The Woman Behind The Iconic Cat-Eye Frames
Monday, August 14, 2023
The Woman Behind The Iconic Cat-Eye Frames
Altina Schinasi's Harlequin eyewear design still has a strong impact on fashion today.
NEW YORK - On August 4, the Google logo looks a little different. Google often replaces its standard logo with what it calls a Google Doodle - an adaptation of their classic icon to celebrate a holiday, person, historical event, work of art, or anything else. anything else - and the subject of the August 4 Doodle is Altina Schinasi, best known as the designer of Harlequin frames. August 4, 2023 marks Schinasi's 116th birthday, and with the help of his son, Terry Sanders, Google created a logo featuring his iconic design, Google reports.
Schinasi was born on August 4, 1907, as reported by Google, in Manhattan. His mother is from Salonika, then part of the Ottoman Empire and is now in Greece, while his father was born in Turkey. Schinasi grew up in New York and eventually attended Dana Hall School in the early 1920s. She was active at school, but felt a little different due to her Jewish faith. Dana Hall School wrote: “While at Dana Hall, she was a member of the Athletic Association, the Christian Association, the Varsity Hockey Team, and the Varsity Club. She is also the chair of the decoration committee of the French club, the historian of the class, and the vice president of the junior and senior classes. Reminiscing about her time at Dana Hall, Schinasi explained that although she had many friends, she often felt isolated as one of the only Jewish students on campus and tried to hide her part. that identity with his classmates.
On August 4, Google celebrated the 116th birthday of eyewear designer Altina Schinasi. Image via Google
After finishing school, Schinasi went to Paris with her sister, but returned to New York in the late 1920s, according to Dana Hall School. According to ARTnews, the New York art scene is where Schinasi really started to thrive. ARTnews explains: “She began her creative career as a window decorator for the opulent windows of 5th Avenue in New York. As a window decorator, she assisted Salvador Dali in realizing and fully implementing his window designs at department store Bonwit Teller & Co. At the same time, she took art classes at the Art Students League in New York, where artists Howard Warshaw and George Grosz were her teachers.
It was in this work that Schinasi designed his revolutionary glasses, which are still relevant today. In his obituary, The New York Times wrote that an unattractive display window in a nearby ophthalmologist's office led him to realize that there were very few appealing eyewear options available to anyone. for women. She decided to tackle the problem herself and design something new – and Harlequin eyeglasses, what we now call cat eye frames, were born. The design was inspired by the shape of the Harlequin masks that Schinasi saw at the Carnevale festival in Venice, Italy, as reported by Google. Her bold new design wasn't a quick hit - Google and The New York Times reported that nearly every manufacturer Schinasi approached turned her down. In the end, however, she had a breakthrough. Lugene, a glass store on Madison Avenue, asked to run the design for six months. The New York Times reported, '...one of the first pairs was sold to writer Clare Boothe Luce. Other trend-setters in New York followed Miss Luce's lead, and by the late 1930s, Harlequin eyewear had become all the rage.
Design succeeds and Schinasi can start his own business. She received an American Design Award from Lord & Taylor for executives in 1939, then sold the company in the mid-1940s, The New York Times reported, and moved to Los Angeles, where She eventually became a filmmaker. She produced a documentary about George Grosz, wrote a memoir, volunteered as an art therapist, and according to Google, she invented a type of portrait chair and couch she calls the couch. are Chairacters.
Fresberg Cartoon uploaded Altina Schinasi's biographical video to YouTube to educate students about her impact on fashion.
Although Altina Schinasi is no longer a strange name when we think of eyewear designers today, it is certain that her designs have had an everyday impact on eyewear for some 80 years. Cat eye frames are now popular and loved by most people, still a topic of discussion and love all over the world. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that almost every optical store out there carries some sort of cat eye frame and the design is constantly being tweaked, reborn, refreshed, and brought back into the limelight. Its design is one of the most striking in the history of eyewear.
Schinasi died at his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in August 1999. Director Peter Sanders released a documentary, titled Altina, about her in 2014. On her fifth birthday 116, as part of her Google Doodle celebration, her son Terry wrote:
She then returned to the United States and entered the arts at the Art Students League in New York. She began her career working as a window repairman for several shops on 5th Avenue. This allowed her to learn from famous artists such as Salvador Dalí and George Grosz, whom she admired. tomb. "At the window of a nearby ophthalmologist's office, she noticed that the only option for women's glasses was
. She thought the sharp edges accentuated the face and started cutting the edges. paper demonstration of her innovative frame design. Going forward, all the major manufacturers considered her creation to be edgy. She was adamant and approached a local shop owner. The owner believed in his workmanship and Harlequin eyeglasses quickly became a popular product, bringing Schansi a lot of public attention. To
Besides cat-eye glasses, she ventured into the world of cinema. In 1960, she produced a documentary about her former mentor George Grosz titled George Grosz's Interregnum. This documentary was nominated for an Oscar and won first place at the Venice Film Festival. She published the memoir The Way I Walked (1995). She even volunteered as an art therapist. And also invented
NEW YORK - On August 4, the Google logo looks a little different. Google often replaces its standard logo with what it calls a Google Doodle - an adaptation of their classic icon to celebrate a holiday, person, historical event, work of art, or anything else. anything else - and the subject of the August 4 Doodle is Altina Schinasi, best known as the designer of Harlequin frames. August 4, 2023 marks Schinasi's 116th birthday, and with the help of his son, Terry Sanders, Google created a logo featuring his iconic design, Google reports.
