Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
RUTH ROGERS-ALTMANN
The Pioneer Sportswear Icon of New York
At just five years old, Ruth Rogers-Altmann learned to ski in Austria. Decades later, after fleeing Austria and rebuilding her life in New York, she would help transform American skiwear.
Born Ruth Karplus in Vienna in 1917, she grew up in a family that spent winter breaks on the slopes. Her father introduced her to skiing, and she took lessons with the renowned skier Mathias Zdarsky. She remained devoted to the sport throughout her life, even competing in the Gerald Ford American Ski Classic at age 81.
Ruth developed an early passion for art and design. She studied at Vienna’s Kunstgewerbeschule, the Applied Art Academy, from 1934 to 1938, while working as a stylist and interior decorator at Herzmansky, Vienna’s largest department store.
In March 1938, Ruth traveled with her family to Prague for her grandmother’s birthday. After hearing reports of the Anschluss, she made the life-changing decision not to return to Austria. With help from her aunt and uncle, she emigrated to the United States.
In New York, Ruth brought Alpine style – and firsthand knowledge of skiing – to American sportswear. At Mavest, a company specializing in ski clothes, she designed the world’s first ski jacket with a concealed hood built into the collar: a practical innovation that changed the language of ski fashion.
Her career continued at Bloomingdale’s, where she established both the ski shop and the fashion fabric center. In 1951, she founded Ruth Rogers Enterprise, advising apparel manufacturers from design through production and sales. She later taught at Parsons School of Design and the Fashion Institute of Technology and served as a Special Consultant to the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for more than a decade.
Today, the Leo Baeck Institute Archives preserve the Ruth Rogers-Altmann Collection, including a photo album documenting her family’s life in Vienna and her emigration, as well as materials tracing her remarkable career in art, design, and sportswear.
📸 Ruth Rogers-Altmann Collection, AR 11944.
#FashionAtTheLBI #RuthRogersAltmann #SkiwearHistory #SportswearDesign #AlpineStyle #FashionHistory #WomenInDesign #WomenDesigners #ViennaToNewYork #ArtOfExile #AustrianJewishHistory #LeoBaeckInstitute #Archives
RUTH ROGERS-ALTMANN
The Pioneer Sportswear Icon of New York
At just five years old, Ruth Rogers-Altmann learned to ski in Austria. Decades later, after fleeing Austria and rebuilding her life in New York, she would help transform American skiwear.
Born Ruth Karplus in Vienna in 1917, she grew up in a family that spent winter breaks on the slopes. Her father introduced her to skiing, and she took lessons with the renowned skier Mathias Zdarsky. She remained devoted to the sport throughout her life, even competing in the Gerald Ford American Ski Classic at age 81.
Ruth developed an early passion for art and design. She studied at Vienna’s Kunstgewerbeschule, the Applied Art Academy, from 1934 to 1938, while working as a stylist and interior decorator at Herzmansky, Vienna’s largest department store.
In March 1938, Ruth traveled with her family to Prague for her grandmother’s birthday. After hearing reports of the Anschluss, she made the life-changing decision not to return to Austria. With help from her aunt and uncle, she emigrated to the United States.
In New York, Ruth brought Alpine style – and firsthand knowledge of skiing – to American sportswear. At Mavest, a company specializing in ski clothes, she designed the world’s first ski jacket with a concealed hood built into the collar: a practical innovation that changed the language of ski fashion.
Her career continued at Bloomingdale’s, where she established both the ski shop and the fashion fabric center. In 1951, she founded Ruth Rogers Enterprise, advising apparel manufacturers from design through production and sales. She later taught at Parsons School of Design and the Fashion Institute of Technology and served as a Special Consultant to the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for more than a decade.
Today, the Leo Baeck Institute Archives preserve the Ruth Rogers-Altmann Collection, including a photo album documenting her family’s life in Vienna and her emigration, as well as materials tracing her remarkable career in art, design, and sportswear.
📸 Ruth Rogers-Altmann Collection, AR 11944.
#FashionAtTheLBI #RuthRogersAltmann #SkiwearHistory #SportswearDesign #AlpineStyle #FashionHistory #WomenInDesign #WomenDesigners #ViennaToNewYork #ArtOfExile #AustrianJewishHistory #LeoBaeckInstitute #Archives
