A dark, a light, a bright: the designs of Dorothy Liebes

Abstract

As a weaver, Dorothy Liebes developed a combination of materials, textures, and colors that came to be known as the "Liebes Look." Yet despite her prolific career and recognition during her lifetime, Liebes is today considerably less well known than the men with whom she often collaborated, including Frank Lloyd Wright, Henry Dreyfuss, and Edward Durrell Stone. This publication examines Liebes's impact on twentieth-century design. Essays explore milestones of her career, including her collaborations with interior designers and architects to create custom textiles, the design studio where she explored new and unusual materials, her use of fabrics to enhance interior lighting, and her collaborations with fashion designers, including Clare Potter and Bonnie Cashin.

Contents

Chapter I. Curtain walls : Dorothy Liebes and the modern American interior / John Stuart Gordon -- Color -- Chapter II. Vibrance and luminosity : textiles designed for light / Alexa Griffith Winton -- Chapter III. The idea factory / Susan Brown -- Texture -- Chapter IV. Modern weaving's global ambassador / Emily M. Orr -- Chapter V. Modern fashion's secret weapon / Leigh Wishner -- Glitter -- Chapter VI. The Liebes look : better and better for less and less / Monica Penick -- Chapter VII. Fission : design and mentorship in the Dorothy Liebes studio / Erica Warren -- Materials -- Chronology.