'A feel-good community effort': Many were willing to donate money, time to complete McCardell project

To say Claire McCardell was a trailblazer would be an understatement.

When many women stayed home, McCardell worked a job. When most looked to Paris for fashion trends, she created her own. When a clothing brand wanted to use her style, she insisted the label include her name.

Credited with inventing American sportswear, the designs McCardell created in the 1930s, ‘40s and ‘50s continue to influence fashion today. In 1999, Life Magazine named McCardell one of the 100 most influential Americans of the 20th century. The Community Foundation is proud to have played a role in keeping the spirit of this amazing woman alive right here in Frederick.

McCardell was born and raised in Frederick, and after her untimely death at the age of 52, she was buried in the family plot at Mount Olivet Cemetery. But during the years in between, she was busy traveling the world, influencing fashion and making a statement about clothing that is both sensible and stylish.

In 2019, Linda Moran, chair of the Frederick Art Club’s Claire McCardell Project Steering Committee, worked with the Community Foundation to create The Claire McCardell Project Fund. The purpose of the fund was “to support the Frederick Art Club to create a public representation of Claire McCardell, world renowned fashion designer, in the form of a bronze statue and ceramic contextual plaques.” In addition to a larger-than-life bronze sculpture of McCardell, the project included an elegant garden and an exhibit that tells the story of McCardell’s extraordinary career.

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Source: The Frederick News-Post