From Business to the Runway: 5 Fun Facts You Didn’t Know About Perry Ellis

Designer Perry Ellis was known for his innovative contributions to the fashion industry during the 1970s and 1980s. He was a creator, an icon, and one of the most prominent LGBTQIA+ designers of his time. Despite his public prominence, Ellis was private about his personal life, particularly regarding his sexuality.

Ellis was in a relationship with attorney Laughlin Barker, who became president of the licensing division of Perry Ellis International. They remained together until Barker’s death in January 1986. In February 1984, Ellis and his longtime friend, television producer Barbara Gallagher, conceived a child via artificial insemination. Their daughter, Tyler Alexandra Gallagher Ellis, was born in November 1984.

Ellis will undoubtedly go down as one of the fashion GOATs, but some may be unfamiliar with his life and upbringing. Here are five facts about Perry Ellis.

1. The talent had a non-traditional path to fashion design.

Unlike many designers, Ellis did not start as a sketch artist or tailor. He began his career in retail, working as a buyer and merchandiser at Miller & Rhoads, a department store in Richmond, Va. In the 1960s, Ellis co-founded a retail shop called A Sunny Day, marking the start of this fashion journey, as revealed in “Perry Ellis: The Biography.” In 1967, Ellis joined the sportswear company John Meyer of Norwich in Manhattan after years of working with the brand during his time with Miller & Rhoads.

2. He was a wild child in college. 

Before venturing into fashion, Ellis earned a business administration degree from the College of William & Mary in 1961. During college, the designer was popular, and his peers have recalled his antics. “Perry was a son of a b***h,” Troy Swindell recalled in Ellis’ biography. “He never got into any real trouble, but he was real mischievous.”

3. Ellis created a women’s line with no sketching experience.

In 1976, The Vera Companies approached Ellis to design a fashion collection. Despite not being a skilled sketcher, he presented his first women’s sportswear line, Portfolio, in November 1976. The collection and style became the “new classic” American women desired at the time. This success marked the beginning of his influential career in fashion design.

4. He started Perry Ellis International in the late 1970s.

Ellis, along with Manhattan Industries, founded Perry Ellis International in 1978. They opened the showroom on New York’s Seventh Avenue, and Ellis served as chairman and head designer. He later expanded his brand to include men’s wear, shoes, accessories, furs, and perfumes, all bearing his name. His designs were known for their non-traditional, modern classics, which played a significant role in redefining American sportswear.

5. Ellis is a literal part of New York’s Fashion Walk of Fame.

Ellis’s famed designs earned him numerous accolades. Between 1979 and 1984, he won nine Coty American Fashion Critics’ Awards. In 1981, he received the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Fashion Award. His contributions to fashion were further recognized in 2002 when he was honored with a commemorative white bronze plaque on New York’s Seventh Avenue, known as the Fashion Walk of Fame.

Ellis believed that “fashion dies when you take it too seriously.” And while he was, without a doubt, a serious designer, his choices were fun. Now, his influence lives, and Perry Ellis is thriving. Today, the company is a global lifestyle brand that continues to design clothes, watches, footwear, and other accessories.

Do you own any Perry Ellis items? Comment below!

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