In just 46 years, the American designer Perry Ellis created and managed what was at the time, perhaps the leading luxury sportswear brand in the world. From a background in retail management, and with the help of a number of talented individuals who were able to take his concepts and turn them into reality. Perry Ellis moved into design at the age of 36 when he created the iconic Portfolio line of sports classics for women.

Perry Ellis championed a design ethic that combined absolute simplicity and economy of lines with a breathless elegance that turned the humble tennis outfit into something that transcended sports. Many of the most iconic images from the world of sport at the time feature Perry Ellis designs at the heart. His clothes were utterly unlike anything that had gone before, taking their cues from movement, and presaging the current fashion for high technology in clothing by designing from an ergonomic point of view as much as from a comfort one.

In 1978, Perry Ellis moved away from the relative security of his post at Jon Meyer to establish his own label, which gradually developed from a pure sportswear brand into a fully functioning fashion house that carried practically every possible line, from furs through to perfume.

Perry Ellis oversaw the movement into menswear that his company took in the early 1980s, but as the company achieved its greatest successes, with a number of Coty awards, and general appreciation from around the world, its creator fell ill and died tragically young in 1986.

A succession of his own protégées oversaw the continuing success of Perry Ellis clothing after the death of the founder, and the company is now the 5th most popular menswear provider in the USA, and has more than 34 boutiques across the country, as well as special arrangements with a number of the top retailers.

The legacy of Perry Ellis is much greater than many people realize, his label created the idea of fashion in sports, the concept that an item of functional sportswear could be elegant and desirable. In many ways he defined much of today’s mainstream fashion, and most houses will agree that he is one of the greatest influences on the idea of casual wear as high fashion.

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