Art Deco appeals to pioneering women

Baskets of hair barrettes and jewelry cover the floor, sparkling like diamonds, sorted like candies.

In 1971, Kathryn Hausman of Manhattan, N.Y., followed the art deco revival of the 60s and 70s to the fifth floor of 385 Broadway where she operates Medusa’s Heirlooms, an online accessory boutique.

As president of the Art Deco Society of New York, which operates out of the office next door, Hausman reflects the spirit of the style: bold, empowered and feminine. Her red glasses slide down her nose as she steps between the baskets, and a long red necklace dangles by her dark curly hair.

“My collection is about the beauty of the art deco woman—the liberated woman of the 1920s who bobbed her hair, wore short skirts and gave up the Victorian look,” Hausman said.

Hausman came to the big city to achieve big goals. Her ambition is characteristic of today’s generation of career-minded young women who reflect the egalitarian values of metropolitan art deco architecture. Like the early leaders in the women’s rights movement, Hausman and other working women have adopted the iconic style as the representation of their determination to succeed.

According to a 2010-11 Pew Research Center study, women ages 18-34 who place high importance on their careers now surpass men 66 percent to 59 percent. Women ages 35-64 who place high importance on career are still outnumbered by men 42 percent to 43 percent. But their numbers have nearly doubled from 26 percent in 1997.

Some of these career-minded women, many entrepreneurs, come to New York for the empowering atmosphere created by the city’s art and architecture, typified in the Empire State Building. Hausman considers the structure, one of the world’s most recognizable and important examples of art deco architecture, as one of her greatest inspirations. The tower, just two blocks south of her 5^th Avenue office, makes her feel courageous.

The art deco period started in the 1920s in Paris. A team of experts working for US Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover brought the style to America where it thrived from 1925 to 1941. During the Great Depression’s unemployment and embitterment, art deco architecture provided citizens with an icon of beauty and strength.

The Empire State building took 3,000 men, working under the direction of architects Shreve, Lamb & Harmon Associates, slightly more than one year to build. . Construction began on March 17, 1930, and the building grew by four and a half stories each week. When it was finished on May 1, 1931, it was the tallest free-standing structure in the world, until Moscow's Ostankino Tower opened in 1967. The Empire State Building remained the tallest building in New York City until the original World Trade Center was completed in 1972. When the Twin Towers fell on September 11, 2001, it became the tallest building once again.

Architect Ronnette Riley, who is also a member of the Art Deco Society of New York, came to Manhattan from Vallejo, Calif., in 1987, to start an architectural firm at Empire State Building Suite 7401. She chose an office in the iconic structure in part because of its novel appeal.

“Architecture is like fashion,” Riley said. “There are trends, and they last longer, but it’s constantly evolving.”

In the art deco period after World War I, daring and decorated flappers of the Roaring 20s redefined modern womanhood with gaudy jewelry, short hair and shorter skirts. Reaching daring heights with art deco flair, the Empire State Building followed the trend. Soon after, in metropolitan centers of the 20s and 30s, art deco skyscrapers and women’s rights emerged simultaneously.

“Art deco is the start of women coming to the job force,” Riley said.

According to WomensExhibit.com, the outbreak of World War II in 1941 faded American interest in art deco until Barbara Capitman of Miami, Fla., led an art deco revival alongside women’s rights advancements of the 1970s. Capitman formed preservation and appreciation groups throughout the United States. The Art Deco Society of New York was founded in 1980 as a result of her efforts.

Although Riley’s firm hires men, it is a 100 percent woman-owned enterprise. Every morning she steps into the Empire State Building’s lobby, she feels empowered.

“Great architecture inspires great thinking,” Riley said. “Every morning I go up to my office, and I have three views: south, east and west. The Empire State Building is in the center of Manhattan. I see everything.”

Up the street and next door to the Art Deco Society office on 5^th Avenue, female business owner Ayuko Khnimatsu sits on the floor of Medusa’s Heirlooms. Hausman helps her select French glass stones and buttons to use in her accessory and elegant wear boutique in Kyoto, Japan, called Illuko.

Since the steel column of the 100^th floor of 1 World Trade Center was put into place April 30, 2012, the Empire State Building is no longer the tallest building in New York City. But Hausman says going to the top of the art deco skyscraper is still a strong reminder of women rising to prominence in the working world.

“It’s almost like an enlightenment—a deco enlightenment,” Hausman said. “It’s a high-level, spiritual awareness of architecture and form regardless of where anybody comes from or what they’re used to.”