Victor Joris (1929–2013) was 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 ...

and

fashion illustrator Fashion Illustration is the art of communicating fashion ideas in a visual form that originates with illustration, drawing and painting and also known as Fashion sketching. It is mainly used by fashion designers to brainstorm their ideas on pape ...

. He was active between 1945 until the 1970s.

Biography

Born April 25, 1929 in

Shreveport, Louisiana Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population of 393,406 in 2020, is t ...

. He attended C.E. Byrd High School. He went on to study fashion at

Traphagen School of Fashion Traphagen School of Fashion was an art and design school in operation from 1923 to 1991, and was located at 1680 Broadway in New York City. The school was founded and directed by Ethel Traphagen Leigh (1883–1963) with a focus on the foundational ...

in New York City, graduating in 1945 in Costume Design and Sketching. He moved to Paris and studied at School Of Chambre Syndicale De La Couture Parisienne (École de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne) which is part of

Fédération Française de la Couture The Fédération française de la couture, du prêt-à-porter des couturiers et des créateurs de mode ( en, French Federation of Fashion and of Ready-to-Wear Couturiers and Fashion Designers) is the governing body for the French fashion industry ...

. In Paris he was an assistant to fashion designers,

Christian Dior Christian Ernest Dior (; 21 January 1905 – 24 October 1957) was a French fashion designer, best known as the founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, Christian Dior SE, which is now owned by parent company LVMH. His fashion houses a ...

and

Pierre Balmain Pierre Alexandre Claudius Balmain (; 18 May 1914 – 29 June 1982) was a French fashion designer and founder of leading post-war fashion house Balmain (fashion house), Balmain. Known for sophistication and elegance, he described the art of dre ...

. Joris served two years in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

, followed by a move to Hollywood to work for

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

. At Columbia he worked with movie costume designer,

Jean Louis Jean Louis (born Jean Louis Berthault; October 5, 1907 – April 20, 1997) was a French-American costume designer. He won an Academy Award for Best Costume Design, Academy Award for ''The Solid Gold Cadillac'' (1956). Life and career Before co ...

. He eventually moved back to New York City and worked with Cuddlecoat New York and with the

Jones Apparel Group Nine West Holdings (formerly The Jones Group and Jones Apparel Group) is an American designer, marketer and wholesaler of branded clothing, shoes and accessories. In 2019, the company restructured under and is renamed Premier Brands Group Holdin ...

, where he designed the Christian Dior Designer Sportswear Collection and the Jones New York line of women's apparel. Joris pioneered the design of women's apparel including pantsuits, long coats and long sweater jackets. His fashion design work was frequently featured publications such as

Harper’s Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. It was first published in New York City on November 2, 1867, as the weekly ''Harper's Bazar''. ''Harper's Bazaar'' is published by Hearst and considers itself to be the st ...

and

Women’s Wear Daily ''Women's Wear Daily'' (also known as ''WWD'') is a fashion-industry trade journal often referred to as the "Bible of fashion". Horyn, Cathy"Breaking Fashion News With a Provocative Edge" ''The New York Times''. (August 20, 1999). It provides inf ...

. Joris won a Special Award from 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 ...

in 1965 as a young designer and he won the Coty Award "Winnie" in 1969 for his Cuddlecoat New York designs. Some of his clients included

Jacqueline Kennedy Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American socialite, writer, photographer, and book editor who served as first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A po ...

Lady Bird Johnson Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Johnson (''née'' Taylor; December 22, 1912 – July 11, 2007) was First Lady of the United States from 1963 to 1969 as the wife of President Lyndon B. Johnson. She previously served as Second Lady from 1961 to 1963 when ...

Pat Nixon Thelma Catherine "Pat" Nixon (''née'' Ryan; March 16, 1912 – June 22, 1993) was First Lady of the United States from 1969 to 1974 as the wife of President Richard Nixon. She also served as Second Lady of the United States from 1953 to 1961 wh ...

Julie Christie Julie Frances Christie (born 14 April 1940) is a British actress. An icon of the Swinging Sixties, Christie is the recipient of numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. S ...

. In the 1970s, after retiring from fashion, Joris began dog breeding and showing

Shih Tzu The Shih Tzu (, ; literally " Hsi Shih dog") is a toy dog breed originating from Tibet and was bred from the Pekingese and the Lhasa Apso. Shih Tzus are known for their short snouts and large round eyes, as well as their long coat, floppy ea ...

dogs.

Death and legacy

He died March 12, 2013, at the age of 83, in Shreveport, Louisiana and was laid to rest in Northwest Louisiana Veteran's Cemetery in

Keithville Keithville is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Caddo Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies to the south of Shreveport, Louisiana, Shreveport along U.S. Route 171. Although unincorporated, it has a post office, with the ZIP c ...

, Louisiana. Joris' work is in public permanent collections including the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMoA) is an art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at the northwest end of the Benjamin Fr ...

, among others.

References

External links

Victor Joris Obituary
published in

Shreveport Times ''The Times'' is a Gannett daily newspaper based in Shreveport, Louisiana. Its distribution area includes 12 parishes in Northwest Louisiana and three counties in East Texas. Its coverage focuses on issues affecting the Shreveport-Bossier market, ...

on March 24, 2013 on Legacy.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Joris, Victor 1929 births 2013 deaths American fashion designers People from Shreveport, Louisiana Traphagen School of Fashion alumni People from New York City 1970s fashion Fashion illustrators