ABSTRACT
In order for the designer to be seen as an important entity in his or her own right, changes would have to occur in society and in the way people thought about fashion. Dressmakers, the majority of them women, had been anonymous figures, working behind the scenes whether in small or large scale enterprises. Dressmakers visited prominent women in their homes and took direction from their customers. They did not get personal credit for their creations. Eventually designers would be recognized as skilled craftsmen and craftswomen as well as, in some cases, artists. Some would even become international celebrities.
