Open | Oral History

Open

OH 2053

Oral History interview with Tracy Achor Hayes, whose career as a fashion journalist covered the Dallas fashion industry and brought international fashion coverage to the metroplex. She was a long-time writer for Fashion!Dallas, part of the Dallas Morning News, helped found “FD Luxe” magazine, and also worked with Neiman-Marcus on The Book.

OH 2042

Experiences as a North Texas student (BA, Aquatic Biology, 1964; MA Aquatic Biology/Microbiology, 1966), including involvement in Denton’s civil rights movement, experiences as a PhD student at UNC (Applied Aquatic Microbial Ecology, 1971) and professor at UNC, experiences with water treatment and wastewater treatment.

OH 2041

Naomie Rudelson shares experiences as a retailing executive whose career grew in the Dallas fashion scene. While her first fashion experiences were working at Gus Mayer in New Orleans and then working at Dalton’s while attending Louisiana State University, shortly after graduation she moved to Dallas to complete a junior executive training program through the department store Sanger Brothers in 1956. She worked at the Highland Park and Preston Center branches of the store, rising to the level of buyer before becoming the first female vice president of a Federated Department Store in 1974.

OH 2040

Larry Leathers shares his experiences creating “frozen theater” as a visual merchandising professional. Starting in 1981, Leathers worked with retailer Nieman-Marcus to create displays ranging from in-store mannequin tableaus to large-scale window installations, particularly for Christmas. He describes the in-house education provided by other merchandising professionals at Neiman’s, his professional growth echoing the retailer’s growth towards a national and more corporate model.

OH 2039

Ruth Ann Johnstone shares her experience in visual merchandising in the Dallas fashion industry. After studying fashion history, design, and merchandising at Texas Tech University and the University of North Texas, Johnstone worked as a “trimmer” at retailer Titche-Goettinger in downtown Dallas, transitioning to a similar position in at NorthPark Neiman-Marcus in 1973 and later working for Neiman-Marcus corporate in downtown Dallas.

OH 2038

Susan Huston speaks about her fifty-year career serving as a model, stylist, runway producer, and workshop creator. Early on, Huston participated in pageants and later attended Bauder Fashion College in Arlington, Texas. Her career expanded to include many facets of the fashion industry, notable starting a “charm school” program at Leonard’s Department Store (later Dillard’s), serving as a model at various events and formally through the Kim Dawson Agency, and serving as an editor for several fashion magazines.

OH 2037

Ignaz Gorischek shares his experience being “paid to play” for over forty years as a visual merchandiser in the world of fashion retail. Trained in fashion illustration, Gorischek transitioned into “three-dimensional storytelling” in smaller retail environments before transitioning to Burdines in Florida and then spent decades at the downtown Dallas flagship location for Neiman-Marcus, where he worked with Neiman-Marcus corporate on large-scale, often international projects.

OH 2036

Nan Alexander speaks about her time as a model and buyer in the Dallas fashion industry. Starting in the 1950s, Alexander served on the Neiman-Marcus teen board. Later in her career, she also worked for Neiman-Marcus in their flagship downtown location as a sportswear model, was trained in the junior executive program, assisted with Fortnight events, and served as a buyer. Alexander’s modeling experience also included working with manufacturer Howard Wolf and the modeling agency Kim Dawson Agency at the Dallas Apparel Mart.