Robert Lee Morris (born 1947) is an American jewelry designer and sculptor, who attributes much of his inspiration to organic forms he admires in nature and to designing for an imaginary futuristic society. His designs have been made in gold, silver and

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

and he is known for his 24 carat matte gold plating and rich deep red copper and green patina. He has collaborated or designed collections for fashion designers Geoffrey Beene,

Kansai Yamamoto was a Japanese fashion designer, most influential during the 1970s and 1980s. Early life and career Kansai was born in 1944 in Yokohama, Japan. He focused on civil engineering in high school, and majored in English at the Nippon University un ...

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 ...

, Anne Klein,

Karl Lagerfeld Karl Otto Lagerfeld (; 10 September 1933 – 19 February 2019) was a German fashion designer, creative director, artist and photographer. He was known as the creative director of the French fashion house Chanel, a position held from 1983 ...

Michael Kors Michael David Kors (born Karl Anderson Jr. August 9, 1959) is an American fashion designer. He is the chief creative officer of his brand, Michael Kors, which sells men's and women's ready-to-wear, accessories, watches, jewelry, footwear, and f ...

and

Donna Karan Donna Karan (, born Donna Ivy Faske), also known as "DK", is an American fashion designer and the creator of the Donna Karan New York and DKNY clothing labels. Early life Karan was born Donna Ivy Faske to mother Helen "Queenie" Faske (née Rabin ...

. Morris was awarded the

Coty Award The Coty American Fashion Critics' Awards (awarded 1943–1984) were created in 1942 by the cosmetics and perfume company Coty, Inc. to promote and celebrate American fashion, and encourage design during the Second World War. In 1985, the Coty Awa ...

(1981) and the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award by the CFDA Awards (2007).

Early life and education

He was born in 1947 in

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

, Germany, where his parents were stationed after the end of World War II. His father was in the

US Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

. They were also stationed in Japan when he was nine for four years and later in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He graduated from

Beloit College Beloit College is a private liberal arts college in Beloit, Wisconsin. Founded in 1846, when Wisconsin was still a territory, it is the state's oldest continuously operated college. It is a member of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest and has ...

with honors in 1969. In early adulthood he eventually settled down in

Bellows Falls Bellows Falls is an incorporated village located in the town of Rockingham in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,747 at the 2020 census. Bellows Falls is home to the Green Mountain Railroad, a heritage railroad; the ...

, Vermont, living on a commune and learning about metal working. Morris was discovered in 1971 by New York gallery owner Joan Sonnabend and first exhibited his work at her

art jewelry Art jewelry is one of the names given to jewelry created by studio craftspeople. As the name suggests, art jewelry emphasizes creative expression and design, and is characterized by the use of a variety of materials, often commonplace or of low e ...

outpost in the

Plaza Hotel The Plaza Hotel (also known as The Plaza) is a luxury hotel and condominium apartment building in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is located on the western side of Grand Army Plaza, after which it is named, just west of Fifth Avenue, a ...

called, ''Sculpture to Wear''.

Career

''Artwear Gallery''

Shortly after the closing of ''Sculpture to Wear'' in 1977, he opened the first edition of ''Artwear Gallery'' at 28

East 74th Street 74th Street is an east–west street carrying pedestrian traffic and eastbound automotive/bicycle traffic in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It runs through the Upper East Side neighborhood (in ZIP code 10021, where it is known as East ...

on the

Upper East Side The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 96th Street to the north, the East River to the east, 59th Street to the south, and Central Park/Fifth Avenue to the wes ...

, near the couture district on

Madison Avenue Madison Avenue is a north-south avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, United States, that carries northbound one-way traffic. It runs from Madison Square (at 23rd Street) to meet the southbound Harlem River Drive at 142nd Stre ...

. ''Artwear Gallery'' relocated to

SoHo Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develop ...

in August 1978 where it would be surrounded by contemporary art galleries. The new location also gained new celebrity clientele, including

Issey Miyake was a Japanese fashion designer. He was known for his technology-driven clothing designs, exhibitions and fragrances, such as '' L'eau d'Issey'', which became his best-known product. Life and career Miyake was born on 22 April 1938 in Hirosh ...

