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Isabel Toledo

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Isabel Toledo
Isabel Toledo at the Anne Klein fashion show, photo by Ed Kavishe, Fashion Wire Press
Born
Maria Isabel Izquierdo

(1960-04-09)April 9, 1960
Camajuaní,Cuba
DiedAugust 26, 2019(2019-08-26)(aged 59)
New York City,U.S.
NationalityCuban-American
EducationFashion Institute of Technology
Spouse
​
(m.1984)​
AwardsCooper-Hewitt National Design Award, 2005

Isabel Toledo(bornMaria Isabel Izquierdo;April 9, 1960 – August 26, 2019)[1]was a Cuban-Americanfashion designerbased in New York City.[2]She was widely recognized in the fashion industry for her attention to craftsmanship and the "sophisticated simplicity" of her garments.[3]

Biography

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Toledo was born Maria Isabel Izquierdo in Camajuaní, Cuba.[1]Raised in West New York, New Jersey, after settling in the United States at the age of eight, she attendedMemorial High School,where she met her future husband and collaborator,Ruben Toledo,whom she married in 1984.[1][4]Toledo told CNN that she started sewing at age eight because, "I couldn’t find anything I loved."[1]She attended the Fashion Institute of Technology (NY) and Parsons School of Design (NY),[1]where she studied painting, ceramics, and fashion design.[citation needed]She left Parsons in 1979, then graduated to become an intern underDiana Vreelandat theCostume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.[1]

Toledo died from breast cancer at a hospital in Manhattan on August 26, 2019.[1]

Career

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Toledo presented her first collection in 1984 atDanceteria,with the help of her friendJoey Arias,who organized the events, and became an official participant inNew York Fashion Weekin 1985. Her work was soon being sold byBarneys New York,Colettein Paris, andJoyce Boutiquein Hong Kong. Her work became influential in the world of design. According to the Israeli designerAlber Elbaz,"Everybody sort of stole from Isabel. Her work was about volume, cut, experiments, a laboratory of fabric — and that was not an Instagram moment. It was fashion."[1]

In 1998, she stopped presenting biannual collections, instead choosing to create on her own schedule.[citation needed]Toledo was named creative director ofAnne Kleinin 2006 after more than twenty years of working solely under her own name, and this allowed her work to reach a wider public.[1]Toledo made her debut with Anne Klein at New York Fashion Week in February 2007.[5]Toledo and Anne Klein parted ways later in 2007.[citation needed]

Awards

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Isabel and her husband, Ruben Toledo, were the recipient of the 2005Cooper-Hewitt National Design Awardfor their work in fashion.[6]

Toledo was also the recipient of an Otis Critics' award named for her at the Los Angeles-basedOtis College of Art and Design.[citation needed]

On September 3, 2008, Isabel Toledo was presented with the third annual Couture Council Award for Artistry of Fashion from the Museum at FIT in New York's Rainbow Room atop Rockefeller Center.[7]

Michelle Obama

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Michelle Obamafirst wore a Toledo design in June 2008, for an appearance at a New York City fashion world fundraiser.[8]She was introduced to Toledo's work through Ikram, a store in Chicago, Illinois, founded by Ikram Goldman.[1]Toledo designed a lemongrass yellow, wool, and lace shift dress with matching overcoat, which the First Lady selected to wear at thefirst inauguration of Barack Obama,on January 20, 2009.[9][1]

Exhibitions

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  • "Isabel Toledo: Fashion from the Inside Out", The Museum at FIT, 2009[10]
  • "Isabel and Ruben Toledo: A Marriage of Art and Fashion", Kent State University Museum, 1999;[11]traveled to other museums including theBen Maltz GalleryatOtis College of Art and Design,2002[12]
  • "Interpretation: 20th Century Clothing and Illustration",Ohio State University/Ohio Arts Council,2000[13]
  • "Isabel and Ruben Toledo: A Marriage of Art and Fashion", Kent State University Museum, 2000[14]
  • "Spirals & Ellipses: Clothing the Body Three-Dimensionally", Kent State University Museum, 2005[15]

References

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  1. ^abcdefghijkFriedman, Vanessa (August 26, 2019)."Isabel Toledo Dies at 59; Designed Michelle Obama's Inaugural Outfit".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.RetrievedAugust 26,2019.
  2. ^"Designer Isabel Toledo Has Died".Vogue.26 August 2019.Retrieved2019-08-26.
  3. ^Foley, Lisa Lockwood,Rosemary Feitelberg,Bridget; Lockwood, Lisa; Feitelberg, Rosemary; Foley, Bridget (2019-08-26)."Isabel Toledo, Who Designed for Michelle Obama, Dies at 59".WWD.Retrieved2020-10-12.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^Akkad, Nour."Isabel Toledo: Michelle Obama's Inauguration Dress Designer",Huffington Post,February 20, 2009. Accessed August 29, 2019. "Born Isabel Izquierdo in Cuba where she lived until the age of 8, Toledo grew up in West New York and attended Memorial High School, where she met her husband, the artist Rubén Toledo."
  5. ^Horyn, Cathy (September 13, 2007)."Designers in a Time of Many Dresses, Some Terrific".The New York Times.p. B.8.Quote: Ms. Toledo’s tunics and sundresses, by contrast, will probably find fewer customers. They were complex in color and pattern, surprising in their design, and for that reason more interesting.
  6. ^"Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum Announces Winners of the Sixth Annual National Design Awards".Archived fromthe originalon 2013-06-14.Retrieved2012-10-20.
  7. ^Peden, Lauren David (4 September 2008)."Toledo's FIT Fete".British Vogue.Archived fromthe originalon 22 July 2009.
  8. ^Erica Gonzales (2019)"Designer Isabel Toledo, Who Made Michelle Obama's 2009 Inauguration Outfit, Has Died"Harper's Bazaar.Published August 26, 2019. Accessed September 5, 2019.
  9. ^Betts, Kate (Jan 20, 2009)."Michelle Obama's Dress: A Bold Choice in Designer Isabel Toledo".TIME.Archived fromthe originalon January 22, 2009.
  10. ^"Isabel Toledo: Fashion from the Inside Out".The Museum at FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology).Archived fromthe originalon 2010-05-27.
  11. ^"Isabel and Ruben Toledo: A Marriage of Art and Fashion".Kent State University Museum. March 2000. Archived fromthe originalon 2010-08-17.
  12. ^"The Otis College of Art and Design - Brief Article".Art in America. January 2002. Archived fromthe originalon 2009-02-03.
  13. ^"Reality and Interpretation: 20th Century Clothing and Illustration".Ohio Arts Council.Archived fromthe originalon 2020-10-18.
  14. ^"Isabel and Ruben Toledo: A Marriage of Art and Fashion".Kent State University Museum.Archived fromthe originalon 2007-08-08.
  15. ^"Spirals & Ellipses: Clothing the Body Three-Dimensionally".Kent State University Museum.Archived fromthe originalon 2009-01-31.
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