Bill Blass
William Ralph Blass (June 22, 1922 – June 12, 2002) was an American fashion designer.[1][2] He was the recipient of many fashion awards, including seven Coty Awards and the Fashion Institute of Technology's Lifetime Achievement Award (1999).[1]
This article is about the fashion designer Bill Blass. For the fashion house of the same name, see Bill Blass Limited.
Bill Blass
June 12, 2002 (aged 79)
Coty Award seven times;[1] Fashion Institute of Technology Lifetime Achievement Award, 1999[1]
Early life[edit]
Blass was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the son of Ralph Aldrich Blass, a traveling hardware salesman, and his wife, Ethyl (Keyser) Blass.[3]
In his autobiography, Blass wrote that the margins in his school books were filled with sketches of Hollywood-inspired fashions instead of notes. At fifteen, he began sewing and selling evening gowns for $25 each to a New York manufacturer. At seventeen he had saved enough money to move to Manhattan and study fashion. At eighteen, he was the first male to win Mademoiselle's Design for Living award. He spent his salary of $30 a week on clothing, shoes and elegant meals.
In 1943, Blass enlisted in the Army. Due to his intelligence and talent, he was assigned to the 603rd Camouflage Battalion, which came to be known as the Ghost Army. Its mission was to deceive the German Army into believing the Allies were positioned in fake locations, for example by using dummy tanks.[4] He served in this unit at several major operations including the Battle of the Bulge, and the Rhine River crossing.[3] The Ghost Army received the Congressional Gold Medal on March 21, 2024.
Awards and recognition[edit]
Over the years, Blass won three Coty American Fashion Critics Awards. He won the 1968 Coty for men's wear. The Council of Fashion Designers of American awarded Blass their Lifetime Achievement Award in 1987 and was the group's first winner of their Humanitarian Leadership Award in 1996. He was also named to the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame List.[3]
New York Public Library[edit]
In 1994, Blass gave $10 million to the New York Public Library. In recognition of the gift, the Public Catalog Room of the New York Public Library Main Branch at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street was named the Bill Blass Public Catalogue Room.[8]
Retirement and death[edit]
In 1999, Blass sold Bill Blass Limited for $50 million to Michael Groveman and retired to his home in New Preston, Connecticut. Blass, longtime a heavy smoker, was diagnosed with oral/tongue cancer in 2000,[9] not long after he began writing his memoir.[10] His cancer later developed into throat cancer, resulting in his death on June 12, 2002, ten days away from his 80th birthday.[2][9]
Blass collected art and was a connoisseur of antiquities and in his will bequeathed half of his $52 million estate, as well as several important ancient sculptures, to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.[11][12]
Quotes[edit]
"The beauty of being able to draw, or paint, from an early age is that you never feel trapped, least of all by your immediate circumstances."[9]
"The secret of living is not staying too long. I have learned when to leave the party."[13]
“When in doubt, wear red.”[14]
“Fashion can be bought by anybody; style takes discernment, it has to do with individuality.”[14]
“Sometimes the eye gets so accustomed that if you don't have a change, you're bored. It's the same with fashion, you know. And that, I suppose, is what style is about.”[14]
“Simplicity is the soul of modern elegance.”[14]