Monte-Sano & Pruzan

Monte-Sano & Pruzan was a highly regarded New York fashion house specialising in women's tailoring, originally founded in 1915 by Vincent Monte-Sano senior, who was later joined by Max Pruzan. The company was liquidated in 1969.

Company history

Monte-Sano was founded originally in 1915 by Vincent Monte-Sano sr. as a women's custom tailoring establishment.[1] Although the Fashion Institute of Technology states that Pruzan joined the house in the 1950s, at which point it became "Monte-Sano & Pruzan,"[1] one source suggests that Monte-Sano and Pruzan co-founded in 1924,[2] and a number of 1940s articles indicate that the firm was widely known and advertised as Monte-Sano & Pruzan well before the 1950s.[3][4]

In the 1940s the firm became a ready-to-wear house supplying department stores such as Bonwit Teller and Saks Fifth Avenue, although it retained a reputation for superior quality and hand-finishing.[1] Their collections were notable events in the American fashion world. A July 1947 show, falling at the end of the 9th New York press week, was described as "well worth waiting for," and reinvigorating the exhausted journalists with new enthusiasm.[3] Seen as particularly significant was the use of draping to define silhouette, rather than padding.[3] In 1966, Monte-Sano and Pruzan were still described as a "renowned" firm.[5]

Monte-Sano Sr. died before 1960. At this time, a guest column by Monte-Sano junior and Pruzan for The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Monte-Sano's son, also called Vincent, had taken over his father's duties.[2] The junior Monte-Sano was also a talented fashion designer who had been associated with the firm since at least 1940, having established his own business on 1 January 1939.[6] Pruzan retired in 1966, and the firm Monte-Sano & Pruzan was liquidated in 1969.[1][7] The firm's archives from 1926-1968 are held by the Fashion Institute of Technology.[1]

Monte-Sano Jr. acted as a spokesman for the fashion industry throughout the 1960s and by 1971 had become President of the New York Couture Business Council, an organization which promoted the American fashion industry.[8] In 1975 it was noted that Monte-Sano junior ran two companies specialising in coats and raincoats, called 'Main Street' and 'Bond Street.'[6]

Awards

Along with Clare Potter and Omar Kiam Monte-Sano jointly won the Coty Award in 1946.[9] The Coty jury, chaired that year by Wilhela Cushman of Ladies' Home Journal, cited Monte-Sano's dress-like (rather than tailored) coats and suits as of particular significance, noting their use of white wool and officer styling.[9] Monte-Sano also won the Neiman Marcus Fashion Award in 1952, and the Silk Salute Award in 1954.[2]

In 1952, the firm took on a French emigre, Jacques Tiffeau as a pattern-cutter while financing his evening tuition.[5] Tiffeau eventually became chief stylist for Monte-Sano & Pruzan, and in 1958, he and Pruzan's daughter Beverley Busch launched a parallel fashion label, Tiffeau & Busch.[5] Tiffeau went on to win several awards whilst working for both fashion houses concurrently, including a Coty Award in 1960, a 1962 Cotton Fashion Award, and the 1964 International Designers Award, along with his own Neiman Marcus Fashion Award in 1966.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Monte Sano & Pruzan sketch collection, 1926-1968, at Fashion Institute of Technology - Special Collections and FIT Archives". Archivegrid. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 Staff writer (22 February 1960). "Team noted for many 'firsts'" (PDF). The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 Fegan, Lois (21 July 1947). "Little Padding but lots of Draping in New Coats, Suits.". Harrisburg Telegraph. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  4. ↑ "Advertisement for Monte-Sano & Pruzan, 1948.". The Salt Lake Tribune. 12 Sep 1948. Retrieved 16 March 2015. |via=Newspapers.com
  5. 1 2 3 4 Staff writer (5 February 1966). "Tiffeau Spring Fashions for 'Vital Thinking Woman' received 1966 Neiman-Marcus Award". Fairbanks Daily Newspaper. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  6. 1 2 Pauley, Gay (8 August 1975). "Good News: Same Designs. Bad News: Prices Up.". Nevada State Journal. UPI. Retrieved 14 March 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ Bramlett, Lizzie. "Monte-Sano & Pruzan". Label Resource. Vintage Fashion Guild. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  8. ↑ Pauley, Gay (14 June 1971). "Woman's View". Reading Eagle. UPI. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  9. 1 2 Mara, Margaret (19 July 1946). "Omar Kiam, Former MGM Designer, gets Fashion Award". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. p. 9. Retrieved 13 March 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
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