Luba Marks was a Bulgarian-born French-American fashion designer of Russian descent specialising in sportswear from the 1950s to the 1970s. Prior to this, under the name Lubov Roudenko she was a former soloist for the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo in the late 1930s and early 1940s, afterwards performing on Broadway throughout the 1940s.
Early life
Luba Rudenko was born 28 November 1921 in Sofia, Bulgaria, to Russian parents. Her father, Nicholas, had been a former officer in the Russian Imperial Guard, and following the Russian Revolution, he and his wife became refugees while the rest of their family were killed. They moved to Paris, where Nicholas Rudenko ran a Russian restaurant until it was forced to close following the 1932 assassination of President Paul Doumer by a Russian émigré. Following this, the family relied on Luba's skill as a dancer to help them, with Luba later recollecting "There were times when I had to win first place in a contest so we could eat."
Dancing
In 1938 Rudenko was signed up to the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, where, at 17, she was their youngest soloist. Her stage name was Lubov Roudenko, and she was also popularly known as "Spitfire Lu-Lu." She had a can-can sequence in the 1938 ballet Gaîté Parisienne choreographed specially for her by Léonide Massine. She would later reprise this role in the 1941 Oscar-nominated short filmThe Gay Parisian. Whilst with the Ballet Russes, Rudenko was the subject of several drawings by Henri Matisse in 1939. Four of his portrait sketches of her are now in the Fogg Museum. Matisse also made a drawing of Rudenko in the ballet Rouge et Noir. While on tour with the Ballet Russe, Rudenko performed the role of the Cowgirl in the 1942 ballet Rodeo until the tour reached New York and Agnes de Mille, the original choreographer, reclaimed the role for herself. Disappointed by this, Rudenko quit the Ballet Russes, and took a better-paid job performing in a Broadway production of The Merry Widow. This production launched at the Majestic Theatre on 4 August 1943, with Rudenko and James Starbuck leading the character dances, including a comic polka and a can-can number. After this, Rudenko played Grisette in Nellie Bly, a short-lived 1946 musical based on the life of Nellie Bly, and then became lead dancer for the 1946-49 Broadway production of Annie Get Your Gun, but following a knee injury, decided to pursue a career in fashion design. She continued performing until 1951, appearing in the 1950-51 Olsen and Johnson revue Pardon our French.
Fashion
Luba married Richard Marks in 1948, and in 1957, they launched their new company, Elite Juniors. Elite Jrs. was a middle-range firm producing high-style coats, suits and separates for a fifth of the expected price. Luba first caught the attention of the fashion press by successfully reinterpreting the classic Chanel suit for ready-to-wear. Her designs were cut slim-fitting, with narrow sleeves and no bust darts, meaning that her designs looked more elegant and desirably Parisian than those of her rivals in the ready-to-wear field. Luba was also noted as an early promoter of the woman's pantsuitin America, dedicating over half of her 1966 collection to this look. It was noted that some of her pantsuit designs came out before Yves Saint Laurent produced his own very similar designs. In 1968, alongside George Halley, Luba Marks won the Coty Award for her womenswear. At the time it was noted that her clothes were worn by smart young women such as actress Jill St. John and singer Petula Clark, and younger women in politics such as Luci Nugent. Luba noted that her clientele's age range ran from 16 to 70. By 1976 Elite Juniors had been acquired by Peabody House, and despite their marriage having broken down, the Markses were still working together successfully. That year Luba predicted that the business would turn over 7 to 8 million dollars, forecasting that this would rise to 12 million. She was still working in 1984, selling her coats and other designs through Bullock's and describing herself as trying to continue offering originality.
