CHARLES KLEIBACKER, MASTER OF THE BIAS CUT; DESIGNS, CONSTRUCTION AND TECHNIQUES DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for The Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Joycelyn Falsken, M.A. ***** The Ohio State University 2008 Dissertation Committee: Professor Patricia A. Cunningham, Adviser Professor Kathryn A. Jakes Professor Alice L. Conklin Curator Gayle M. Strege Copyright by Joycelyn Falsken 2008 ABSTRACT Charles Kleibacker was a fashion designer in New York City from 1960 to 1986, a time when fashion styles reflected the turmoil that occurred in society throughout those years. However, through it all Charles maintained an individual design aesthetic – soft figure-flattering bias dresses with a classic look that could be worn for years. This earned him a devoted clientele of women who purchased his designer ready-to-wear garments at top stores in New York, or were custom fit in his workshop. Because of his preference for and skill with bias, he became known as the Master of the Bias Cut. Trained in French couturier methods of construction, Kleibacker’s garments were all produced with the highest standards in fabric, construction and fit. Bias is known to be the most difficult ‘cut’ to work with when constructing garments. Charles experimented until he figured out how to solve the challenges, and then trained his workers in the exacting techniques required. Having first a career in journalism, Charles’ path to fashion was in “no way normal” and his approach to his business and the industry was not the norm either. Starting small, through much determination and sacrifice, he overcame many obstacles to produce garments engineered for an enduring and graceful artistry. The “bias secrets” that Charles laboriously learned were never closely guarded. An educator at heart, he taught his “secrets” to packed audiences in national tours ii targeted to the home-sewing market. He also shared his love of historic clothing and engineering garments cut on the bias with fashion design students in many college programs. Kleibacker’s path stands as an excellent case study for students. He also tirelessly worked to preserve the techniques that go into couture quality garments. The “secrets” and the experiences of Kleibacker contained in this paper are an informative story for fashion students and lovers of fashion alike. An American original, unique in his approach to design, his ready-to-wear business, sharing his knowledge, and individual design aesthetic, Kleibacker stands out as a pinnacle of the fashion world in his artistry and drive for perfection. iii DEDICATION This work is dedicated to Mrs. Ariss Thomas who was my first pattern making teacher at Evergreen Valley Community College in San Jose, California. She helped me learn the love of engineering a garment and also realize my love of teaching. Without her encouragement, friendship and positive attitude, I would not have begun my journey of pursuing a university education from which I have gained so very much. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to thank Charles Kleibacker for his willingness to open his story to me. Oral interviewing can take some funny twists. For example, on a couple of occasions Charles described his studio at 26 West 76th Street in New York as “colorful.” I thought he meant that it was more on the seedy side or ‘rundown’ and that he was using the word facetiously. However, upon further questioning I understood that he viewed it as a lovely place. I sincerely appreciate Charles’ patience in allowing me to interview him for many long hours and double check many details to be sure that I understood what he was explaining. He is a remarkable man and I cherish the time that we’ve spent together talking. My sincerest thanks go to Dr. Patricia A. Cunningham, my advisor for her patience and support through this process. She was always calm when I was not and helped me find solutions to the challenges that confronted me. Also, thank you to all of my committee members; Dr. Patricia A. Cunningham, Dr. Kathryn Jakes, Dr. Alice Conklin and Gayle Strege. I appreciate your insightful reading and comments on content both in the planning stages and execution. And thank you for your fortitude in staying with me on the roller coaster ride my life has taken this past year. I thank Edith Serkownek and Tom Gates, librarians at the June F. Mohler Fashion Library at Kent State University for graciously helping in my search through their well- v organized Charles Kleibacker and Elizabeth Rhodes archives. I also thank Phillip Davis, Office of Information Technology and John Pryba, Information Technologist in Human Ecology at The Ohio State University who found the equipment necessary and did the work to transfer and save what was left of the images and sound on the decomposing ¾- inch video tapes in the archives