Ray Eames Fashion Drawings

Fashion design and the artistic nature of clothing captivated Ray from a very early age. She drew her first paper doll when she was three years old and continued making them for the next fifteen years. Her paper dolls grew in both sophistication and detail, often accompanied by intricate wardrobes.

In 1933, Ray earned a degree in fashion design from the Bennett School for Girls in Millbrook, New York. Although the direction of her career pivoted to other aspects of design, Ray continued to make related sketches and drawings throughout her life.

Ray’s early hands-on experience with fashion contributed to the Eames Office’s later work—not only as an exemplar of their iterative process, but also more literally. Ray designed textiles, clothing for herself and Charles, choir robes for a church, and uniforms for staff members of IBM’s Pavilion during the 1964 New York World’s Fair.

Fashion captivated Ray from a very early age. She drew her first paper doll by the time she was three and continued making them for the next 15 years. They grew in both sophistication and detail and were often accompanied by intricate wardrobes.

In 1933, Ray earned a degree in fashion design from the Bennett School for Girls in Millbrook, New York. She continued to make related sketches and drawings throughout her life.

This early hands-on experience with fashion contributed to the Eameses’ later work—not only as an exemplar of their iterative process, but also more literally. She created textiles, clothing for herself and Charles, as well as uniforms for staff members of IBM’s Pavilion during the 1964 New York World’s Fair.