item 22 - Leonard Boxer interview, 1986 May

Leonard Boxer was born in the Bronx, New York, around 1923. After serving in the U.S. Army during WWII, Boxer worked for fashion manufacturers. In 1976, Boxer answered an ad in WWD and became a founding partner of Liz Claiborne Inc. At Liz Claiborne, Boxer was responsible for dealing with overseas management. Boxer left Claiborne in 1985. In addition to his work in the fashion industry, Boxer taught pattern making at the Mayer School of Fashion Design. Leonard Boxer passed away in 2009 at the age of 86.

Estelle Ellis was born on November 12, 1919 in Brooklyn, New York. After graduating from Hunter College in 1940, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and a minor in Journalism, Ellis began a career in publishing. Ellis was crucial in the founding of Seventeen magazine in 1943, assisting Helen Valentine with design and advertising for the magazine. In 1958, Ellis founded Business Image, Incorporated, a creative marketing firm that stressed the importance of market and product positioning. Her company worked primarily with Condé Nast publications but other businesses, such as Yves Saint-Laurent Fragrances, Evan-Picone, AT&T, and Scoville, hired Business Image as well.

Beginning in the mid-1960s, Ellis began working with the Fashion Institute of Technology, creating programs and fundraising campaigns to help with financial support. During the 1990s, Ellis focused on writing, co-authoring At Home with Books: How Booklovers Live With and Care for Their Libraries (1995), At Home with Art: How Art Lovers Live With and Care for Their Treasures (1999), and The Booklover's Repair Kit: First Aid for Home Libraries (2000). Estelle Ellis passed away on July 12, 2012.