{{Short description|American fashion designer}} '''Laura Pearson''' is an American former fashion designer specializing in knitwear under the '''Tijuca''' label. She won a Special Coty Award in 1981 for her knitwear, which was particularly successful through the 1980s.
==Career== Pearson had never studied fashion before, in her early 20s, she traveled to Brazil and Ecuador and met Ecuadorean knitters who were part of a cooperative started by the Peace Corps.<ref name=deseret>{{cite news |last1=Pedersen Budge |first1=Rose Mary |title=Laura Pearson's Artistic Medium? Knit Sweaters! |url=https://www.deseret.com/1988/11/21/18785245/laura-pearson-s-artistic-medium-knit-sweaters |access-date=4 June 2022 |work=Deseret News |date=21 November 1988 |language=en}}</ref> After first starting out by importing Ecuadorean sweaters for one season, in 1976, Pearson decided to start designing her own knitwear under the Tijuca label back in New York.<ref name=pc>{{cite news |title=Untitled article clipping reprinted in "Peace Corps, 1961-1981, for 20 Years, Making a World of Difference." |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IRvsAAAAMAAJ&dq=%22lAURA+Pearson%22+%22Tijuca%22&pg=PT3 |access-date=4 June 2022 |work=Contra Costa Times |date=9 July 1981}}</ref> At first, she employed 30 Ecuadorean workers to knit her designs, a number which increased to 150 by 1982.<ref name=deseret/><ref name=pc/><ref>{{cite journal |title=Dyed in the Wool |journal=Working Woman |date=1982 |volume=7 |issue=1–6 |page=72 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XD3VAAAAMAAJ |publisher=MacDonald Communications Corporation |language=en}}</ref> At the time, her sweaters, for both men and women, were unlike anything else seen on the market, with their textures, boldness and use of South American Indian motifs, and she won a Special Coty Award in 1981.<ref name=deseret/><ref name=mcdowell>{{cite book| last = McDowell| first = Colin| title = McDowell's Directory of Twentieth Century Fashion| publisher = Frederick Muller| year = 1984| pages =299–301| isbn =0-584-11070-7}}</ref> In 1987, ''The New York Times'' described Tijuca's sweaters as retaining a human element in their "thick, burly feel", and described how the original craftspeople had dyed the wool in cauldrons over open fires.<ref>{{cite news |last1=la Ferla |first1=Ruth |title=MEN'S STYLE; CLOSELY KNIT |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/11/15/magazine/men-s-style-closely-knit.html |access-date=4 June 2022 |work=The New York Times |date=15 November 1987}}</ref>
Pearson subsequently diversified into socks, and was then employed by the Signal Apparel Corporation to create mass-produced cotton machine-knits under the "Laura Pearson USA" label.<ref name=deseret/> While the cotton knits retained Pearson's signature bold graphics and textures on simple shapes such as cardigans, jackets, and mix-and-match skirts and pants, they were designed to be comfortable, have a long fashionable life and remain stylish for years rather than in the short term.<ref name=deseret/> Designs had names like "Laura's Backyard", "Falling Leaves" and "Barn Door", and were inspired by a wide range of sources, including the designer's own backyard at her home in Sag Harbor, New York.<ref name=deseret/> One design for Fall-Winter 1986-7 was inspired by aerial views of Uruguayan farms.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hawkins |first1=Timothy |title=NEW YORK : --a Swing to More Relaxed Silhouettes |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-02-28-vw-12998-story.html |access-date=4 June 2022 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=28 February 1986}}</ref> She described her work as art-to-wear, and in 1988, the ''Deseret News'' described her work as "Sweater collectibles."<ref name=deseret/>
Her fashion business ran for 25 years. Pearson moved to Sarasota, Florida in 2009 and now works as a realtor.<ref>{{cite web |title=Laura Pearson, Real Estate Agent |url=https://www.premiersothebysrealty.com/real-estate-agent/709/laura-pearson |website=Premier Sotheby's International Realty |access-date=4 June 2022 |language=en}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pearson, Laura}} Category:Date of birth unknown Category:Living people
Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:American women fashion designers Category:American fashion designers Category:Knitwear manufacturers Category:People from Sarasota, Florida Category:People from Sag Harbor, New York {{Improve categories|date=June 2022}}