Albert Nipon (September 11, 1927 – November 20, 2022) was an American fashion designer and ladies clothing manufacturer.

Early life and education

Nipon was born and raised in

West Philadelphia West Philadelphia, nicknamed West Philly, is a section of the city of Philadelphia. Alhough there are no officially defined boundaries, it is generally considered to reach from the western shore of the Schuylkill River, to City Avenue to the nort ...

, a section of

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

on September 11, 1927. Nipon graduated from West Philadelphia High School. Nipon, a graduate of

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Ba ...

, began his professional life as an accountant for DuPont. Nipon and his wife, Pearl, reportedly met when he threw her fully clothed into a swimming pool. They had three sons, Laurence, Leon, and Andrew, and a daughter, Barbara Joy, who is known as "B.J.". They lived in a condominium at the Residences at the Ritz-Carlton in Center City Philadelphia. The Nipons started their foray into fashion in 1954 as designers of

maternity clothes Maternity clothing is worn by women as an adaptation to changes in body size during pregnancy. The evolution of maternity clothing began during the Middle Ages, and became fashionable as women became more selective about style and comfort in the t ...

. Albert ran the business, while Pearl designed the clothing. They opened a small dress shop, which grew into a chain of stores called Ma Mere.

Career

The Nipons turned their maternity clothes company into an internationally known producer of ultra-feminine women's clothing in 1972. The birth rate was declining, and they decided to focus on creating chic dress. They sold Ma Mere to Dekon Corporation. Albert Nipon gave all the credit for the line that bears his name to Pearl and her design aesthetic. She, however, says she merely edits the lines. "Pearl is a chic woman," he told The

News and Courier ''The Post and Courier'' is the main daily newspaper in Charleston, South Carolina. It traces its ancestry to three newspapers, the ''Charleston Courier'', founded in 1803, the ''Charleston Daily News'', founded 1865, and ''The Evening Post'', f ...

in a 1973 interview. "She has a feel for what young career women would like their clothes to be. Smart, fluid, comfortable, in wonderful fit and the nice detailing that looks like the dress was made to order in Europe." The line's popularity caught the fashion world by surprise and quickly made Nipon's "Albert Nipon" brand of clothing famous. Sales of Albert Nipon dresses reached

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

60 million in 1984, and Nipon counted among his celebrity clients

Rosalynn Carter Eleanor Rosalynn Carter ( ; née Smith; born August 18, 1927) is an American writer and activist who served as First Lady of the United States from 1977 to 1981 as the wife of President Jimmy Carter. For decades, she has been a leading advocate ...

Mary Tyler Moore Mary Tyler Moore (December 29, 1936 – January 25, 2017) was an American actress, producer, and social advocate. She is best known for her roles on ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' (1961–1966) and ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (1970–1977), which ...

Nancy Reagan Nancy Davis Reagan (; born Anne Frances Robbins; July 6, 1921 – March 6, 2016) was an American film actress and First Lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989. She was the second wife of president Ronald Reagan. Reagan was born in N ...

, and Barbara Walters.Staff (November 5, 1984)
"Albert Nipon: Fashion Fraud, a Dress Designer's Tax Woes"
''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

''. Abstract; for full article. Retrieved January 15, 2012. Nipon's fall was as rapid as his rise; in 1984, he was indicted for

tax evasion Tax evasion is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to reduce the taxp ...

and

bribery Bribery is the Offer and acceptance, offering, Gift, giving, Offer and acceptance, receiving, or Solicitation, soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty. With reg ...

in an investigation of the

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory ta ...

office and served time in a

federal penitentiary The Federal Bureau of Prisons classifies prisons into seven categories: * United States penitentiaries * Federal correctional institutions * Private correctional institutions * Federal prison camps * Administrative facilities * Federal correctio ...

. He was housed at

Eglin Air Force Base Eglin Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in the western Florida Panhandle, located about southwest of Valparaiso in Okaloosa County. The host unit at Eglin is the 96th Test Wing (formerly the 96th Air Base Wing). The ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, a minimum security facility. "When you are stripped of everything material and physical and emotional, I don't care what the surroundings are, I don't know how anyone can call that a country club," he said in a ''

Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...

'' interview. "You have a job to do - I sorted clothes or cut grass - but it's just a job, a menial job. The challenge is to keep yourself busy, and I did that. "When the only thing you have is your mind, I understand now the tendency to become more spiritual," he said. "I was fortunate enough to be selected for a seminar at a rabbinical college. I learned a lot about

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...

, history and

the Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

; I don't think I would have been able to do that otherwise." During the 20 months he was incarcerated, his company reportedly lost $15 million in revenues. However, the designer's career did not end with his conviction and

incarceration Imprisonment is the restraint of a person's liberty, for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is "false imprisonment". Imprisonment does not necessari ...

. Sales initially rebounded with Nipon himself stating they could not ship clothing sufficiently fast to fill orders. The company declared

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

in 1988. It was sold in 1988 to the Leslie Fay Company, which allowed the Nipons to continue running the design business. Albert Nipon designs and

fragrance An aroma compound, also known as an odorant, aroma, fragrance or flavoring, is a chemical compound that has a smell or odor. For an individual chemical or class of chemical compounds to impart a smell or fragrance, it must be sufficiently vol ...

s continue to be available in dress shops and fashion boutiques around the world.

Death

Nipon died on November 20, 2022, at the age of 95.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nipon, Albert 1927 births 2022 deaths American fashion businesspeople American fashion designers American people convicted of tax crimes Artists from Philadelphia Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government American businesspeople convicted of crimes Temple University alumni

Early life and education

Career

Death

See also

References