…………….For the Anne Klein Company’s 30th Anniversary the AK Co. published a special insert in conjunction with Woman’s Wear Dailey’s magazine. It comprised of single photos and collages of the past years starting in 1968, the year AK was opened until 1998. The photo at the upper left is Anne Klein herself with two of her sketches. What many people do not realize is that she only designed the AK line for 5 years, from 1968 until she died in 1973. The impact she made in that small amount of time was phenomenal!!!! She changed the way women dressed overnight and created a new category of dressing….”DESIGNER SPORTSWEAR”. Yes, there were other sportswear designers before her like Claire McArdell and Bonnie Cashin, but none created boutiques housing their entire collections of coordinating separates and accessories to make it easier for women to shop and put outfits together…….These were the new working women who needed a different more modern way of dressing…..She had the first designer boutique in a store….it was called the “Anne Klein Corner” at Saks 5th Avenue. Before that designers clothes were mixed together in “salons”. A women could walk into the AK boutique and walk out with 2, 3, 4, 5 outfits that mixed and matched along with the accessories to tie it all together…..She no longer had to run around the store looking for pieces to go with what she purchased….The photos are just part of the 12 pages I still have. I started at AK when I was 24 years old and spent the next 20 years there………..the best years of my designing career. I will always be grateful to Anne Klein and her husband Chip Rubenstein for selecting me to join the company knowing I would replace her along with Donna Karan.
Dear Louis, I love reading your Blogs and I am one of the quiet ones that may not respond often. You have blessed our lives with your many designs through the years. Thank you for keeping all the Linea ladies still looking beautiful in your exquisite designs. I just wanted to tell you that I especially love the Look Back Thursdays. You look so handsome in your photo too. This Christmas I finally made Jac’s Ginger cookies. They were a hit with everyone in my family. I happen to mention to one of my cousins out of state that I was making the cookies. She asked me to text her the recipe. I did and you would have thought she created that recipe. They were a hit with her family and friends too. I was so tickled and happy that Jac is still touching the lives of so many. Please always post your blog. It is a true blessing to all of us during these times. Thank you, thank you Louis for all you do.