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

Early life and education

Rodriguez was born in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

n parents. His parents, Narciso Rodríguez Sanchez II, a

longshoreman A stevedore (), also called a longshoreman, a docker or a dockworker, is a waterfront manual laborer who is involved in loading and unloading ships, trucks, trains or airplanes. After the shipping container revolution of the 1960s, the number o ...

, and Rawedia María Rodríguez. His paternal grandfather was born on the Canary Islands. He graduated St. Cecilias High School in 1979, a small Catholic school in

Kearny, New Jersey Kearny ( ) is a town in the western part of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States and a suburb of Newark. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town's population was 40,684,New School The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers. ...

in New York City, at their art and design college,

Parsons The New School for Design Parsons School of Design, known colloquially as Parsons, is a private art and design college located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. Founded in 1896 after a group of progressive artists broke away from established Manhat ...

. 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. His first major attention came in 1996 when he designed the

wedding dress A wedding dress or bridal gown is the dress worn by the bride during a wedding ceremony. The color, style and ceremonial importance of the gown can depend on the religion and culture of the wedding participants. In Western cultures and Anglo ...

of fellow Calvin Klein employee

Carolyn Bessette Carolyn Jeanne Bessette-Kennedy (January 7, 1966July 16, 1999) was a publicist for Calvin Klein. After her marriage to John F. Kennedy Jr., Bessette-Kennedy's relationship with her husband and her fashion sense became the subjects of media scr ...

for her wedding to

John F. Kennedy Jr. John Fitzgerald Kennedy Jr. (November 25, 1960 – July 16, 1999), often referred to as John-John or JFK Jr., was an American lawyer, journalist, and magazine publisher. He was a son of the 35th president of the United States, John F. Kenn ...

In 1997 he launched his own label. When ''George'' magazine collapsed after John F. Kennedy Jr.'s death, Rodriguez hired Stephanie Mikesell, who had been an editorial assistant there, as his assistant. He designed her wedding gown when she married

Mark Madoff Mark David Madoff ( ; March 11, 1964 – December 11, 2010) was an American financier, best known for his role in exposing the multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme committed by his father, Bernie Madoff. Personal life Madoff was born and raised ...

, eldest son of Bernie Madoff. In 2003, he launched his first fragrance, Narciso Rodriguez for Her, 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$ 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 ...

1 million in debt to his suppliers, and needed fabric donations for his spring collection. On May 5, 2007,

Liz Claiborne Anne Elisabeth Jane Claiborne (March 31, 1929 – June 26, 2007) was an American fashion designer and businesswoman. Her success was built upon stylish yet affordable apparel for career women featuring colorfully tailored separates that co ...

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 wore a dress from Narciso Rodriguez's spring 2009 collection when she joined her husband,

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

, 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 Meg Ryan (born Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra; November 19, 1961) is an American actress. She began her acting career in 1981 when she made her acting debut in the drama film ''Rich and Famous''. She later joined the cast of the CBS soap oper ...

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