Geoffrey Beene Vintage Dress Superb Tailoring !

Until the evening of January 14th, this 60s vintage
Beene dress is on auction in my ebay store !
Geoffrey Beene was born in Louisiana in 1927.
At Tulane University in New Orleans, he began
to study medicine, but dropped out in 1946.
A year later, while still a teenager, he moved
to New York City and worked at a number of fashion
houses. He worked with Harmay and Teal Traina in
Paris and New York City.

His own company, Geoffrey Beene, Inc., was
started in 1963 on Seventh Avenue
in Manhattan. Lady Bird Johnson,
Pat Nixon, Nancy Reagan, Faye Dunaway,
Gloria Vanderbilt, Glenn Close and wealthy
socialites were among his famous clients.
He was beloved by Ladies Who Lunch.

In 1964 and 1965 Beene won the Neiman Marcus
Award and over his long career he won eight
coveted Coty Awards for his high
quality ready-to-wear clothing.
He also won four Council of Fashion Designers
of America awards.

Around the world, fashion and art museums
display his garments. Not only
are they superbly constructed as if couture,
but they enhance a woman's
body as if a work of art.
Says Issey Miyake, who apprenticed with Beene
in 1969: "His design is
clean and clear and strong, just the way he is
in life. He always keeps
creativity No. 1 and business No. 2. He never
compromises."
In the 70s, Beene relaxed his structure and
began to make more modern clothes of slinky
synthetics. He always incorporated a sense of humor.
Also in the 1970's he started Beene Bag, a fashion line
aimed for the younger set.



After more than 40 years in fashion design he
died at age of 77. Some say he was actually 80.
April 27th is "Geoffrey Beene Day" in his home
state of Louisiana.
A gift from his estate to Sloan-Kettering has
launched an ambitious
research initiative known as the Geoffrey Beene
Cancer Research Center.

Here's a great obit from the NY Times.

More detail, including a bit about
his successor in the Geoffrey Beene line.