Polly Smith (inventor)

Polly Smith (born November 10, 1949),[1] is an American inventor, and costume designer. Smith was a costume designer for The Muppet Show, and Sesame Street.

Polly Smith
Born (1949-11-10) November 10, 1949
Montclair, New Jersey, U.S.
Other namesPolly Palmer–Smith
Alma materMoore College of Art and Design
New York University
Occupation(s)Inventor, costume designer
EmployerThe Jim Henson Company
AwardsEmmy award, BAFTA (1989), National Inventors Hall of Fame (2022)

In 1977, Smith co-created the "Jogbra", the first sports bra, working alongside Lisa Lindahl and Hinda Miller.[1] She was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2022.[2]

Early life and education

Polly Palmer Smith was born November 10, 1949 in Montclair, New Jersey.[1] Smith attended Montclair Kimberley Academy.[3] Her mother made quilts and her grandfather was an illustrator.[4]

She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts (1971) in fashion design at the Moore College of Art and Design, and a master's degree (1975) in costume design at New York University.[4][5][6]

Career

In 1978, Smith joined The Jim Henson Company.[7] She was a costume designer on The Muppet Show and Sesame Street.[8] Her design for Miss Piggy was featured in an exhibition on Women Designers in the USA.[9][10][11] She received 7 Emmy Awards for her work on Sesame Street.[1]

In 1977, Smith was working with Lisa Lindahl on costumes for the William Shakespeare festival in Burlington, Vermont. Lindahl was a keen athlete, and experienced discomfort when running in a regular bra. Together they came up with the design for a sports bra, and worked with Hinda Miller to source the materials and conduct a test run. When Smith visited New York for work, she returned with new fabrics – elastics and Lycra – and created a bra for Lindahl's measurements. Lindahl and Miller co-founded Jogbra, Inc.

In 1989, she won a British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) award for her costume work on the television series The StoryTeller.[1]

When asked about their contributions to the design of the sports bra, Smith commented, “Lisa was the idea, I was the fabrication, and Hinda was the driving force behind making it happen. And this is one of the things we all agreed on — [that] it couldn’t have happened if one of us had been missing — because it needed all three.”[12]

References
  1. Oswald, Alison (2014). "Guide to the Jogbra, Inc. Records" (PDF). Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.
  2. Honderich, Holly (May 11, 2022). "The 'jockstrap' that revolutionised women's sports". BBC News.
  3. Pries, Allison. "Two N.J. women who invented the sports bra are being inducted into the Hall of Fame", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, January 19, 2020. Accessed January 4, 2023. "Two New Jersey women — Montclair-natives Lisa Lindahl and Polly Smith — and Canadian-born Hinda Miller in the summer of 1977 stumbled upon an idea that would help revolutionize women’s involvement in sports.... Lindahl’s childhood friend, Polly Smith, with whom she had attended Montclair Kimberley Academy, happened to be staying with Lindahl that summer while, Smith, who was a costume designer, worked at the Champlain Shakespeare Festival."
  4. "10 Things You Need to Know About Polly Smith" (PDF). invent.org. 2022.
  5. "Polly Smith // The Art of Inspiring Careers", youtube, retrieved January 2, 2023
  6. "2006 Distinguished Alumni". Moore College. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  7. "Polly Smith – The Dark Crystal". Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  8. "Polly Smith | No Strings". Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  9. "Women Designers in the USA, 1900-2000". www.bgc.bard.edu. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  10. lexgurst (December 24, 2014). "The Gal-lery: Polly Smith". The Daily Geekette. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  11. Glueck, Grace (December 29, 2000). "DESIGN REVIEW; Giant Strides Beyond Traditional 'Feminine' Fields". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  12. "2022 NIHF Inductee Polly Smith: The Skillful Designer | National Inventors Hall of Fame®". www.invent.org. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
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