Narciso Jesus Rodriguez III (; born January 27, 1961) is an American

fashion designer Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion in ...

Early life and education

Rodriguez was born in Newark, New Jersey, the eldest child and only son of Cuban parents. His parents, Narciso Rodríguez Sanchez II, a longshoreman, and Rawedia María Rodríguez. His paternal grandfather was born on the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

. He graduated St. Cecilias High School in 1979, a small Catholic school in Kearny, New Jersey. He studied at the New School in New York City, at their art and design college, Parsons The New School for Design. His parents were against Narciso entering fashion.

Career

Rodriguez performed freelance design work in New York before becoming Women’s Design Director for the Anne Klein label, then later working for

Calvin Klein Calvin Richard Klein (born November 19, 1942) is an American fashion designer who launched the company that would later become Calvin Klein Inc., in 1968. In addition to clothing, he also has given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, and ...

. His first major attention came in 1996 when he designed the wedding dress of fellow Calvin Klein employee Carolyn Bessette for her wedding to John F. Kennedy Jr. In 1997 he launched his own label. When ''George'' magazine collapsed after John F. Kennedy Jr.'s death, Rodriguez hired

Stephanie Mikesell Stephanie Mack is an American who worked in fashion. Biography Mack attended Nightingale-Bamford, a small, expensive private school, from kindergarten through high school. She earned a college degree at Franklin & Marshall in Pennsylvania. ...

, who had been an editorial assistant there, as his assistant. He designed her wedding gown when she married Mark Madoff, eldest son of

Bernie Madoff Bernard Lawrence Madoff ( ; April 29, 1938April 14, 2021) was an American fraudster and financier who was the admitted mastermind of the largest Ponzi scheme in history, worth about $64.8 billion. He was at one time chairman of the NASDA ...

. In 2003, he launched his first fragrance,

Narciso Rodriguez for Her Narciso Rodriguez for Her is an eau de toilette-strength perfume launched in September 2003 by fashion designer Narciso Rodriguez and created by perfumers Christine Nagel and Francis Kurkdjian. It has won Fragrance Foundation awards in France ...

, inspired by a bottle of Egyptian musk oil he had been given in high school. By 2006, Rodriguez, who had ended his partnership with his label's manufacturer, Aeffe, was over US$1 million in debt to his suppliers, and needed fabric donations for his spring collection. On May 5, 2007, Liz Claiborne acquired a 50% interest in the Narciso Rodriguez label. However, in 2008, Narciso Rodriguez bought the 50% interest back from Liz Claiborne for 12 million dollars. On November 4, 2008,

Michelle Obama Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. She was the first African-American woman to serve in this position. She is married t ...

wore a dress from Narciso Rodriguez's spring 2009 collection when she joined her husband, Barack Obama, appearing for the first time as president-elect of the United States, on the stage at Grant Park in Chicago; it received substantial attention in the press. The dress, originally unveiled at New York City's Fashion Week in September 2008, came from Rodriguez's "stress-relief" design collection. Rodriguez was a strong supporter in the fashion world of Barack Obama's campaign; in August 2008, he blamed a slowdown in his business on "this Bush mess". Michelle Obama wore Narciso Rodriguez for her final State of the Union appearance as First Lady. The same year, Rodriguez' dresses were featured in a catwalk scene in the feature film '' The Women'', as being the designs of the character Mary Haines (played by Meg Ryan).

References

External links

NarcisoRodriguez.com
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez, Narciso 1961 births Living people People from Newark, New Jersey High fashion brands American fashion designers Cuban people of Canarian descent American people of Cuban descent Parsons School of Design alumni