Perry Ellis facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Perry Ellis
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| Born | March 3, 1940 Portsmouth, Virginia, U.S.
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| Died | May 30, 1986 (aged 46) Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
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| Resting place | Evergreen Memorial Park |
| Education | College of William and Mary New York University |
| Occupation | Fashion designer |
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Label(s)
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Perry Ellis |
| Children | 1 |
| Awards | 1979–1984 Coty Awards (eight) 1983 Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Fashion Award 2002 commemorative white bronze plaque |
Perry Edwin Ellis (born March 3, 1940 – died May 30, 1986) was a famous American fashion designer. He started his own fashion company, Perry Ellis, in the mid-1970s. Perry Ellis changed fashion by bringing in fresh designs and new shapes, especially for men's clothing. His ideas were a big turning point in the fashion world.
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Early Life and Education
Perry Ellis was born in Portsmouth, Virginia, on March 3, 1940. He was the only child of Edwin and Winifred Rountree Ellis. His father owned a company that sold coal and heating oil, which helped the family live a comfortable life.
Perry Ellis went to Woodrow Wilson High School in Portsmouth, Virginia. He graduated in 1957. After high school, he studied at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. He earned a degree in business administration in 1961. To avoid being drafted into the military, Ellis joined the United States Coast Guard Reserve. He served for six months on active duty. Later, he earned a master's degree in retailing from New York University in 1963.
Starting a Fashion Career
Perry Ellis began his career in department stores in Richmond, Virginia. He worked as a buyer and merchandiser at a store called Miller & Rhoads. This helped him learn about the fashion industry. He also helped start a retail shop in Richmond called A Sunny Day. Later, he joined a sportswear company in Manhattan called John Meyer of Norwich.
In the mid-1970s, his employer, The Vera Companies, asked him to create a new fashion collection. In November 1976, Ellis showed his first collection for women. It was called Portfolio. Even though he wasn't a great sketch artist, he understood the fashion world very well. He was known for creating "new classics" that American women loved.
He became famous for his loose, comfortable, and layered designs made from natural fabrics. This style was popular in the mid-1970s and was called the "Big Look" or "Soft Look." Perry Ellis made this trend even better by designing thick, hand-knit-looking sweaters. These sweaters had rough textures and went well with the earthy colors and loose shapes of the time. Sweaters remained a key part of his designs throughout his career.
Founding Perry Ellis International
In 1978, Perry Ellis started his own fashion house, Perry Ellis International. He did this with Manhattan Industries, which was the parent company of The Vera Companies. He opened his showroom on New York's famous Seventh Avenue.
That same year, he created a new style of "big shoulders" for fall fashion. His designs were more popular in the U.S. than the extreme styles coming from Europe. He added large but soft shoulder pads to his earthy-textured clothes. These new designs were slimmer but still casual. He also supported the trend of layering shoulder pads, which became common in the 1980s. He and Norma Kamali also introduced flounced miniskirts the next year. His short pants, short sweaters, and special sleeves from the late 1970s were also very influential.
As the company's chairman and head designer, he later created the Perry Ellis Menswear Collection. Step by step, he added shoes, accessories, furs, and perfumes, all under his name. Throughout the 1980s, the Perry Ellis company grew. It included different labels like Perry Ellis Collection and Perry Ellis Portfolio.
Innovations in the 1980s
In the early 1980s, Perry Ellis was a very important name in U.S. fashion, just like Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren. He continued to be known for his sweaters, short trousers, and experiments with clothing shapes. This included the flippy miniskirts he introduced in 1979. He was also known for the very high quality of his fabrics, which he mostly brought in from Europe.
In 1980, Ellis explored handmade knitwear and larger patterns, including big Argyle designs. He also launched his first collection for men. That year, he started offering alternatives to the prominent shoulder pads he was known for. He added width with capelet collars and tucks or pleats at the top of sleeves.
