A Passion for Color

Jeanne's passion for bright colors was deep and carried on throughout her entire life, not just her fashion designing. She loved flowers, especially roses, and gardening gave her great pleasure. Jeanne also loved painting, mostly floral still lifes in oil, and had created quite a few. Her style was loose and had the spirit of her favorite impressionistic painters like Matisse and Manet. She understood how color created moods and feelings, and she not only knew how to use it, but she was motivated by it. She liked what she called "clear colors", nothing "muddied up".
In the homes she had, she always made a strong statement with color using paint, but mostly in the drapery and upholstery fabrics. In her Central Park West apartment her living room was primarily yellow-gold with an elegant floral upholstery in silk and a dominating yellow and white woven tasseled rug. It was warm, but not too bright, sophisticated--suiting the city. In her Westhampton home however, she chose a heavy cotton floral print in rich pink, with large orange poppies for her upholstery and drapes. (This pairing of pink and orange was a signature combination for Jeanne.) It was more playful, bringing the warm summer flowers indoors for the more relaxed country atmosphere. Jeanne surrounded herself with color, from the rich red & deep pink striped fabric covered porch ceiling, right down to painting the sculptural newel post (a structural member in her dining room), in cheerful bands of color that was reminiscent of a carousel.
In fashion she was known to use lively colors for her line and even for herself.
In the Pittsburgh Press, Sept. 20, 1957, she was quoted regarding her upcoming cruisewear line as stating with enthusiasm, "I'm having such fun--the colors are so wonderful, tropical bird colors like shocking pink, brilliant yellows and forest greens."
In the 1960 supplement to the Worldbook Encyclopedia, in the fashion section, they described Jeanne's summer chemises as,"...ultrasimple, relying on marvelous colors and good, sturdy fabrics for their appeal. Printed linens abounded, in rich, tropical colors with larger-than-life-sized flowers and fruit strewn on them. Jeanne Campbell of Sportwhirl, a young, gifted designer who turned out high fashion for little money, designed a series of linen chemises in mouth-watering colors which were teamed with flowered linen coats or plain coats over flowered chemises. The McCardell mantle seemed to have fallen on Miss Campbell...".