Who Was American Sculptor Altina Schinasi?
The story of Altina Schinasi's early life sets the tone for exploring how she came to create her iconic frames. Schinasi (pictured) was born in 1907, into a family that was fabulously wealthy thanks to the efforts of her father, Moussa, who after migrating from Turkey became an American millionaire after inventing a patented design for a cigarette rolling machine. Moussa's inquiring mind and eye for design certainly passed to his daughter, who developed artistic interests in her youth. As her skills developed, she began a career as a window dresser for various Manhattan stores.
It was during this time that Schinasi became aware of the dearth of fashionable glasses frames for women in the window of a nearby opticians shop, and became determined that she could develop a new design that was both elegant and fashionable. Her Harlequin frames, which she brought to market in the 1930s in partnership with the high-end optical boutique Lugene, and her sleek design soon became a major fashion item, worn by countless screen heroines such as Lucille Ball, Audrey Hepburn, and Marilyn Monroe. In 1939, she received Lord & Taylor's American Design Award for the already iconic frames.
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