Interview with Martin Unger about his life and experience in the Kansas City garment industry. He discusses his family, his immigration to the United States from Germany in 1939, his experience in tailoring, and his interest in designing women's clothes. He recalls working as a designer in New York for 41 years until coming to Kansas City to work for ladies' coat and suit manufacturer Youthcraft, and discusses the decline of the local and domestic clothing industry, attributing the change to overseas manufacturing and the rise in big box chain retail. His wife, Ann Unger, also shares memories, and the couple shares photographs of their family and examples of Martin's designs.
Reproduction (printing, downloading, or copying) of images from Kansas City Public Library requires permission and payment for the following uses, whether digital or print: publication; reproduction of multiple copies; personal, non-educational purposes; and advertising or commercial purposes. Please order prints or digital files and pay use fees through this website. All images must be properly credited to: "Missouri Valley Special Collections, Kansas City Public Library, Kansas City, Missouri." Images and texts may be reproduced without prior permission only for purposes of temporary, private study, scholarship, or research. Those using these images and texts assume all responsibility for questions of copyright and privacy that may arise.
