All-Female ‘Damsels of Design’ Team Played Pivotal Role in Corvette Evolution

Long before women played a prominent role in automotive design, GM had the foresight to assemble its own ‘Damsels of Design’ team.

There are many famous names forever intertwined with the iconic Corvette, names such as Zora Arkus-Duntov and Harvey Earl, to name just a couple. But there are also the lesser known contributors that played pivotal roles in the Corvette’s creation and evolution over the past 70 years – folks like General Motors’ “Damsels of Design” team, a group of ten women brought in by the automaker during the mid 1950s to work as designers in its interior design department.

The reasoning for this particular move was quite simple – GM discovered that – at the time – women influenced 70 percent of all new vehicle purchases, meaning that figuring out how to make those vehicles more appealing to female customers would very likely prove quite lucrative in the sales room. The idea here – which came from Earl himself – was to give cars like the Corvette a more “feminine touch,” though in reality, GM accomplished more than just that with what was the very first all-female design team in American history.

Of the 10 women that made up the Damsels of Design team, four wound up working at Frigidaire, helping to create the “Kitchen of Tomorrow,” as it was known, while the other six headed to the automaker’s interior design department. One – Peggy Sauer – created a redesigned Oldsmobile Fiesta Carousel station wagon for the show circuit, but the Corvette received plenty of upgrades as well – including its first retractable seat belt, light-up mirrors, and glove compartments, to name just a few.

But perhaps the most famous “Damsel” of all is Ruth Glennie, who designed the interior of the Fancy Free Corvette show car back in 1958 – which featured a matching silver olive hue both inside and outside. Among the many features present in this particular demo model – which is still around today, on display at the Gilmore Car Museum in Michigan – include a total of three different and interchangeable seat cover designs, retractable seat belts, and a space to secure one’s purse while driving.

Unfortunately, the Damsels of Design idea fizzled out rather quickly following Earl’s retirement in 1958, after which the team was disbanded. though one of them – Suzanne Vanderbilt – remained with GM for the next 23 years. She went on to come up with all sorts of innovative ideas, including an inflatable seatbelt that was patented in the 1960s and put into production decades later, along with an early car phone and a built-in memo pad.

Today, it’s hard to imagine any automotive design department without its fair share of women leading the charge toward the future, but that wouldn’t have been possible if it weren’t for this trailblazing group.

Photos: General Motors