Burrows, Stephen

Stephen Burrows (b. 1945) came to the attention of Geraldine Stutz of Henri Bendel in New York in 1970 and his career took off. He was given his own boutique in the store, ‘Stephen Burrows’ World’ – a hip world, very In with the In Crowd, that brought his innovative designs to a wider audience. Melding the training in classic technique he received as a student at FIT with his own adventurous vision, he is best known for his ‘unserious’ jersey designs, sparked with contrasting topstitching – usually in red – that emphasized the garment’s construction rather than hiding it, and for using machine stitching to create rippling ‘lettuce’ effect hems.

The first African American fashion designer to achieve international acclaim, he won Coty awards in 1973, 1974 and 1977, was one of the five American designers to show their clothes along with the French couturiers at Versailles in 1973 (the others being Bill Blass, Oscar de la Renta, Halston and Anne Klein).

More recently Burrows reopened Stephen Burrows World in 2002. He was included in FIT’s Fashion Walk of Fame Exhibit (September 2003 – January 2004) and continues to design his World line.

“…one of the unrecognized geniuses of the fashion world…Stephen gives the most original cut in America today. And the thing really is the cut.” Halston, 1971

Written by bigchief173

from a 1970s poly jersey jumpsuit

Courtesy of bigchief173

from a late 1970s pant suit

Courtesy of claireshaeffer

from an early 2000s garment

Courtesy of kickshawproductions