Perry Ellis
| Perry Ellis | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
March 3, 1940 Portsmouth, Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | May 30, 1986 (aged 46) New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Cause of death | AIDS-related complications |
| Resting place | Evergreen Memorial Park |
| Nationality | American |
| Education |
College of William and Mary New York University |
| Occupation | Fashion designer |
| Children | 1 |
| Awards | 1979–1984 Coty Awards (eight) 1983 Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Fashion Award 2002 commemorative white bronze plaque |
| Labels | Perry Ellis |
Perry Edwin Ellis (March 3, 1940 – May 30, 1986) was an American fashion designer who founded his eponymous sportswear house, in the mid-1970s. Ellis' influence on the fashion industry has been called "a huge turning point", because he introduced new patterns and proportions to a market which was dominated by more traditional men's clothing.
Ellis was born in Portsmouth, Virginia, on March 3, 1940, the only child of Edwin and Winifred Rountree Ellis. His father owned a coal and home heating oil company, which enabled the family to live a comfortable middle-class life. Perry graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in Portsmouth, Virginia in 1957. He then studied at the College of William and Mary, in Williamsburg, Virginia, and graduated with a degree in business administration in 1961. To avoid the draft, Ellis enlisted in the United States Coast Guard Reserve with service that included six months of active duty with the Coast Guard. He graduated from New York University with a master's degree in retailing in 1963.
Ellis started out in department store retailing in the Richmond, Virginia area to gain experience in the fashion industry as a buyer and merchandiser at the department store Miller & Rhoads. While there, he was co-founder of Richmond retail shop A Sunny Day. He later joined the sportswear company John Meyer of Norwich in New York City. Eventually, in the mid-1970s, he was approached by his then employer, The Vera Companies, famous for their polyester double-knit pantsuits, to design a fashion collection for them. Soon after that, Ellis presented his first women's sportswear line, called Portfolio, in November 1976. Although he could not sketch, he knew exactly how the industry worked and proved a master of innovative ideas who created 'new classics' that American women longed for at the time.
...
Wikipedia