For spring 1981, he showed soft corsets and hip-padded versions of the short skirts he had started showing in 1979. He also began using more substantial fabrics for shaping. For Fall 1981, he brought back the "Big Look" from the mid-1970s. He showed longer lengths, loose layers, and harem pants with Cossack-inspired hats and capes. This time, the look was more structured with cummerbunds and extended shoulders.
In 1982, Perry Ellis won the Council of Fashion Designers of America's Designer of the Year award. At this time, his company had more than 75 employees. He released his "Chariots of Fire" collection for spring that year. He continued to show the longer lengths he had favored the previous fall. For his fall 1982 collection, he tried some of the highly tailored suit styles that had been popular since 1978. In 1983, he showed high-waisted skirts that flared out and slim trousers with short jackets.
For Spring 1984, he presented a collection inspired by an idyllic Australia. It featured his popular short trousers, short jackets, and a focus on long skirts. In 1984, Perry Ellis America was created with Levi Strauss. He also brought back his lower-priced Portfolio product line. It featured soft, comfortable clothes, updated with broader shoulders. His Fall 1984 collection for both men and women honored artist Sonia Delaunay. It focused on Ellis's signature sweaters in Delaunay's colors. Prints and slimmer, more minimal shapes were important for his Spring 1985 collection. Large floral patterns, revealing cuts, and tunic sweaters were prominent. These closer-to-the-body cuts continued through the end of the year. They were brightened by prints and colors inspired by Chinese porcelains.
By 1986, the company's sales had grown significantly, reaching about $260 million.
Perry Ellis believed that "fashion dies when you take it too seriously." Many people praised his designs. Michael Bastian said that "no one did it better...He was able to be modern and yet not come off antiseptic." New York Times fashion writer Bernadine Morris called his tweeds and sweaters "comfortable and forever-looking." She said they had a "carefree feeling of a college woman slipping into her boyfriend's jacket." Steven Kolb, CEO of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, said Ellis's fashion helped him "step forward in fashion, but to still have a comfort level."
Ellis was the president of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) from 1984 to 1986.
Family Life
In February 1984, Perry Ellis and his long-time friend, Barbara Gallagher, had a child together. Their daughter, Tyler Alexandra Gallagher Ellis, was born in November 1984. Ellis bought a home for Gallagher and their daughter in Brentwood, Los Angeles, and visited them often. In 2011, Tyler launched her first line of handbags under the name Tyler Alexandra.
Awards and Legacy
- During the CFDA awards at New York City's Lincoln Center in 1986, Ellis received a special tribute after his death.
- Ellis won eight Coty Awards between 1979 and 1984.
- He was given the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Fashion Award in 1981.
- In 2002, Ellis was honored with a special white bronze plaque. It was placed in the sidewalk on Seventh Avenue in New York. This area is known as the Fashion Walk of Fame.
Steven Kolb described Perry Ellis's legacy by saying: "In terms of men's fashion, he was the first to bring the idea of dressing up in a casual way to the American man." In 1986, the annual Perry Ellis Award was created. It is now called the Swarovski Emerging Talent Award. This award honors new and talented fashion designers for men and women. David Cameron was the first designer to receive it.
Even though he worked as a designer for less than ten years, his work is "still seen as incredibly influential" more than 25 years after his death.
In 1999, a company called Supreme International bought the Perry Ellis brand. Supreme then changed its name to Perry Ellis International. The company is now traded on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the symbol PERY. Perry Ellis International also owns and licenses other well-known fashion brands. These include Original Penguin by Munsingwear, Cubavera, C&C California, Rafaella, Laundry by Shelli Segal, Ben Hogan, Jantzen, Nike Swim, and Callaway.
In the twenty-first century, the Perry Ellis brand has continued to grow. It has built on the styles Perry Ellis created. The brand has successfully expanded and worked with other designers, such as Duckie Brown. It continues to receive praise from fashion critics.
See also
In Spanish: Perry Ellis para niños
- Fashion in the United States
- Perry Ellis (brand)
- Perry Ellis International