at Kent. I am indebted to Dr. Anne Bissonnette, Curator at the Kent State University Museum for not only helping me to photograph many of the Kleibacker garments in their collection, but also opening her home to a poor graduate student so that I didn’t have to pay for a hotel on those numerous research trips. My thanks also to Jean Druesedow, Director of Kent State University Museum for allowing the loan of the three Kleibacker muslins from which I was able to take patterns, and to Linda Claire Meisner, a former model of Charles’ who graciously loaned her Kleibacker dress to me for study. I am also grateful to Dr. Elizabeth Rhodes, Department Head of the Shannon Rodgers and Jerry Silverman School of Fashion Design and Merchandising, Kent State University and also to Sister Mary Aloyse Hessberg in the Fashion Department at Mount Mary College in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They both graciously allowed me to interview them about their relationship with Charles and also gave me copies of their course syllabi and teaching notes pertaining to Charles’ bias construction techniques. This was an immense help. My thanks also to Carmen Maya, head of Charles’ workshop for 16 years. Her insight regarding high-end bias cut clothing construction was invaluable. Thank you to Gayle Strege for smiling at my dreams and bringing me back down to reality. Learning from her and working with her among the “lovely ladies” of The Clothing & Textiles Historic Costume Collection for the past three years at The Ohio vi State University will remain one of the highlights of my life. I look forward to further research there. Thank you to the young women who donated their time to model Charles’ dresses for me at The Columbus Museum of Art: Jenny Fong, Kayla Malley, Kiernan Yeates, and Tiarra Harrel. I wish that I was more skilled with my camera or that we could have had a professional do the shoot. I thank Nancy Messier with all my heart. She is a good friend and was wonderfully helpful in so many ways. Always interested in my work, she not only helped with some of the time-consuming handwork in the reproductions but also helped me with a move in the middle of all this. She was always there, willing to help and ease my burden. This research was supported by a grant provided by The Lucy R. Sibley Endowment Fund. My thanks go to Dr. Francis M. Sibley for generously providing funds to enable me to do this work. Finally, and especially, I thank Dr. Kathryn Jakes and my husband, Gary, whose consistent friendships, encouragement and kind support helped me to complete this last step of my journey. You know I could not have done it without you. vii VITA August 2003 M.A. in Family & Consumer Sciences Major: Clothing and Textiles San Francisco State University, CA May 1995 B.A. in Home Economics Clothing and Textiles Specialty Area, Design Emphasis San Francisco State University, CA 2007 – 2008 Assistant Professor, Apparel, Textiles, and Interior Design, Kansas State University Courses taught: Apparel Flat Patternmaking, Computer-Aided Design for Apparel, Beginning Clothing Construction, Computer Apparel Pre-production Processes 2004 – 2007 Collections Manager; The Historic Costume & Textiles Collection at The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 2003 – 2004 Lecturer, Consumer & Family Studies/Dietetics Dept., San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA. 1998 – 2003 Graduate Teaching Associate, Consumer & Family Studies/Dietetics Dept. San Francisco State University Courses taught at SFSU: Beginning Clothing Construction, Flat pattern making, Computer Applications in Textiles and Apparel Research, Computer-Aided Apparel Design on AutoCAD and Patternmaking on Gerber system, History of Fashion, Textile Lab, Introduction to the Fashion Industry, Visual Communication. 1995 – 2002 Part-time Instructor, Evergreen Valley College, San Jose, CA. Courses taught: Beginning Clothing Construction, Intermediate Clothing Construction, Draping, Patternmaking for Costuming, History of Fashion, Millinery. 1994 – 2004 Sole proprietor, designer, patternmaker of Joycelyn Designs, a custom reproduction historic clothing business, Martinez, CA. viii PUBLICATIONS Falsken, J. and Strege, G. (2006) Knowing Our Collections: Strategies Used in Discovering the Story of a 1929 Worth Model. Abstracts of The Costume Society of America, National Symposium, Hartford, CT. May 30 – June 3, 2006, p13. FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: Human Ecology Clothing and Textiles, Dress History ix TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract............................................................................................................................. ii Dedication.......................................................................................................................