Geoffrey Beene Geoffrey Beene (born Samuel Albert Bozeman Jr.; August 30, 1924 – September 28, 2004) was an American fashion designer. Beene was one of New York's most famous fashion designers, recognized for his artistic and technical skills and for creati ...

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

Bianca Jagger Bianca Jagger (born Blanca Pérez-Mora Macías; 2 May 1945)

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', br ...

, among others. Jewelry designers shown at ''Artwear Gallery'', besides Morris included Ted Muehling and Cara Croninger. Robert Lee Morris own jewelry work in the 1980s was known as, "modern urban warrior pieces" and tapped into

primitivism Primitivism is a mode of aesthetic idealization that either emulates or aspires to recreate a "primitive" experience. It is also defined as a philosophical doctrine that considers "primitive" peoples as nobler than civilized peoples and was an o ...

Other work

A few years later a second, larger location opened nearby, followed by another on Madison Avenue in what is now the Sony building. A location on Königsallee in Düsseldorf, Germany was short-lived. Morris closed Artwear in 1995 and the RLM Robert Lee Morris Gallery opened in September 1995 at 400 West Broadway, focusing exclusively on Morris's own work. His career took off after he appeared on the cover of ''

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'', ...

'' in 1976. His work has appeared in over a dozen issues Vogue magazines. In 1985 he worked with fashion designer Donna Karan for her first collection, they paired Karan's sleek, monochromatic, luxurious fabric clothing designs with his organic, oversized, and sculptural gold jewelry. He has collaborated with many leading fashion designers, including

, Anne Klein, and

. Morris has designed Karan's perfume bottle "Gold" for Estée Lauder. He also designed a special edition lipstick and compact for Elizabeth Arden in 1990. In the 1990s through the 2000s, Morris created a fine jewelry line called ''RLM Collection'' on

QVC QVC (short for "Quality Value Convenience") is an American free-to-air television network, and flagship shopping channel specializing in televised home shopping, owned by Qurate Retail Group. Founded in 1986 by Joseph Segel in West Chester, Penn ...

. He has a presence on

television, selling RLM Studio, designed exclusively for QVC. In 2007, Robert Lee Morris was the first jewelry designer to ever be awarded the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award from the

Council of Fashion Designers of America The Council of Fashion Designers of America, Inc. (CFDA), founded in 1962 by publicist Eleanor Lambert, and headquartered in Manhattan, is a not-for-profit trade association comprising a membership of over 450 American fashion and accessory des ...

(CFDA). He won the

in 1981 for his collection for

. He has received two other CFDA Awards for accessory design, in 1985 and 1994. In 2008, Robert Lee Morris developed a jewelry collection for Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen's clothing line, Elizabeth & James. In 2011, Manhattan-based, Haskell Jewels, LLC announced its acquisition of Robert Lee Morris. Robert Lee Morris launched his Soho line at national department stores in September 2012. His higher end Collection line was launched in September 2012 at fine retailers nationwide. The Collection launched with Morris's first national ad campaign in American fashion magazines, including ''Vogue'', ''W'' Magazine and ''

Elle ''Elle'' (stylized ''ELLE'') is a worldwide women's magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, together with culture, society and lifestyle. The title means "she" or "her" in French. ''Elle'' is considered the w ...

''. In 2017, MAC Cosmetics collaborated with Robert Lee Morris on a limited collection of products, lipstick, powder, blush, and brushes, all in signature sculptural forms. Acquired in November 2017 by

Global Brands Group Global Brands Group Holding Limited () is a bankrupt holding company that has its own brand of apparel and footwear, as well as being a brand management company. It designs, develops, markets and sells products under a diverse array of owned and ...

, the Robert Lee Morris brand is poised to expand into many new categories, home, leathergoods, watches, and other accessory areas.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Robert Lee Beloit College alumni American jewelry designers Living people 1947 births