Holly Harp Explained

Holly Harp
Birth Name:Helen Roberta Speller
Birth Date:24 October 1935
Birth Place:Buffalo, New York
Death Place:Cedars Sinai Hospital, Los Angeles, California
Education:North Texas State University
Years Active:1968–1995
Label Name:Holly's Harp
Awards:Distinguished Alumnus from University of North Texas (1979)
Children:1
Partner:Mark Buckman

Helen Roberta Speller (also known as Holly Harp) (24 October 1939 – 24 April 1995) was an American fashion designer based in Los Angeles known for her nostalgic designs and style reminiscent of the hippie era.

Life

Born as Helen Roberta Speller on October 24th, 1939 in Buffalo, New York,[1] Holly Harp studied art and costume design at North Texas State University, where she met her husband, James "Jim" Harp, who she married in 1965 and would later divorce in 1981.[2] [3] The Harps stayed in business together, with Jim starting to serve as sales director in 1986. Harp additionally did night classes to learn pattern making. They had a son, Thomas "Tommy/Tom" Harp.[4] Harp died due to ovarian cancer on April 24th, 1995 at the Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles,[5] and additionally had breast cancer.[6] Her mother predeceased her, as she had died when Harp was nine years old.[7] In addition to her ex-husband, son, and fiancé, Harp was survived by her siblings: sisters Elizabeth Horn and Sarah Bozzola, and brother Thomas Speller Jr.[8]

Work

Harp's work consisted of materials including nylon, silk, rayon, jersey, and chiffon.[9] The style of her work ranged from a hippie, psychedelic style to a romantic, fantasy inspired style. She began work upcycling fabrics and thrifting to make ready-made clothes and doing custom orders.[10] She designed evening wear, and prized theatrics as well as the happiness and confidence of her clients.[11] She considered herself to work with nostalgia, and Harp's fiancé at the time of her death, Mark Buckman, said that she had described her work as "counterculturalist". Geraldine Stutz is credited with introducing Harp to a wider audience as the president of Henri Bendel.[12] [13]

In 1968, Harp opened "Holly's Harp", a boutique on the Sunset Strip. Her work was sold on both coasts, from her store in Las Angeles to stores on Fifth Avenue, such as the stores Henri Bendel,[14] Bergdorf Goodman, and Neiman Marcus. After her collection's appearance at Henri Bendel in 1972, she began manufacturing herself.[15] In 1973, Harp filed for a patent under the name "Holly's Harp and Design" under "Holly's Harp Inc".[16] Harp was one of the designers who took over the work from designer Anne Klein after her death in 1974.[17] In 1978, clothes from her factory were shipped to ninety stores.[18] In 1986, her designs at Henri Bendel sold for $650 to $1,350.[19] The boutique Holly's Harp closed in 1986, though she continued to work at her studio in Culver City until her death in 1995.[20] After her diagnosis of breast cancer, Harp claimed her assistant Amy Michelson as the designer to continue her line. In 1994, Harp's jacket with two shirts retailed for $3,185.[21] The firm "Holly's Harp" was inherited by her son and continued operations, including the creation of a new clothing line titled "HH by Amy Michelson” and a bridal line “Amy Michelson Wedding“ as well as the “Amy Michelson for Holly Harp” collection,[22] until closing in 1999 at a stable volume of business of roughly $2.5 million.

Her work was worn by celebrities such as Janis Joplin, Liza Minnelli, Diana Ross, Grace Slick, Barbra Streisand, and Jane Fonda. She was the stylist for Stevie Nicks, and created her stage persona.[23] She was additionally head costume designer on movies such as Sleeper and The Turning Point,[24] and her work appeared in the movie Cabaret. She was credited as the inspiration for clothes by fashion brands Gucci and Marc Jacobs by Cameron Silver in June 2002.[25]

Her activity in the Los Angeles community extended to other artists and causes. She designed clothes for Judy Chicago to paint on for International Festival of the Arts in New York,[26] held a fundraiser with Elyse Grinstein to raise money for Chicago's art project "The Dinner Party" in 1990 which Harp had also worked with Chicago on,[27] [28] [29] and donated fabrics to Chicago's projects "Creation of the World".[30] Harp did a show at a luncheon for the Cedars Sinai Hospital,[31] and delivered meals to AIDs patients during protests.

Awards and collections

Her work was nominated twice for the Coty Awards,[32] and nominated for an award at the Los Angeles Woman's Building Annual Vesta Awards ceremony in 1990.[33] [34] She won the Distinguished Alumnus award in 1979 from her alma mater, University of North Texas.[35] [36]

