Bill Blass
About
the designers
William (Bill) Ralph Blass was born in 1922 in Fort Wayne, USA. His father ran the local hardware store, but died when Bill was only 5 years old. He started sketching when very young, copying the dresses he saw in the movies and in magazines. After completing high school, he started sending his designs to companies in New York, and sold several.
In 1939, when he was 17, he left the Midwest and went to New York, and started studying fashion design at Parsons School of Design. On graduation he worked as a sketcher for David Crystal, a Sportswear manufacturer, before being drafted for military service.
The Look
Bill Blass was best known as a designer of American daywear. He took traditional garments such as jackets and softened the lines, creating a more fluid, less severe design. His suits were tailored by curves to imitate the female body. Even his most structured garments were softened by gentle bends at the hem, lapels or fastenings. Blass was inventive in his mixing of textures and patterns. He used tweeds and shirting’s, often with a splash of colour, or a bright frill of lace or fur trim. His use of ruffles has been particularly effective.
Who Wears It
Sandra Bullock, Paris Hilton, Janet Jackson, Diane Sawyer, Diane Lane, Jane Seymour, Sandra Oh, Jessica Biel, First Lady Laura Bush