Herbert Sondheim (1895-1966), who lectured at Parsons School of Design in 1946, ran a dressmaking firm that produced affordable versions of Parisian high-end fashion. The collection consists of nineteen Herbert Sondheim, Inc. scrapbooks, most of which contain fashion sketches. Some books include sketches depicting work of other couture houses. Two books contain news clippings, photographs and correspondence from the mid-1940s.

The workbook that comprises this collection was used during the Amos Parrish Fashion Merchandising Clinic, held in New York City, January 6-10, 1930. The clinic was offered once and at times twice annually from the 1920s through 1955 to forecast the year's fashion industry trends. This workbook belonged to Howard Phillips, merchandise manager for Ernst Kern Department Store, Detroit, Michigan, and was annotated by Phillips.

Claire McCardell (1905-1958) graduated from the New York School of Fine and Applied Art (later, Parsons School of Design) in 1928 and later became a pivotal figure in American ready-to-wear fashion. In 1944, McCardell returned to Parsons as a critic and instructor, a position she held for the rest of her life. The collection contains roughly 9,000 of McCardell's sketches, dated 1931 to 1958; mostly produced for Townley Frocks.

After graduating from the New York School of Fine and Applied Art (later, Parsons School of Design) in 1934, Tom Brigance (1913-1990) became a fashion designer specializing in women's swimwear and sportswear. The collection includes scrapbooks of clippings and photographs of Brigance's designs, sketches, publicity materials, and four original fashion illustrations of Brigance swimwear by Dorothy Hood, produced for Lord & Taylor.

A collection of eighteen 1940s and 1950s fashion and jewelry illustrations collected by art director Juke Goodman. Artists represented in the collection include René Robert Bouché, Burma Burris, Carl Erickson ("Eric"), Ruth Graftstrom, and Jacqueline Lindner. Goodman served as art director for Saks Fifth Avenue and was a visiting lecturer at Parsons School of Design.

Norman Norell (1900-1972) was the first American fashion designer to compete successfully with French couture. In 1943, he received the first Coty American Fashion Critics Award, and was inducted into the Coty Hall of Fame in 1956. Norell served as a visiting critic at Parsons School of Design from 1943 to 1972. The collection includes biographical material, clippings, sketches, photographs, scrapbooks, and five examples of Norell's clothing.

Esta Nesbitt (1918-1975), an instructor at Parsons School of Design from 1964 to 1974, created fashion illustrations for Harper's Bazaar, Mademoiselle, and New York Times Magazine. Later in her career, Nesbitt used innovative printing methods as a children's book illustrator, and experimented with Xerography. The collection primarily consists of 271 fashion illustrations, pre-publication layouts, mechanicals, proofs, and tear sheets.

A leading figure in the development of American ready-to-wear clothing, John Weitz (1923-2002) created one of the first American signature menswear lines. Weitz was a visiting lecturer at Parsons School of Design from 1975 to 1995. The collection includes design drawings, exhibition files, scrapbooks, clippings, photographs, and audiovisual recordings of promotional campaigns, fashion shows and television commercials.

The Carol Loebelsohn fashion illustrations represent a sampling of the professional and teaching work of Parsons School of Design alumna and faculty member Carol Loebelsohn. The bulk of the over 150 illustrations covers the 1960s into the 1990s, and includes a variety of media and drawing techniques.

Carl Erickson (1891-1958), who signed his work "Eric," was a leading fashion illustrator whose drawings appeared in Vogue and Harper's Bazaar, among other publications. In 1964, Parsons School of Design hosted a retrospective of Erickson's work. The New School Archives' collection consists of fourteen works, possibly originating from that exhibit.