1940-1986
Fashion Designer

Styles.

Perry Ellis, often grouped with other classic sportswear designers such as Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren, designed for both men and women. Eternally antitrendy, he refused to join the label fad of the 1980s. He showed much talent in carrying out a theme, whether inspired by an artist such as Sonia Delauney (winter 1986 collection) or by Chinese export ceramics (spring 1986 collection). He was particularly known in the 1980s for his popular female silhouette: an oversized, boxy jacket worn, first, with long pleated skirts and, later in the decade, with shorter, narrower skirts. He borrowed from the 1920s, showing pleated straight linen skirts, loose linen jackets, and jumpers with puffed sleeves, all in white, cream, or pastels. Ellis's clothes captured a young, adventurous spirit, and he was known for the use of natural fabrics and painterly colors. Ellis's loafers and his trademark hand-knitted...