Schinasi was born on August 4, 1907, as reported by Google, in Manhattan. His mother is from Salonika, then part of the Ottoman Empire and is now in Greece, while his father was born in Turkey. Schinasi grew up in New York and eventually attended Dana Hall School in the early 1920s. She was active at school, but felt a little different due to her Jewish faith. Dana Hall School wrote: “While at Dana Hall, she was a member of the Athletic Association, the Christian Association, the Varsity Hockey Team, and the Varsity Club. She is also the chair of the decoration committee of the French club, the historian of the class, and the vice president of the junior and senior classes. Reminiscing about her time at Dana Hall, Schinasi explained that although she had many friends, she often felt isolated as one of the only Jewish students on campus and tried to hide her part. that identity with his classmates.
On August 4, Google celebrated the 116th birthday of eyewear designer Altina Schinasi. Image via Google
After finishing school, Schinasi went to Paris with her sister, but returned to New York in the late 1920s, according to Dana Hall School. According to ARTnews, the New York art scene is where Schinasi really started to thrive. ARTnews explains: “She began her creative career as a window decorator for the opulent windows of 5th Avenue in New York. As a window decorator, she assisted Salvador Dali in realizing and fully implementing his window designs at department store Bonwit Teller & Co. At the same time, she took art classes at the Art Students League in New York, where artists Howard Warshaw and George Grosz were her teachers.
It was in this work that Schinasi designed his revolutionary glasses, which are still relevant today. In his obituary, The New York Times wrote that an unattractive display window in a nearby ophthalmologist's office led him to realize that there were very few appealing eyewear options available to anyone. for women. She decided to tackle the problem herself and design something new – and Harlequin eyeglasses, what we now call cat eye frames, were born. The design was inspired by the shape of the Harlequin masks that Schinasi saw at the Carnevale festival in Venice, Italy, as reported by Google. Her bold new design wasn't a quick hit - Google and The New York Times reported that nearly every manufacturer Schinasi approached turned her down. In the end, however, she had a breakthrough. Lugene, a glass store on Madison Avenue, asked to run the design for six months. The New York Times reported, '...one of the first pairs was sold to writer Clare Boothe Luce. Other trend-setters in New York followed Miss Luce's lead, and by the late 1930s, Harlequin eyewear had become all the rage.
Design succeeds and Schinasi can start his own business. She received an American Design Award from Lord & Taylor for executives in 1939, then sold the company in the mid-1940s, The New York Times reported, and moved to Los Angeles, where She eventually became a filmmaker. She produced a documentary about George Grosz, wrote a memoir, volunteered as an art therapist, and according to Google, she invented a type of portrait chair and couch she calls the couch. are Chairacters.
Fresberg Cartoon uploaded Altina Schinasi's biographical video to YouTube to educate students about her impact on fashion.
Although Altina Schinasi is no longer a strange name when we think of eyewear designers today, it is certain that her designs have had an everyday impact on eyewear for some 80 years. Cat eye frames are now popular and loved by most people, still a topic of discussion and love all over the world. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that almost every optical store out there carries some sort of cat eye frame and the design is constantly being tweaked, reborn, refreshed, and brought back into the limelight. Its design is one of the most striking in the history of eyewear.
Schinasi died at his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in August 1999. Director Peter Sanders released a documentary, titled Altina, about her in 2014. On her fifth birthday 116, as part of her Google Doodle celebration, her son Terry wrote:
She then returned to the United States and entered the arts at the Art Students League in New York. She began her career working as a window repairman for several shops on 5th Avenue. This allowed her to learn from famous artists such as Salvador Dalí and George Grosz, whom she admired. tomb. "At the window of a nearby ophthalmologist's office, she noticed that the only option for women's glasses was
. She thought the sharp edges accentuated the face and started cutting the edges. paper demonstration of her innovative frame design. Going forward, all the major manufacturers considered her creation to be edgy. She was adamant and approached a local shop owner. The owner believed in his workmanship and Harlequin eyeglasses quickly became a popular product, bringing Schansi a lot of public attention. To
Besides cat-eye glasses, she ventured into the world of cinema. In 1960, she produced a documentary about her former mentor George Grosz titled George Grosz's Interregnum. This documentary was nominated for an Oscar and won first place at the Venice Film Festival. She published the memoir The Way I Walked (1995). She even volunteered as an art therapist. And also invented