Traphagen School of Fashion

Traphagen School of Fashion was a school in operation from 1923–1991, and was located at 1680 Broadway in New York City. The school was founded and directed by Ethel Traphagen Leigh (1883–1963) with a focus on the foundational concepts of the American design movement. This was one of the earliest fashion schools and played a role in the development of American fashion by educating over 28,000 students in 68 years of operation.
History.
Traphagen School of Fashion was founded in 1923 by Ethel Traphagen Leigh (1883–1963) with a focus on the foundational concepts of the American design movement.
Traphagen School encouraged student experimentation with materials and construction techniques. One of the educational tenets of the Traphagen School of Fashion was a "design-by-adaptation" method, which included historical research. The school had a large collection of books and historic fashion plates, which was a source of inspiration for student work. The "design-by-adaptation" method often resulted in the appropriation of fashion in different cultures, including Native American and African American fashion.
The semi- quarterly alumni magazine was called "Fashion Digest", highlighting industry partnerships, honors and work by alumni.
In March 2019, the Museum at Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) hosted a survey exhibition of the school, "The Traphagen School: Fostering American Fashion."