Harry B. Baker (1868-1941) was an illustrator who taught at the New York School of Fine and Applied Art (which became Parsons School of Design) in the early 20th century. Before moving to New York, Baker traveled the American West. He illustrated bar fights, cowboys, Native Americans, and street scenes. The collection includes photographs of Baker and his students, a letter from Frank Alvah Parsons, and illustrations by Baker.

Bea Feitler (1938-1982) graduated from Parsons School of Design in 1959 with a degree in Graphic Arts and Advertising. She went on to a noted career as a designer of books, magazines, posters and more. Feitler served as art director for Harper's Bazaar and Ms. magazines; consulting art director for Condé Nast; and designer for Rolling Stone magazine. Professional work in this collection includes layouts, dummies, and other pre-press items. The collection also contains photographs and contact sheets by a number of the distinguished photographers with whom Feitler worked. Personal materials include mail art, correspondence, photographs, scrapbooks, ephemera, original drawings and collages.

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.

Lyman Martin (1908-2003) graduated from Parsons School of Design in 1939 and joined Thedlow, an interior decoration firm. At Thedlow, Martin created interiors and watercolor renderings, and designed rugs and murals. In 1969, Martin became president of Thedlow, remaining until its closure in 1979. The collection includes student work, interior drawings, a travel diary, floorplans, photographs, clippings, and exhibition files.

After graduating from the New York School of Fine and Applied Art (later, Parsons School of Design) in 1936, Eleanor Horst (1892-1995) led a long career as an interior decorator. The collection includes photographs and slides of Horst projects, as well as numerous renderings of Horst designs, several by fellow Parsons graduate Lyman Martin.

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.

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.

Giuseppe Zambonini (1942-1990) was an Italian-born and New York-based architect, interior designer, theater director, and teacher. This collection contains materials pertaining to Zambonini's architectural and design career, as well as items related to his tenure as dean of the New York School of Interior Design, founder and head of the Open Atelier of Design, and director of the architecture program at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Dating primarily from the 1960s through the late-1980s, materials in the collection include sketches, drawings, plans, and blueprints of Zambonini's architecture and interior design projects, as well as photographs of the building sites and finished work. Also included are correspondence, photographs, and printed material related to his teaching and administrative career. Zambonini's work as a theater producer and director in Italy is represented by photographs, scripts, audio, and a variety of posters and programs. Finally, the collection contains a small selection of Zambonini's writings and lectures.

The Lucie Porges fashion design papers include biographical materials, fashion sketches, fashion illustrations and fashion photographs, and teaching records. It is of a primarily professional nature, with little documentation of Porges's personal life. The primary activities documented are Porges's fashion design work for Pauline Trigère and her teaching activities at Parsons School of Design.

Michael Kalil (1943-1991) was an interior architect, philosopher, educator and artist, known for his innovative work with new materials and for humanizing digital technologies. From 1981 to 1991, he was the principal of Kalil Designs/Kalil Studio, a firm that specialized in high-profile commercial, prototype and theoretical, and residential design commissions. Kalil also served as an adjunct faculty member at the Parsons School of Design. The collection includes Kalil's personal and professional papers, including original artwork, sketchbooks, journals, photographs, project records, architectural drawings, photoprints and sketches, design prototypes, and posthumous materials.