Today's Google Doodle honors the life of American designer Altina Schinasi. She is most known for popularising the 'cat-eye' eyeglass frame style. Google released a doodle celebrating Altina with cat-eye-rimmed eyeglasses to coincide with her 116th birthday.

altina schinasi




According to the Google Doodle blog article, Altina was born to immigrant parents on August 4, 1907, in Manhattan, New York. From the bustling art galleries of Paris to the streets of Manhattan, she traveled on an artistic adventure to explore her passion for painting.


The development of a designer, Altina Schinasi

In 1907, Altina was born in America to Jewish parents. Altina had home tutoring before attending Horace Mann School and moving to the board at Wellesley, Massachusetts's Dana Hall School at twelve.

Altina's mother took her to Paris soon after she received her diploma. Altina and her cousin Rene Bensussan studied art there. She learned to appreciate art more as she spent more time with Benussan. She went back to New York and studied at the Roerich Museum under Samuel Halpert.

Altina's first employment after learning design was with Peter Copeland, where she worked on anything from designing windows to making recognizable "cat-eye" frames. She and he collaborated on a project to create windows for Fifth Avenue shops. She happened to be collaborating with Salvador Dali on this assignment.

Altina files numerous patent applications for her design-related inventions later in life. But her big break came early on when she designed and commercialized the Harlequin eyeglass frame, sometimes known as the "cat-eye" frame, which in the late 1930s defined beauty.

When Altina saw uninspired glasses in an optician's window, she got the inspiration for these eyeglass frames. She thought they were disappointing and set out to make something enchanting and unique.


"There must be a way to create glasses that are appealing in some way! What enhances a face? What embellishes a face? What kind of romantic face makeup may a woman use? "She was confused.

Altina decided to start with the Harlequin mask and started cutting masks into the frames she had in mind. She built an office where she supervised marketing and distribution after setting up production and negotiating agreements with department retailers.

Altina received the Lord & Taylor Annual American Design Award in 1939 for her innovative conversion of the eyeglass frame into a legitimate fashion item.