When Polly Smith ’71 was tasked with creating costumes for a family of full-body animatronic dinosaurs, she reached for a trusted resource from her time at Moore College of Art & Design: her old pattern-drafting book.
She hadn’t opened it in years, but when faced with the challenge of fitting prehistoric puppets for the 1990s television show Dinosaurs, she realized her pages from Moore held the key. Since she couldn’t rely on the three-dimensional dress forms that designers use to make garments for humans, Smith had to find another way to represent the characters’ figures.
“There are no dinosaur dress forms,” she said. “I blew the dust off my pattern-drafting book from Moore and made slopers from the puppets’ measurements. That’s how we made all their clothes.”
The same ingenuity she used to make custom patterns for unprecedented creatures has carried Smith through a remarkable career spanning more than four decades. She is the co-creator of the JogBra, the first sports bra ever made, and a costume designer for The Jim Henson Company, where she worked on iconic programs and movies like Sesame Street, The Muppet Show, Labyrinth, Dark Crystal and more. She won eight Emmys for her work in costume design, holds three US patents and was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2022.
Forty-five years earlier, she found herself at the start of an unexpected project. While Smith was working as a costume designer for the 1977 Champlain Shakespeare Festival in Burlington, Vermont, her childhood friend Lisa Lindahl approached her with an idea: a more supportive bra for running and other sports. The passage of Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 opened the door for more women and girls to engage in athletics, but traditional bras were uncomfortable and impractical for athletes.
“Bras were very different back then to what we’re used to now. There were a million pieces and different cup sizes to consider,” she said.
Smith took Lindahl’s measurements and, together with costume designer Hinda Miller, landed on a design with a large piece of elastic, wide straps crossed in the back and a simple cup. After making a prototype out of two groin support garments, Smith upgraded it with a cotton-spandex blend and red elastic.
“Lisa had the idea, I had the design skills, and Hinda had the oomph to make it happen,” Smith said. “It’s a great idea that so many people needed, but we had no idea if it would catch on.”
It did. Lindahl and Miller founded JogBra, Inc. and patented the sports bra in 1979, launching a new global industry in women’s activewear.
As her co-inventors brought their creation to the world, Smith joined The Jim Henson Company in a freelance costume design role for The Muppet Show in 1978. An early project she took on for the company while on set in London, England, landed her a full-time position with one of the most innovative entertainment companies in the world.
“They told me years later that a little blue work shirt for Gonzo is what got me hired full time,” she said. “I thought it would just be a short gig, but I didn’t leave for 25 years.”
Looking back, Smith can trace her passion for creative work to the foundation she built long before the JogBra and The Muppets. She grew up surrounded by artistry—her grandfather was an illustrator—and began making her own clothes as a middle schooler in Montclair, New Jersey. By the time she reached high school, she knew she wanted to enroll in an art school where she could experiment and work with her hands. Moore delivered exactly that.
“It was a lot of fun. That’s so much of what I remember, getting the opportunity to express myself in whatever crazy way [I wanted],” Smith said.
The Fashion Design program helped her develop her construction and pattern-drafting abilities, which became essential throughout her career.
“Those skills sustained me,” she said. “I had some sewing skills when I went to Moore, but not to the degree that they got honed there.”
For young artists and designers hoping to make their mark, Smith believes the key is to stay open-minded and give every project your best effort.
“Make the best impression you can and do the best work you can, because every encounter can lead to something else,” she said. “It’s never just one moment or one project. It all builds.”
Photos courtesy of Polly Smith
About Moore College of Art & Design
Moore College of Art & Design, the only historically women’s art and design college in the United States, prepares students for successful, high-impact careers. Our dynamic programs and uniquely inclusive environment foster creative excellence and amplify artistic potential, preparing our graduates to thrive in the ever-evolving landscape of art and design. For more information about Moore, visit www.moore.edu and follow us on social media @moorecollegeart.
Want to learn more about our campus and majors? Contact our Admissions team at enroll@moore.edu or 215.965.4015 to set up a call or a campus visit. We’d love to tell you more!
