CARNEGIE Hattie (Retailer)

The model wears a gown by Hattie Carnegie. Although she has a reputation as a revered designer, Carnegie never actually made a dress. She was a retailer who delivered a current look, such as this strapless, wasp-waisted silhouette derived from Dior, a shape that formed the hourglass figure of the 1950s. Carnegie's reputation was legendary. She employed designers of the calibre of Norman Norell, Travis Banton, Jean Louis and Claire McCardell; the "Carnegie look" was a sophisticated simplification of European design that was favored by American society and high-profile clients such as the Duchess of Windsor. In 1947, Life declared Carnegie (née Kanengeiser, but she took the name of the richest American of the time) to be the "undisputed leader" of American fashion, with more than one hundred stores swelling her product, and her imprimatur the keenest sign of prestige in American clothing. 

Also look up for Banton, Daché, Louis, Norell, Trigère, Windsor