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FEATURING:
John Bartlett, Andrew Buckler, Heatherette,
Perry Ellis, Rag & Bone, and Peter Som
November 1, 2007
7 pm – 10 pm
Cocktails and hors d'oeuvres 7 pm – 9 pm
Show starts at 9:15 pm
Altman Building
135 West 18th Street
212.367.1557
SPECIAL THANKS TO
Q Models Management
Ford Models
Major Model Management
Re:Quest Model Management
Red Model Management
M·A·C AIDS
United Way of New York City
Click here to watch a 30 second Fashion Forward promotional clip!
Bios
Perry Ellis
Perry Ellis began his namesake collection in 1980, revolutionizing men’s casual clothing in America. His widely acclaimed contemporary classic menswear designs were sought after and admired by high profile personalities, key retailers, and the fashion press, all of who responded to his witty take on classic American sportswear. Perry’s reputation as a great innovator of fashion spread and his company began growing rapidly. Along with his team of talented designers, he produced distinctly individual clothes and accessories that changed the way American fashion was viewed.
Perry Ellis began his career as a buyer for the Miller Rhodes department store, then as Design Director for John Meyer before he started designing under his own label, Portfolio, in 1975. In 1978 Perry Ellis Sportswear Inc. was launched and two years later he formed his own company. Ellis’ contemporary classic menswear designs were already widely acclaimed in the USA, and he swiftly gained a reputation for crisply stylish coats, trousers, and knitwear. His designs were spirited and graceful and Ellis was considered the ideal American sportswear designer of the time. In 1985, Perry Ellis revived the lesser-priced Portfolio line, and in addition, began to design an America line for Levi Strauss. Today, Perry Ellis is the fifth largest men’s designer brand in the United States. With retail sales of over one billion, Perry Ellis has 39 licensees worldwide with 30 product categories in 50 countries.
Perry Ellis died on May 30, 1986 at the age of 46, but his prophetic vision of fashion is as vibrant now as when his company was first formed. As a result, his legacy continues in the timeless and modern clothes and accessories that bear his name today. Ellis is a two-time Coty Award winner for excellence in fashion design and also winner of the prestigious CFDA Award for Men’s Fashion Design. His remarkable leadership and creative efforts are honored every year when the Perry Ellis Award is presented to the most promising new ready-to-wear and accessories design talent at the CFDA’s annual gala. In 2002 the city of New York honored Mr. Ellis with a plaque on “The Fashion Walk of Fame” on Seventh Avenue.
Through its 25-year history, the company has always put fashion and design through the vision of Mr. Perry Ellis as its first priority and it continues to be a design house at the forefront of fashion. The Perry Ellis label has launched the careers of a stable of prestigious designers including Isaac Mizrahi, Tom Ford and Marc Jacobs. The company has employed some of the biggest designers in fashion’s history. Isaac Mizrahi was a designer in training with the house of Perry Ellis from 1982-1984. Four years later, the young designer Marc Jacobs designed for Perry Ellis, as did Tom Ford before he later went on to revolutionize the fashion industry. The Fall 2002 show marked a return to the New York runway for Perry Ellis, where it has shown each season since.
Today, Perry Ellis International houses such nationally recognized men’s apparel lines as Perry Ellis, Perry Ellis America, Original Penguin, John Henry, Manhattan, Munsingwear, Natural Issue, Ping Collection, Andrew Fezza, Grand Slam, Pro Player, Mondo di Marco and Cubavera. PEI is now a billion dollar brand and a leading licensor, designer and marketer of high quality menswear to all levels of retail distribution. Perry Ellis International continues to reinvigorate this well-known label through the addition of new licensing arrangements while growing its other host of labels, establishing themselves as in industry leader that promises to play a growing role in the fashion and apparel industry for years to come.
© 2007 Gay Men's Health Crisis |
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