LOS ANGELES, Calif., Feb. 17, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via PRWEB - Pinup Girl Clothing is pleased to announce the release of THE MAGIC OF MARY BLAIR Collection by Pinup Couture, a Spring/Summer 2015 line of 1950s and 60s-style dresses and skirts that showcase illustrations from artist Mary Blair. Available exclusively through Pinup Girl Clothing--a Los Angeles, California-based manufacturer, boutique, and online retailer--the collection will include Blair's original art and illustrations.
Blair--active in the 1930s through 70s, but perhaps best known by her work done for The Walt Disney Studios in the 1940s through 60s--created enchanting, immersive, playful, and inventive illustrations that perfectly encapsulate the mid-century modern aesthetic in cheerful detail. Blair's whimsical use of bold graphics, juxtaposition of complementary and contrasting colors, and exuberant imaginativeness refused to be ignored in a male-dominated industry, so much that Blair prevailed in showcasing her talents across animated and live action films, advertising, clothing, greeting cards, retail window displays, theatrical sets, and children's books. Pinup Girl Clothing is honored to partner with Mary Blair's Family Estate to spotlight Blair's accomplishments and contributions to the twentieth century with this new collection of New Look-reminiscent frocks.
Founded in 1999, Pinup Girl Clothing produces and showcases vintage-inspired garments, styled after classic 1940s, 50s, and 60s silhouettes, but with a modern woman in mind, coining the term pinup-style clothing. Headed by CEO and co-founder and Head Designer Laura Byrnes, this LA-based, predominately female-run company believes in "Couture for Everybody", a movement dedicated to providing an array of women's sizes from extra small to 4X. "We believe that all women deserve the right to look and feel beautiful," said Byrnes. "Our clothing is made to empower women, allowing them to be the best versions of themselves."
THE MAGIC OF MARY BLAIR collection will consist of a dozen dresses and eight skirts, with all of these designs available in extra small to 4X. The collection incorporates Blair's whimsical novelty motifs of travel--such as trains, planes, and caricatures of commuters--and girlish flair like umbrellas, butterflies, kittens, lips, and roses. Some of the art included was previously used in the 1950s for handkerchiefs and scarves manufactured for Carol Stanley Studios, New York. The collection will also showcase one of Blair's personal artworks depicting a mother embracing her child. These designs will be incorporated as all-over and border prints on classic Pinup Couture designs, including the flirty and famed 1960s-style Jenny Dress which features adjustable straps and a gathered full skirt, the stunning 1950s-style Heidi Dress, which showcases a sweetheart neckline, covered belt, and flattering swing skirt, and the sleek and sexy Evangeline Dress, a fitted, wiggle-style style making its debut in this collection.
"This collection is a dream come true for Pinup Girl Clothing," muses the company's Creative Director and Assistant Designer, Micheline Pitt, who employed her own artistic talents in bringing Blair's designs to life. "I started my career in animation--frequently the only woman in room--and Mary is my idol. She accomplished so much, refused to be overlooked in a male-dominated world, and stands out as inspiration for all graphic designers, illustrators, innovators, and dreamers today."
"The Mary Blair Family Estate is thrilled to be associated with this exciting project," said Blair's nieces, Jeanne Chamberlain and Maggie Richardson. "Fashion played an important role in Mary's life--her 'look' often taking center stage as she entered a room. She would be so proud to know that the magical designs she created so many decades ago have become timeless, multi-generational, and universally loved. And, she would have delighted in working alongside the dynamic and uniquely creative feminine energy that is Pinup Girl Clothing. This new collection not only captures Mary Blair's art beautifully and boldly, as Mary painted it, but it also captures the whimsical spirit behind the art…that makes us all smile."
The line will be available online at PinupGirlClothing.com and in the company's flagship store, Pinup Girl Boutique (3606 Magnolia Blvd., Burbank, CA 91505). The first look at the entire collection of garments will be available on PinupGirlClothing.com in March, with an in-store and online launch of the entire collection by the end of April. The final pieces will be made available on Monday, April 27, 2015 on their online storefront with a launch party at their Burbank Boutique on Saturday, April 25, 2015 before their annual Pinup Parade in the Park event at Disneyland on Sunday, April 26, 2015.
ABOUT MARY BLAIR
Mary Blair, born October 21, 1911, in McAlester, Oklahoma as Mary Browne Robinson, was an artist, illustrator, and graphic whose influential career spanned five decades. Blair's oeuvre includes works incorporated into animated and live action films, advertising, clothing, greeting cards, retail window displays, theatrical sets, and children's books. Blair is perhaps best known for her work at the Walt Disney Studios in the 1940s through 60s, where she provided color styling and art direction for Cinderella (1950), Alice in Wonderland (1951), and Peter Pan (1953), as well as serving as creative lead for theme park attraction it's a small world.