Harp's work is stored in collections at the MET, the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising Museum,[37] the Oakland Museum of California,[38] the Boston Museum of Fine Arts,[39] the Philadelphia Museum of Art,[40] and Thomas Jefferson University.[41]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Holly Harp Evening dress American . The Metropolitan Museum of Art . en.
  2. News: Jr . Robert Mcg Thomas . Holly Harp, Fashion Designer Inspired by Hippies, Was 55 . The New York Times . 30 April 1995.
  3. Web site: Holly Harp - Fashion Designer Designers The FMD . The FMD - FashionModelDirectory.com . Fashion Model Directory.
  4. Web site: HOLLY HARP . WWD . Women's Wear Daily . 26 April 1995.
  5. Book: Chicago . Judy . Steinem . Gloria . The flowering: the autobiography of Judy Chicago . 2021 . Thames & Hudson Inc . New York, New York . 9780500094389.
  6. News: Stein . Jeannine . Farewell, Princess Bride . Los Angeles Times . 10 May 2000.
  7. Book: Lobenthal . Joel . Radical rags: fashions of the sixties . 1990 . Abbeville Press . New York . 0896599302 . 125–127 . 1st.
  8. Web site: Pogoda . Dianne M. . HOLLY HARP TO SHUTTER BUSINESS . WWD . Women's Wear Daily . 22 June 1999.
  9. Book: Milinaire . Caterine . Troy . Carol . Cheap Chic: Hundreds of Money-Saving Hints to Create Your Own Great Look . 1 September 2015 . Crown . 978-1-101-90342-1 . 196 . en.
  10. Book: Wills . David . Switched On: Women Who Revolutionized Style in the 60s . 3 October 2017 . Weldon Owen . 9781681882611 . 217.
  11. News: Taylor . Angela . What Famous Designers Have to Say About Faces . The New York Times . 6 March 1977.
  12. News: Wilson . Eric . Geraldine Stutz Dies at 80; Headed Bendel for 29 Years . The New York Times . 9 April 2005.
  13. Book: Burstell . Ed . At Liberty From Rehab to the Front Row . October 2015 . Michael O'Mara . 9781782434696 .
  14. Web site: Holly's Harp . Vintage Fashion Guild.
  15. Book: O'Hara . Georgina . Donovan . Carrie . The encyclopaedia of fashion: from 1840 to the 1980s . 1989 . Thames and Hudson . London . 9780500275672 . 129 . Repr. with rev., 1. paperback .
  16. Book: Office . United States Patent . Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office: Patents [microform]. ]. 1973 . The Office . 57 . en.
  17. Book: Pierre . Clara . Looking good: the liberation of fashion . 1976 . Reader's Digest Press : distributed by Crowell . New York . 0883490935 . 248 .
  18. Book: Walz . Barbra . Morris . Bernadine . The fashion makers . 1978 . Random House . New York . 9780394411668 . 102–104 . 1st.
  19. News: NOTES ON FASHION . The New York Times . 8 April 1986.
  20. News: 18 April 1986 . Sally Field, Jane Seymour and other regulars... . Los Angeles Times.
  21. Book: LLC . New York Media . New York Magazine . 31 October 1994 . New York Media, LLC . 126 . en.
  22. News: Stein . Jeannine . 18 December 1998 . Her Golden State . Los Angeles Times.
  23. Book: Burns . Gary . A companion to popular culture . 8 March 2016 . Wiley Blackwell . Chichester, West Sussex Malden Oxford . 9781118883334 .
  24. Web site: Harp, Holly . Swank Vintage .
  25. News: Picardie . Justine . When Vogue Went Behind The Scenes At The 2002 Oscars . British Vogue . Vogue . 19 November 2022.
  26. News: Turk . Rose-Marie . Holly Harp, 55; Designed Hand-Painted Clothing . Los Angeles Times . 26 April 1995.
  27. News: Goodwin . Betty . Inviting Help for 'Dinner Party' . Los Angeles Times . Los Angeles Times . 7 February 1990.
  28. Woods . Robert . Darnovsky . Marcy . Wallace . Bill . Stein . Ellin . Witko . Maud . Arnold . C. D. . Powelson . Mark . Edelson . Morris . Goldberg . Michael . Cohen . Richard . Thomas . J. N. . Snyder . Michael . Lyons . Len . Hurwitt . Robert . Kazin . Michael . Hirsch . Marina . Berkeley Barb: Berkeley Barb . Berkeley Barb . 29 March - 11 April 1979 . 29 . 13(698) . 4 .
  29. Book: Chicago . Judy . The birth project . 1985 . Doubleday . Garden City, N.Y . 9780385187091 . 122 .
  30. Book: Chicago . Judy . The birth project . 1985 . Doubleday . Garden City, N.Y . 9780385187091 . 19 .
  31. Center. . Compass [Cedars-Sinai Medical Center] ]. Compass . Summer 1997 . 16 .
  32. News: Morris . Bernadine . Women Designing for Women Highly Individual Approaches . The New York Times . 24 October 1976.
  33. Maksymowicz . Virginia . Langer . Cassandra L. . Moore . Sylvia . Winter . Amy . Hanson . Jo . Phillips . Leslie . Poulson . Elizabeth . Mihopoulos . Effie . Heisler . Eva . Yefimov . Alla . Leone . Vivien . Moore . Lylvia . Franz . Lissa . Holbrook . Megan W. . Steinitz . Hilary J. . Cole . Doris . Taylor . Karen Cord . Eichman . Shawn . Jewell . Terri L. . Mendelssohn . Suzanne . Seigel . Judy . Smuda . Gail . Newfield . Marcia . Women Artists News: Women Artists News . Women Artists News . 1 November 1990 . 15 . 3 . 34 .
  34. Web site: Woman's Building Records . oac.cdlib.org . Online Archive of California.
  35. Web site: [Holly Harp during distinguished alumni announcement] ]. UNT Digital Library . University of North Texas . 30 August 1978.
  36. Web site: Past Recipients . UNT Alumni Association . University of North Texas.
  37. Web site: Museum . FIDM . Holly's Harp . FIDM Museum . Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising Museum . 20 November 2009.
  38. Web site: 2003.46.1 OMCA COLLECTIONS . collections.museumca.org . Oakland Museum of California.
  39. Web site: Woman's dress . collections.mfa.org . Museum of Fine Arts, Boston . en.
  40. Web site: Woman's Ensemble: Top and Wide-legged Trousers . philamuseum.org . Philadelphia Museum of Art . en.
  41. Web site: Dress . Thomas Jefferson University . en . Harp . Holly .

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