In 1939, when he was 17, he left the Midwest and went to New
York, and started studying fashion design at Parsons School
of Design. On graduation he worked as a sketcher for David
Crystal, a Sportswear manufacturer, before being drafted for
military service. In 1945, after the war ended, he moved to
Anna Miller and Cio., as a designer. Mrs Miller retired in
1959 and by that time Bill Blass was her chief designer. Her
company was merged with that of her brother Maurice Rentner.
His designs were very successful, and the company began to
be more and more in his image. In 1970 he bought the company
and it became Bill Blass Ltd.
Blass designed for a host of famous women, including first
ladies Nancy Reagon and Barbara Bush as well as Candice Bergen,
Barbra Streisand and Barbara Walters.
Bill Blass was best known as a designer of American daywear.
He took traditional garments such as jackets and softened the
lines, creating a more fluid, less severe design. His suits
were tailored by curves to imitate the female body. Even his
most structured garments were softened by gentle bends at the
hem, lapels or fastenings.
Blass was inventive in his mixing of textures and patterns.
He used tweeds and shirtings, often with a splash of colour,
or a bright frill of lace or fur trim. His use of ruffles has
been particularly effective.
Bill Blass is
often referred to as the "Dean of American
Designers". For around 50 years he designed clothes
to meet standards of country club and evoke Hollywood glamour
simultaneously. He believed a designer should not be a dictator
and the client must ultimately be in charge. He traveled
all
over the US making sure his clothes always work well.
Today young designers create the clothes that he was so famous
for. In 1976 Jacques Tiffeau joined Bill Blass. Several other
designers have trained with him. In 2000 it was Steven Slowick
and Lars Nilsson has taken over in 2001. Click Lars Nilsson
for full details.
In the year 2000,
the city of New York decided to honour American fashion
designers by placing bronze plaques along
7th Avenue,
the great street of fashion in New York. This has been called
the "FASHION WALK OF FAME." Bill Blass was one
of those honoured, and here is a picture of his plaque.
On June 12th, 2002, Bill Blass died at his home in Washington,
Connecticut, USA, at the age of 79. In his last weeks, he was
working on a Retrospective of his work, planned for Fall 2003.
Spring/Summer 2003
Lars Nilsson showed the Spring/Summer 2003 Ready-to-Wear
collection for the house of Bill Blass at the New York Fashion
Week in September 2002, which was greeted with aclaim. This
was the first collection after the death of founder Bill Blass.
This dress is from that collection.
Spring/Summer 2004
Michael Vollbracht's collection for this season for the
house of Bill Blass, was shown during New York Fashion Week
in September 2003. Several other models from the past joined
the show, such as Karen Bjornsen and Diane Dewitt, from the
1970's and 1980's.
They paraded a range of Blass classics since it is Vollbracht's mission to
retain Blass's fabled faithful customers, while also bringing in a new generation
of younger ladies. He has trunk shows lined up in Chicago, Palm Beach and Houston
so that the collection can be shown to the loyalist camps around the country.
This collection had so many familiar Blass touches that the clientele sighed
with relief.
Fall/Winter 2004
The Fall collection was shown during New York Fashion Week
in February 2004. This was Michael Vollbracht's second Blass
collection and he showed his devotion to the house's reputation
for elegant sportswear. He used some of Bill Blass's legendary
models and presented almost 80 outfits. Vollbracht scored with
a younger clientele as well as the older woman still attached
to the Blass heritage by showing a range of suits and dresses
in fabulous fabrics.
Spring/Summer 2005
During New York Fashion Week in September 2004, Michael
Vollbracht presented his third collection for the house of
Bill Blass.
It was a faster show than usual, and the clothes had a trimmer silhouette,
showing a little more flesh. Michael's lacy sundress were very pretty, as were
sexy bra-topped gowns. He is still a little careful, and could be more extravagant
as Bill's clothes always were.
Perfumes
1970 - Bill Blass (W)
1978 - Bill Blass (M)
1978 - Blass Woman
1990 - Nude
1991 - Basic Black (W)
1991 - Hot
1999 - Amazing (W)
2000 - Amazing (M)
