Carmel Snow

Carmel Snow
Born	Carmel White (1887-08-21)August 21, 1887 Dalkey, Ireland
Died	May 7, 1961(1961-05-07) (aged 73) New York City, U.S.
Occupation	Magazine editor
Employer(s)	Vogue, Harper's Bazaar

Carmel Snow (born Carmel White; 21 August 1887 – 7 May 1961) was the editor-in-chief of the American edition of Harper's Bazaar from 1934 to 1958; and the chair of the magazine's editorial board.[1][2][3] She was famously quoted as saying, "Elegance is good taste, plus a dash of daring".[4]

Biography

Early life

She was born in St Justin's, Dalkey, Dublin, Ireland to Peter White, a merchant tailor, and Annie Meyne.[5] After her father's death from pneumonia on April 7, 1893,[1] she and her mother Annie moved to America.[1] Her mother eventually became a noted dressmaker for wealthy New York socialites.[1]

In 1903, Carmel attended school at a convent in Brussels; the Soeurs de Sainte-Marie is where she mastered her understanding of French.[4]

Career

In 1921 she was introduced to Vogue editor Edna Woolman Chase by Anne Rittenhouse, for whom she had done a favor;[6] Condé Nast subsequently offered her the job of assistant fashion editor.[1]

In 1926 she was appointed as fashion editor at Vogue.[1][7] Also in 1926, she married George Palen Snow, while wearing a gown of cream white satin trimmed with seed pearls and old Burano lace that had been in her family for many years.[1][8] She later had three daughters; it was rumored that one of them had schizophrenia, but this diagnosis has not been confirmed.[1][9]

In 1929 her brother Tom White became general manager of the Hearst publishing organization.[1] Though Carmel had promised Condé Nast she would not take a job there, she ultimately did take a job at Harper's Bazaar.[1] In 1932 Carmel became the fashion editor of Harper's Bazaar. She famously described her goal at Harper's Bazaar as creating a magazine for "well-dressed women with well-dressed minds".[4]

She discovered Martin Munkacsi, and in 1933 and persuaded him to photograph the Harper's Bazaar December edition's 'Palm Beach' bathing suit editorial.[1] For this editorial, he had the model Lucille Brokaw run toward the camera while he photographed, which was the first instance of a fashion model being photographed in motion.[1][4]

She became editor-in-chief of Harper's Bazaar in 1934.[1]

She hired her art director Alexey Brodovitch on the basis of a 1934 exhibition of his work in graphic design at the Art Directors Club of New York.[4] She described his exhibit as a revelation, mentioning "pages that bled beautifully, cropped photographs, typography and design that were bold and interesting".[4] She found her fashion editor, Diana Vreeland, after noticing her dancing across a crowded room.[4][10]

In 1947 she exclaimed, "It's such a new look!", thus coining that phrase in regard to Christian Dior's 1947 collection.[11][12]

Snow died in 1961, while she was working with her long-time collaborator Mary Louis Aswell on her memoir, The World of Carmel Snow.[1][13] The book was published posthumously.[4]

Legacy

Carmel Snow commemorative stamp 2020

As to why Carmel's reputation faded, while Vreeland's did not, photographer Richard Avedon (quoted in a 2005 biography[14] of Carmel by Penelope Rowlands) said: "She was older, right? and she died before stardom was the thing."[4]

In 2020, Snow was one of a number of famous Irish people featured on stamps by An Post.[15]

Portrayal

She was portrayed by Glenn Close in the television series The New Look.[16]

Further reading

• Penelope Rowlands, A Dash of Daring: Carmel Snow and Her Life in Fashion, Art, and Letters London : Simon & Schuster, 2005. ISBN 9780743480451, OCLC 63186302
• Carmel Snow; Mary Louis Aswell, The World of Carmel Snow New York; London : McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1962. OCLC 547124

References

1. "Women's Museum of Ireland | Articles | Carmel Snow". Womensmuseumofireland.ie. 14 July 2017. Archived from the original on 17 July 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
2. "CARMEL SNOW: TEN INFLUENTIALS - 10 Magazine10 Magazine". 10magazine.com. 2 June 2011. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
3. John Giacobello (2003). Careers in the Fashion Industry. The Rosen Publishing Group. pp. 106–. ISBN 978-0-8239-4082-0.
4. Penelope Rowlands (2005). A Dash of Daring: Carmel Snow and Her Life in Fashion, Art, and Letters. Atria Books, Simon & Schuster. pp. FM–. ISBN 0743480457.
5. "General Registrar's Office" (PDF). IrishGenealogy.ie. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
6. Condé Nast: The Man and His Empire -- A Biography, by Susan Ronald, published September 2019 by St. Martin's Publishing Group
7. "Meet The Irish Woman Who Ruled New York Fashion". 15 July 2015.
8. "Miss White Bride of George P, Snow". The New York Times. 12 November 1926. p. 19. ProQuest 103654389.
9. Horyn, Cathy (4 December 2005). "Before There Was Vreeland: A biography of Carmel Snow, who brought quality fiction and photography into fashion magazines". The New York Times. p. G46. ProQuest 93027084.
10. Vreeland, Diana (1985) [1984]. D. V. New York: Vintage. pp. 116–117. ISBN 0-394-73161-1.
11. Company History at Dior's website Archived 7 November 2008 at the Wayback Machine
12. "History of Christian Dior S.A." fundinguniverse.com.
13. "Carmel Snow, Editor, Dies at 73; Headed Harper's Bazaar Board: Leader in Fashion World on Both Sides of Atlantic Had Started With Vogue". The New York Times. 9 May 1961. p. 39. ProQuest 115429911.
14. "A Dash of Daring". The New Yorker. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
15. Pollak, Sorcha (5 March 2020). "Pioneering Irish women feature in An Post's stamp set". The Irish Times. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
16. Avalos, Regina (1 January 2024). "The New Look: Glenn Close Stars as Legendary Editor in Apple TV+ Series". canceled + renewed TV shows, ratings - TV Series Finale. Retrieved 10 August 2024.