Bonnie Cash(ed)in On Fashion

Cashin had a definite view that clothing should be both functional and fashionable. So she spent 70 years shrugging off notions of how a fashion designer should work and who she should design for; Cashin created her own designs and put them on the backs of women the world over.

Her refusal to compromise paid off: She built a fashion empire that today continues to shape retail successes such as Coach Inc. Cashin's now known as "the mother of American sportswear" -- along with fellow designer Claire McCardell -- owing to her lively imagination, willingness to learn and ability to communicate creativity and independence.

Cashin (1915-2000) was born in Oakland, Calif., and spent her childhood playing with textile swatches as she moved down the California coast with her dressmaker mother. She later credited her "apprenticeship " in her mother's stores for shaping her craft.

She loved clothing, and was eager to learn everything she could about creating the final product. She sketched out her ideas constantly, and sewed them to test them out on herself. But she wasn't sure she wanted to spend her life with fabric -- she wanted to be a showgirl.

At her first audition, however, she realized that the long-legged competition was what directors wanted -- not a diminutive 16-year-old. Deciding not to leave empty-handed, Cashin tu

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