Lowe, Ann
1898-1981 · Contribution: 1920s-1960s
Designed Jacqueline Bouvier's wedding dress for her 1953 marriage to John F. Kennedy
Portraits are AI-generated interpretations, not photographs.
Impact on the world
Became the first African American to achieve recognition as a high-society fashion designer, dressing socialites and celebrities for decades, though the press credited her work to a 'colored designer' rather than by name even after designing one of history's most famous wedding gowns.
Life & background
Learning dressmaking from her mother in Alabama, Lowe completed her mother's final commission, four ballgowns for the First Lady of Alabama, at just 16 after her mother's sudden death, launching her career. She moved to New York, enrolled in design school despite the school's reluctance to admit a Black student, and built a career dressing high-society women from the 1920s through the 1960s. Her best-known work, the ivory silk taffeta gown worn by Jacqueline Bouvier at her 1953 wedding to John F. Kennedy, went uncredited by name in press coverage at the time.
Sources
- World Bride Magazine; Marie Claire (20 Black Fashion Designers)
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