Jeanne Campbell

Jeanne S. Campbell (1919–2002) was an American fashion designer active from the 1940s to the 1970s. She was part of the American sportswear movement alongside Bonnie Cashin and Claire McCardell. Biography Jeanne grew up in Pittsburgh, and studied at the Pittsburgh Art Institute. After graduating, she opened her own business in Clearwater, Florida, near her family's summer home. Following the outbreak of World War II, Jeanne joined the Civil Aeronautics Administration as a cartographer, where she met her future husband, Lieutenant Edward A. Campbell. They had a son and daughter, Edward and Jean. Jean described her mother as being strong-willed and stern but nontraditional, and fiercely ambitious, maintaining a well-groomed appearance while also being prepared to do hard work herself, such as putting up a ceiling. In 1964, Jeanne divorced Edward Campbell, and moved to Westhampton, New York, where she ran a bed-and-breakfast business from a house that they had converted there. She continued to commute from Westhampton to work until her retirement in 1977, while maintaining the bed-and-breakfast business until shortly before her death. Jeanne Campbell died in 2002 following a stroke, aged 82, at her daughter's home in Oxford, New York, survived by her children and her ex-husband. Career The Campbells relocated to New York after the War, and Jeanne started working as a designer for a company called Loomtags. During her time there she won a 1951 Merit Award from Mademoiselle, and was recruited the same year to design for Sportswhirl under the "Jeanne Campbell for Sportwhirl” label.