on Creative Industry.

Drawing of Woman's Dress Suit
1920 - 1960
Abe Grubère

Drawing of a woman's dress suit designed by Abe Grubère, a New York City fashion designer, active in the field of fashion from the 1920s to the 1960s. He had a long and illustrious career as a coat and suit designer and worked as a consultant to many leading coat and suit manufacturers.

Grubère's contribution to the garment industry

His contributions to the garment industry do not stop with his beautiful designs; he was also very involved in the teaching of future designers. Between 1943 and 1944 Grubère helped to organize and became the first director of a two-year course at the Straubenmuller Textile High School. The course, the first of its kind in New York, was designed for high school graduates and included practical dress designing, sketching, and other skills specific to the garment trades.

Drawing of Woman's Dress Suit
1920 - 1960
Abe Grubère

Drawing of a woman's dress suit designed by Abe Grubère, a New York City fashion designer, active in the field of fashion from the 1920s to the 1960s. He had a long and illustrious career as a coat and suit designer and worked as a consultant to many leading coat and suit manufacturers.

Drawing of Woman's Dress Suit
1920 - 1960
Abe Grubère

Drawing of a woman's dress suit designed by Abe Grubère, a New York City fashion designer, active in the field of fashion from the 1920s to the 1960s. He had a long and illustrious career as a coat and suit designer and worked as a consultant to many leading coat and suit manufacturers.

Grubère also briefly ran his own couture design house in the mid-1940’s.

Drawing of Woman's Suit with Beret
1920 - 1960
Abe Grubèr

Drawing of a woman's dress suit with beret designed by Abe Grubère, a New York City fashion designer, active in the field of fashion from the 1920s to the 1960s. He had a long and illustrious career as a coat and suit designer and worked as a consultant to many leading coat and suit manufacturers.

Drawing of Woman's Dress Suit
1920 - 1960
Abe Grubère

Drawing of a woman's dress suit designed by Abe Grubère, a New York City fashion designer, active in the field of fashion from the 1920s to the 1960s. He had a long and illustrious career as a coat and suit designer and worked as a consultant to many leading coat and suit manufacturers.

Grubère eventually returned to designing for other companies. Abe Grubère died in Brooklyn on August 2, 1970.

White Silk Suit
1933 - 1937
Ruth Phillips

Fashion drawing of a suit by Ruth Phillips, made in Berlin around 1933-1937. Phillips apprenticed in the fashion industry after being forced to quit school under the Hitler regime. Her parents sent her to live with relatives in England, where she married a former German citizen serving as a British soldier in 1941. In the same year she was notified that her parents died in Polish concentration camps.

Phillips fled to Brighton, England, where she lived with relatives and eventually married a former German citizen serving as a British soldier in 1941. Unfortunately, her parents were not able to escape Germany, and died in concentration camps in 1941.

Green Dress
1933 - 1937
Ruth Phillips

Fashion drawing of a dress by Ruth Phillips, made in Berlin around 1933-1937. Phillips apprenticed in the fashion industry after being forced to quit school under the Hitler regime. Her parents sent her to live with relatives in England, where she married a former German citizen serving as a British soldier in 1941. In the same year she was notified that her parents died in Polish concentration camps.

The sketches shown are mainly dress and coat designs, drawn in Berlin around 1933-1937, while she was still an apprentice.

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The collections held at the Center are used by scholars in many disciplines unrelated to Jewish history; our materials highlight the successes accomplished by Jews in virtually every field of study, and every possible career path. It is our mission to keep documenting these contributions to our shared history, including the humanities, sciences, and the arts. These designs are just a fraction of the treasures than can be found within our collections.