Ellis, Perry

Perry Ellis (1940-1986) was a true sportswear designer with clothes that cross the line from lounging to activity. His signature style boasts long clean lines, with loosely tailored crisp fabrics. His women’s wear took on a slight manly look, as in his 1980s slouch tweed suits with their ‘Chaplinesque bags.’ His fresh use of natural fibers and his casual but tailored approach to sportswear has acknowledged Perry Ellis as an innovator of modern fashion design. He also had a keen sense of commercial design having received degrees in both retail and business.

Ellis began his career as a sportswear buyer for Virginia department store Miller & Rhodes in 1963. Later he also designed for the store and in 1968 signed on as design director at John Meyer, New York. In 1974 Perry Ellis began a long association with the Vera Companies when he took a position as a sportswear director. In 1975 he was allowed to create his own division which he named Portfolio. A few years later, in 1978, he established his women’s sportswear collection; Perry Ellis Collection. The success of this line afforded the opportunity for him to branch into the menswear line and his first sportswear collection for men saw its debut in 1980. Perry Ellis America was created in 1984 in cooperation with Levi Strauss.

Perry Ellis was the recipient of many fashion awards including the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Fashion Award in 1983. He also served as their first president. The CFDA have instituted an award for New Talent in the Fashion Industry called the ‘Perry Ellis Award’ in memory of this American designer.

There is a plaque in his honor on the “Fashion Walk of Fame” in New York.
Isaac Mizrahi was a designer in training with the house of Perry Ellis from 1982 -1984, and Marc Jacobs designed for Perry Ellis 1988-1993. In the early 2000s, Patrick Robinson was the designer.

Today, Perry Ellis International is one of the largest men’s designer brands in the United States. Perry Ellis has over 39 licensees worldwide, 50 product categories and distribution in 71 countries.

Written by cactusandcattails

from a 1979 skirt

Courtesy of Cuckoochenille

from a 1980s sweater

Courtesy of cactusandcattails

from a 1980s faux fur coat

Courtesy of themerchantsofvintage

from a late 1980s pleated skirt

Courtesy of claireshaeffer

from a 1990s man’s sport coat

Courtesy of vintagegent.com

from a 1990s pleated skirt

Courtesy of claireshaeffer