Monte-Sano & Pruzan

Monte-Sano was founded 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]

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]