Blair's family settled in Morgan Hill, California in the 1920s, after which Blair attended San Jose State College, majoring in fine arts with the intention of becoming a teacher. During her time at San Jose State College, Blair won a scholarship to the Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles, where she was mentored by legendary illustrator Pruett Carter and met her husband, Lee Blair. Chouinard also touts pop artist Ed Ruscha, cartoon artist Chuck Jones, costume designer Edith Head, and numerous Disney animators and art directors as graduates. Later, the school merged with the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music to become California Institute of the Arts under the guidance of Walt and Roy Disney.
After husband Lee Blair was hired by Walt Disney Studios as color supervisor for Pinocchio in 1938, Mary reluctantly joined the Disney's Character Model department in May 1940. Under the supervision of Joe Grant, Mary created watercolor concept art for Dumbo (1941) and Lady and the Tramp (1955). In 1941, the US government sent a group of Disney animators, along with Walt and Lillian Disney, to South America as part of President Roosevelt's Good Neighbor policy. Lee was invited to join the group and Mary asked Walt Disney directly if she could be included in the delegation. During this trip, Mary's work transformed from murky, serious studies, to lively, vivid, imaginative landscapes and studies of South American people. Walt Disney took special notice to Mary's capabilities, and soon began to utilize her for more projects.
During her time at Disney, Blair worked on Saludos Amigos (1942), Three Caballeros (1945), Song of the South (1946), Make Mine Music (1946), Melody Time (1948), So Dear to My Heart (1948), Cinderella (1950), Alice in Wonderland (1951), and Peter Pan (1953). In February 1953, Mary departed from Disney and began taking up freelance illustration and graphic design opportunities. She provided illustrations for Nabisco, Johnson & Johnson, Beatrice Foods, Maxwell House, Pall Mall, and others. She illustrated children's books, including five Golden Books titles: Baby's House (1950), I Can Fly (1950), The Golden Book of Little Verses (1953), The New Golden Song Book (1955), and The Up and Down Book (1964). I Can Fly remained in print for more than sixty years. Later, in 1967 she served as color designer for How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying (1967).
After a decade away from Disney, Walt Disney asked Mary to provide creative lead on an attraction for the 1964 New York World's Fair. The attraction brought Mary's vision to life using three-dimensional children from around the globe, dressed in their nation's traditional garb. The attraction became known as it's a small world and was later duplicated under Blair's direction at Disneyland in 1966 and at Walt Disney World in 1971. Versions of the attraction reside at all Disney theme parks worldwide. In 1966, Walt commissioned a 220-square-foot mural in the children's outpatient clinic at the Jules Stein Eye Institute at the UCLA Center for Health Sciences. After Walt's death in 1966, Blair constructed two murals in Disneyland's Tomorrowland in 1967, and then later a mural consisting of 18,000 hand-painted tiles was installed in 1971 at the Contemporary Resort Hotel at Walt Disney World. In Mary's final years, she worked on personal artworks, before dying of cerebral hemorrhage July 26, 1978 at the age of 66.
Blair's work has been the subject of two major art exhibitions: The Colors of Mary Blair at Tokyo's Museum of Contemporary Art in 2009 and Magic, Color, Flair: The World of Mary Blair at The Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco in 2014. Blair is the subject of two books: The Art and Flair of Mary Blair: An Appreciation (2003) and Magic, Color, Flair: The World of Mary Blair (2014). Both books are authored by film maker and film historian John Canemaker, the latter of the two served as a companion to the exhibition at The Walt Disney Family Museum. Blair was posthumously named a Disney Legend in 1991, was awarded the 1996 Windsor McCay Award from the International Animated Film Society, ASIFA-Hollywood in 1996, and was the feature of a Google Doodle on her 100th birthday in 2011, selected by the Palo Alto-based company "to inspire happiness in our users."
ABOUT PINUP GIRL CLOTHING
Pinup Girl Clothing, headed by CEO and President Laura Byrnes, has specialized in the highest quality, vintage-inspired fashion, shoes, and accessories for women since 1999. As a fashion house, Pinup Girl Clothing's designs can be found in thousands of retail boutiques across the globe. As an online retailer, the company serves as the exclusive manufacturer and retailer of Pinup Couture, Laura Byrnes California, Deadly Dames by Micheline Pitt, and Dixiefried by Melanie Komenkul. All clothing sold by Pinup Girl Clothing is manufactured in the United States and it employs a zero-tolerance policy for sweat shop and forced labor conditions. Pinup Girl Clothing believes in the "Couture for Everybody" movement, providing styles ranging from size extra small to 4X. The company opened its flagship store in July 2013, Pinup Girl Boutique, located at 3606 Magnolia Blvd., Burbank, CA 91505.
CONTACT
626-765-9748 | pinupgirlclothing.com
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MEDIA CONTACT
Kathryn Mitchell
Kathryn@pinupgirlclothing.com | 626-795-9748
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