NEW YORK — Jeanne Breitbart, who embarked on a career as a fashion model at the age of 18 for Gold Tee Knitting Mills and Foremost Sportswear, and later became vice president of design for Majesty Specialties, based in New York, died Dec. 15 at her home in Manhattan. She was 85.
The cause of death was emphysema, according to her son, John A. Breitbart.
Jeanne Breitbart held a variety of sales, merchandising and public relations posts at several apparel firms, including Eclipse Knitting Inc., Rhea Manufacturing and Madison Sportswear of Massachusetts, before joining Majestic Specialties in 1953. She was elected a director of the board when Majestic Specialties became a public company in 1960. She also was on the board of The Fashion Group from 1960 to 1972.
“My mother started out designing coordinated sportswear in 1953 at a time when women wanted to put together their outfits for a coordinated look, but they had to go to different departments at stores to get that look,” said John Breitbart. “She began designing entire outfits for career women who were on a budget, at a price point that was affordable for many women. So she created coordinated sportswear, and stores started to merchandise Majestic Specialties in one department.”
Breitbart, who was known as a hands-on executive who liked to work as a team with the company’s sales staff and patternmakers, was honored with several awards, including one from Lord & Taylor in 1955 and Designer of the Year from Sports Illustrated in 1961.
Following the acquisition of Majestic Specialities by Genesco in 1966, Breitbart became disheartened with the company’s new management style and began looking at other opportunities in the industry.
“My mom was the sole designer; she was like the hub on a wheel with whom all of the company’s skilled people coordinated,” recalled John Breitbart. “Genesco brought in a management group to analyze the acquisition and they reported that the company was successful, but it relied too much on one person: my mom. They wanted to restructure and decentralize the company and moved her design office around the [street] corner, and she had to teach young designers how to design. That didn’t go very well with my mom. She was among the first to break the glass ceiling and she was highly paid for her day, $50,000 plus a percentage of the gross.”
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After leaving Majestic in 1967, she headed a sales representative office in Manhattan for Vaskene et Cie, a French ready-to-wear firm.
“The French company was not able to gear up its production for the level of orders my mom generated throughout all of her contacts in the industry,” Breitbart said. “That didn’t go over very well. They went bankrupt in 1969 and my mom’s fashion career ended.”
In addition to her son John, she is survived by another son, Douglas. A memorial service is planned for Feb. 3 at a time and location to be determined.