On my way to see the exhibition Parall(elles) A History of Women in Design at the MBAM, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, I was surprised to see a Corvette welcoming the visitors of this exhibition. Before I went up the stairs to the exhibition, I didn't know why this car was presented. Wasn't the Corvette designed by Harley J. Earl?

But by the time I reached the top of the stairs, my questions had been answered. Indeed, I learned about the existence in the 50's of the Damsels of Design. Did you know about them? If not, this post is perfect for you... 😀 You'll learn more about them as I did during this cool exhibition about the influence of women on design. Always cool to visit museums, you always come out less dumb.

History of Corvette Fancy Free

I'll start by telling you about the Damsels of Design, an all-female team of industrial designers created in the 50's by Harley J. Earl, vice president of design at General Motors at this time. He was convinced that women had an impact on the purchase of the family car and that a more feminine vision should be introduced into the automotive industry. The team included Suzanne Vanderbilt, Ruth Glennie, Marjorie Ford Pohlman, Jeanette Linder, Sandra Longyear and Peggy Sauer. They created 10 cars including the Buick Wildcat II, the Cadillac La Espada, the Oldsmobile Starfire and the Corvette Fancy Free, the only car still visible today. Read this article if you want to know more about The Damsels of Design: The Women Who Changed Automotive History. Very interesting with old photos of the other models.

The Corvette Fancy Free is a unique model based on the 1958 Corvette. It was customized by Ruth Glennie. Glennie was a Pratt Institute graduate in industrial design and drafting. She started her career at GM and therefore worked on the interior of the Corvette Fancy Free but also on aesthetic aspects of the body. Here is a picture of the 1958 Corvette "standard", just to see the differences.

[source : hagerty.com]

The rims remain chromed but the central part receives the same color as the bodywork, a beautiful bright olive green. But it's mostly inside that the improvements are found like the seats covered with interchangeable fabrics, larger storage spaces, as well as the first retractable seat belts...

"This Corvette was produced in 1958; there was a whole team of these 'Damsels of Design' as they were called. Their innovations still touch us today, like the glove box or the handbags. So after the war, there was this desire to bring women into the various fields of design." Mary-Dailey Desmarais, Chief Curator of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (source : tv5monde.com only in French)

Really beautiful car and I didn't know at all this car and this female team of designers who had a big influence in the world of car design. Were you aware of the Damsels of Design ?