Gregory Herman is an American fashion designer, brand, and producer. He is best known for his luxury line of handbags and collections of interior products. In addition to his work in design, Herman, from 2011-2012 was signed to a first look deal to develop television and feature film concepts with Shaftesbury Films, and later from 2013-15 with Starz Media , Film Roman. In 2016, Herman signed another first look deal with Lakeshore Films, and partnered up with

Drew Barrymore Drew Blythe Barrymore (born February 22, 1975) is an American actress, director, producer, talk show host and author. A member of the Barrymore family of actors, she is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a ...

of Flower Films and Universal Cable Productions (UCP) to co-develop BLOOMS, a one-hour dramedy series for MTV Productions. Herman is currently represented by the talent agency William Morris Endeavor.

Early life

Born June 19, 1972, Herman was raised by his mother Judy Herman in Los Angeles, California. He is of Hungarian descent and identifies himself both as American and Hungarian. His mother, Judy, operated a small personal agency in Beverly Hills. Her clients included Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor, Ellen Degeneres, Dr. Dre, D.J. Steve Aoki, Steve Jobs, Jennifer Aniston, and many others. For over twenty years, Judy was entrusted in taking care of their personal lives and homes. Unfortunately, Greg's sister, Lori, was diagnosed with stage four Hodgkins lymphoma and thyroid cancer. Lori survived, and in a chance meeting with

Erin Brockovich Erin Brockovich (née Pattee; born June 22, 1960) is an American legal clerk, consumer advocate, and environmental activist who, despite her lack of education in the law, was instrumental in building a case against Pacific Gas & Electric Compan ...

later came to spearhead a lawsuit against the city of Beverly Hills and Venoco. This case and Lori's struggles gained international media attention and was chronicled in Julia Stoops's book Parts per Million. Herman, after graduating from

Beverly Hills High School Beverly Hills High School (usually abbreviated as Beverly or as BHHS) is the only major public high school in Beverly Hills, California. The other public high school in Beverly Hills, Moreno High School, is a small alternative school located on B ...

, went on to study theatre and modern drama at

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

and later earned a degree in Anthropology from The

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

(UCLA).

Career

Upon graduating college, Herman was crashing on friends' sofas, when he started Greg Herman Handbags in 1997. Having traded

medical school A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, M ...

for the fashion industry, Herman was determined to alter the way handbags were designed and sold. His first launch collection was a modernistic look incorporating suede and tapestry fabric. He left Los Angeles and headed to New York to pursue a career in fashion, specifically handbag design. The brand formally debuted that same year with the aid of then friend and muse Rachel Rosenzweig aka

Rachel Zoe Rachel Zoe Rosenzweig (born September 1, 1971) is an American fashion designer, businesswoman and author who rose to prominence as a celebrity wardrobe stylist. She has been credited with the creation of "the boho-meets-rock chic look that came ...

, the

Steven Alan Steven Alan (born ''Steven Alan Grossman'') is an American fashion designer from New York City. His eponymous brand has stores in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco and is sold online. History Opening his first New York City retail store and ...

Showroom, and

Jane Pratt Jane Pratt (born November 11, 1962) is the founding editor of '' Sassy'', ''Jane and'' xoJane. She is the host of the talk show ''Jane Radio'' on Sirius XM Radio. Early life Jane Pratt was born in San Francisco, California, to Sheila Marks Blake ...

, founder of

Jane Magazine ''Jane'' was an American magazine created to appeal to the women who grew up reading '' Sassy'' magazine; Jane Pratt was the founding editor of each. Its original target audience (pitched to advertisers) was aged 18–34, and was designed to appe ...

, all of who helped shepherd the collections throughout the New York fashion scene—introducing Herman to both buyers and editors at W Magazine, Cosmopolitan, and ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

''. Herman went on to become a global brand creating exclusive handbag collections for

Barneys New York Barneys New York Inc. is an American luxury brand founded in New York City in 1923. It has introduced major designers including Armani, Azzedine Alaïa, Comme des Garçons, Christian Louboutin, and Ermenegildo Zegna to the US market. Barneys N ...

, House of Fraser, Scoop,

Henri Bendel Henri Bendel, Inc. (pronounced BEN-del), established in 1895, was a women's department store based in New York City which in its later history sold women's handbags, jewelry, luxury fashion accessories, home fragrances and gifts. Its New York Ci ...

Harvey Nichols Harvey Nichols is a British luxury department store chain founded in 1831, at its flagship store in Knightsbridge, London. It sells designer fashion collections for men and women, fashion accessories, beauty products, fine wines and luxury f ...

, and

Neiman Marcus Neiman Marcus Group, Inc. is an American integrated luxury retailer headquartered in Dallas, Texas, which owns Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, Horchow, and Last Call. Since September 2021, NMG has been owned by a group of investment compani ...

. In 2000, Herman developed one of the first online handbag collections with Girlshop.com, the first dedicated online fashion portal. In 1998, Herman befriended

Brittany Murphy Brittany Anne Murphy-Monjack (; November 10, 1977 – December 20, 2009) was an American actress and singer. Born in Atlanta, Murphy moved to Los Angeles as a teenager and pursued a career in acting. Her breakthrough role was as Tai Fras ...

Alyssa Milano Alyssa Jayne Milano (born December 19, 1972) is an American actress. She has played Samantha Micelli in '' Who's the Boss?'', Jennifer Mancini in ''Melrose Place'', Phoebe Halliwell in ''Charmed'', Billie Cunningham in ''My Name Is Earl'', Savan ...

Christina Applegate Christina Applegate (born November 25, 1971) is an American actress. As a child actress, she gained recognition for starring as Kelly Bundy in the Fox sitcom '' Married... with Children'' (1987–1997). Applegate established a successful film an ...

, and

Sharon Stone Sharon Vonne Stone (born March 10, 1958) is an American actress. Known for primarily playing femme fatales and women of mystery on film and television, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1990s. She is the recipient of various ...

. In 2017, Greg met artist and photographer Orit Harpaz and together they created the Weirdoh Birds brand- a collection made up of chic and groovy wallcoverings, homegoods, and other wares. Today, the Greg Herman brand, House of Herman, and Bands of Misfits are operated by MGC collective, a collaborative design group focused on curating collections and setting up strategic creative partnerships in the fields of accessories, home design products, hospitality, jewelry, apparel, and fine art.

Personal life

Herman resides and maintains his base of operations both in Los Angeles and New York.

References

External links

Entrepreneur Magazine

Los Angeles Times 1999

Hollywood Reporter: Erin Brockovich , Beverly Hills

People Magazine

* ttps://www.houseofherman.com/ Official Greg Herman Website
Official Bands of Misfits Website

Weirdoh Birds: Wallcovering collaboration

CBS News: Brokovich

Fashion: Los Angeles Magazine

Variety: MTV Blooms
{{DEFAULTSORT:Herman, Gregory 1972 births Living people American fashion designers American interior designers American jewelry designers Artists from Los Angeles