Fashion Innovator: Patrick Kelly

Photo Cred: theredlist.com[/caption]

 

“I want my clothes to make you smile.”----Patrick Kelly

Grace Jones Photo cred: gillesdecamps.com

I came across the name Patrick Kelly when I seen a popular portrait of model Grace Jones. After viewing her sometimes unbearable gorgeousness, I noticed Patrick Kelly was the designer responsible for her outfit. Of course through the wonders of Google I looked up Patrick Kelly’s name and found his fabulousness work. One day when I was driving to work, I saw a billboard for the fashion exhibit at the Philadelphia Art Museum featuring Patrick Kelly. I almost crashed from excitement lol, no seriously I really did. I got a chance to visit this exhibit and I am so grateful I did.

Photo cred: theredlist.com

 Patrick Kelly is an African-American fashion designer whose career took off fast in the 1980s. He was born and raised in Mississippi and moved to Paris in late 1979. Kelly studied Art at Jackson State University and then attended Parsons Design NYC. While living in Atlanta at age 18, Kelly sold reworked, recycled clothes and served as an unpaid window-dresser at Yves Saint Laurent. YSL chairman Pierre Bergé personally sponsored Kelly in 1988 to form the Paris-based women’s wear fashion house Patrick Kelly Paris. Kelly achieved his greatest commercial success in the late 1980s and in 1988 Kelly became both the first American and the first person of color to be admitted as a member of the Chambre syndicale du prêt-à-porter des couturiers et des créateurs de mode (Brooklyn Museum). Kelly died at age 35 on New Year's Day. Originally Kelly's causes of death were reported to be bone marrow disease and a brain tumor, but the actual cause of death is now acknowledged to be complications of AIDS (Givhan, Robin (2004-05-31).

Photo cred: theredlist.com

His early signature creations were featured in many popular renowned magazines such as Elle, Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Essence and Benneton, just to name a few. The who’s who of the 80s and 90s were in Patrick Kelly’s clothing including models like Grace Jones, Iman and Naomi Campbell. Kelly’s aesthetic developed out of his African-American and southern roots, his knowledge of fashion and art history, and from the club and gay cultural scenes in New York and Paris (Philadelphia Museum of Art).


Photo cred: theredlist.com

The Philadelphia Art Museum exhibit made me appreciate Patrick Kelly the designer; it brought him to life. I felt like I personally knew him as a designer and as a person when I left the museum. I have never witnessed anything like this fashion exhibit before and just knowing the barriers he broke and witnessing his fashion pieces in person was an honor. It was never-ending excitement, piece after piece of all his collections from the 80s to the 90s were showcased along with videos of his runways shows playing on the walls of the museum. I didn’t expect his pieces that he was famous for to be there but they were and I wanted to touch them and try them on one by one. They were all beautifully crafted and sculpted for women, the details and craft behind them were magnificent. Patrick Kelly did an awesome job incorporating his lively personality in his garments, his runway shows and even his runway invitations. This exhibit was definitely something to witness and see if you love art and fashion because throughout this exhibit I LIVED! I left feeling honored, appreciative and inspired. I truly wish I was a part of the 80s and 90s fashion scene just to witness the fashion of not only Patrick Kelly but other designers as well; so much fun and effort was a part of the Fashion scene and I would have loved to wear and been a part of it some way, somehow.


Patrick Kelly, Iman, Grace Jones and Naomi Campbell- click here


Vintage cashmere body suit by Patrick Kelly Photo cred: theredlist.com