by Alexandra Martin
from WASHINGTON, District of Columbia in United States
I made this portrait of Ann Lowe in honor of the fashion designer and how her work made a proved an African-American woman was far more capable of making changes in the fashion world than society thought, both breaking societal bounds and opening minds. She was known as "society's best kept secret" for years because no one she worked with or made dresses for was willing to give her credit because of her race. Her hard-work was eventually rewarded in 1961 when she was given the tile Official Couturiere in honor of the 33 Cinderella Gowns made designed for a ball in Omaha, Nebraska. In the 21st century, more people became eager to share her untold story. The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture put articles about her on their website, and authors wrote books about her, such as Something to Prove by Julia Faye Smith, By Her Own Design by Piper Huguley, and Fancy Party Gown; The Story of Fashion Designer Ann Cole Lowe, a children's book written by Deborah Blumenthal and illustrated by Laura Freeman made to teach Ann's story to little ones and inspire Black children and help them feel seen. I have had that children's book since I was 7 and the dedication and joy she put into her dresses along with resistance she had through the losses and prejudice she faced in her life continues to inspire me to this day and pursue all my artistic goals with as much passion and effort as she would. And so I made this portrait to give representation to Ann Cole Lowe's story as well and share my appreciation for her and the legacy she left so I can make my own someday.
The dress behind her on the right is one of her most well-known pieces, the wedding dress of former 1st Lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy. It also has the most history behind its making process. Ann had worked on the wedding dress and the bridesmaids dresses for months, but just 10 days before wedding, her a water pipe burst in her dress salon and flooded the entire place, ruining 10 of 16 sixteen dresses. Ann was devastated but she didn't give up. Instead of telling her client about the incident, she bought more materials and hired some people to help her remake the lost dresses and successfully completed the task just two days before the wedding. The wedding dress she made became known as one of the Greatest Wedding dresses in American History, but she couldn't get her proper credit for it until years later. The roses represent her childhood, bonding with her mother and grandmother through sewing and how she sewed flowers made from pieces of cloth that would fall to the ground when her mom and grandma made dresses which would be an important part of her dressmaking later on. The color of the roses all different meanings. The burgundy rose that grows out of the last 'e' in her name represents devotion which Ann put into all of the dresses she made. The medium pink one in the far bottom right corner represents grieving and congratulations, symbolizing how she she went through many losses such as her mother went she was 16 in 1914, her son in 1958, and even her fashion salon in 1962, but also made many did great things despite it all. The deep pink one next to the medium pink one represents gratitude, the kind she had for all the good things that happened to help her progress her career, one of those things being her first employer Josephine Edwards Lee encouraging her to go fashion school and finally saving up enough money to open her first fashion salon in Manhattan, New York. The light pink rose symbolizes the innocent passion she had when making dresses with her mother and grandmother and cloth flowers as a young girl and the appreciation that she did not get as an adult from the public or most of her clients for her dresses she made until much later and even after she's gone, very few people know her story. Lastly the classic and popular red rose next to the light pink one, is a token of admiration. This symbolizes how those who know Ann's story admire her dresses in modern time and are inspired by the creativity, beauty and effort put in all of them, especially young Black girls like me who also want to make an art form with just as much skill level as her. All together, the roses are also inspired by a quote about Ann from the children's book I have; "She kept on making extravagant gowns, and year after year more and more women wanted to wear them. Elegant dresses. Party gowns. No two alike." The different colors and meanings of each rose is based on the similar uniqueness that Ann Lowe put into all of the dresses she made through her life, all of them with their own different details, forms and colors.
