Margo Rene Frankel [Osherenko] (1913-2003) -- student

The daughter of Margo Kohn Frankel, an early, Iowa conservationist, and the Younkers department store executive, Henry Frankel, Margo Rene Frankel was born in April 1913 to a prominent Des Moines family. She later attended Principia College (Elsah, IL) from 1930-1932 and then returned to Iowa, transferring to Drake University (Des Moines), where she completed her Bachelors degree in 1935. While an undergraduate, Margo starred in a campus drama production (Twelfth Night) and attended the Stone City art colony (1932). Both activities reflected her burgeoning talents in design, skills that would soon lead her to Yale University.

In New Haven (1935-1937), Frankel enrolled in the graduate School of Drama, where only a tenth of the students were women. With continued studies dependent on reapplying, Frankel actively pursued her craft in scene drawing, designing costumes for the local skating club's performance of "A Tyrolean Wedding Festival" (March 1937) and for the university's production of The Barchester Towers, A Victorian Comedy (1937). The latter is believed to be her major, graduate project. Following summer travels in Europe with her sister, Margo received a brief appointment at Stephens College (Columbia, MO), where she designed costumes for a campus production of Chantecler that featured three separate casts (1937), directed by the famed actress Maude Adams.

After leaving Europe on one of the last passenger ships back to the United States before World War II began, Frankel came to the College of William and Mary (Williamsburg, VA), where she taught costume design and aided play productions. From 1938-1940, she dressed six efforts, encompassing musicals and classic dramas. A year in New York City (1940-1941) then led to resettling in Los Angeles, where she created fashion drawings and displays for Bullocks department store. In 1942, she married Joseph Osherenko; the couple soon assumed leadership of California Fashion Publications (Fashion Press, Inc.), and moved to Beverly Hills with their two young daughters (1947). Intermingled with the couple's avid, international travel were the continued expansions of Osherenko's publishing company, and by 1965 the corporation proudly celebrated the construction of its four-story headquarters in downtown Los Angeles. The press included California Apparel News, California Stylist, California Men's Stylist, and Style for Men among its offerings. Margo frequently wrote columns for the company's publications. She later assumed the role of CEO of Fashion Publications upon Joe's death in 1970, managing over one hundred employees. By 1974, the company was sold and its assets liquidated, and Margo settled in Montecito, California.

Active in community endeavors, Margo and Joe Osherenko were founding members of the Music Center in downtown Los Angeles, as well as the Pauley Pavilion at UCLA. In Santa Barbara, Margo Frankel Osherenko was a docent at the local art museum and at Lotusland, a private estate and botanic garden. Active in the Christian Science Church community, Frankel also supported Berkeley Hall School and Alta Vista, an independent living facility. Known for her rich knowledge of music, theater, nature, and art, Margo Frankel died in Santa Barbara in May 2003.

"Comedia dell'Arte" (May 1937) featuring eleven play characters in Frankel-designed costumes. Image courtesy of Gail Osherenko, Santa Barbara, California.

Margo Frankel (left) in the role of Maria, Olivia's gentlewoman, in a Drake University (Des Moines, Iowa) production of Twelfth Night in 1931 or 1932. Image courtesy of Gail Osherenko, Santa Barbara, California.

"Red Barn." Painted while attending the Stone City art colony (1932). Image courtesy of Gail Osherenko, Santa Barbara, California.

"Still Life." (n.d.) Image courtesy of Gail Osherenko, Santa Barbara, California.