FIT Talks: Dorothy Roberts Interview

FIT Talks: Dorothy Roberts Interview

Phyllis Dillon interviews Dorothy Roberts, Chairman of Echo Design Group, Inc., a well-known scarf company in the United States.

Dorothy Roberts is the chairman of Echo Design Group, Inc., probably the most well-known scarf company in the United States. Their accessory line includes scarves, wraps, and outwear, ponchos and (inaudible), cold weather accessories, mufflers, hats, and gloves, swimwear and beach coverups and bags. The company was founded on their wedding day, September 27, 1923, by her parents, Edgar C. Hyman and Theresa Hyman, and this year the company will be 95 years old. Mrs. Roberts started working there in 1950. In the 1970s, Dorothy Roberts and her husband, Paul, took over and ran Echo. He became president, but they were equal partners and shared equal responsibilities for half of the business areas. In March 1978, he died, so Dorothy Roberts became president and CEO. Known for its silk printed scarves, Echo signed a license with Polo Ralph Lauren in the 1980s. They do Polo men's, Polo women, Lauren, and Chaps. Echo also does private label for Coach, Brooks Brothers, Talbot's, J. Jill, and Dress Barn, to name a few. They also do private label for museums, such as The Metropolitan Museum of Art, MoMA, Smithsonian, and the Art Institute of Chicago and have also worked with artists, such as Christo on the Gates Project.

FIT Special Collections and College Archives

2018-09-13

2020

51:50

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