Beene, Geoffrey

Geoffrey Beene was one of America's most brilliant fashion designers, beloved for his creative and technical skills and for creating simple, comfortable and dressy women's wear. A native of Louisiana, Beene spent three years in medical school in New Orleans before moving to California. There he worked in the display department of the Los Angeles I. Magnin retail store until 1947, when he moved to New York City. He studied fashion design in New York and Paris and spent the 1950s working in New York's garment industry. In 1963 he started Geoffrey Beene, Inc. "The year after Geoffrey Beene, Inc., was launched, Beene won the first of an unprecedented eight Coty Awards, the industry's Oscars, for his women's fashions. Issey Miyake, who apprenticed with Beene in 1969: "His design is clean and clear and strong, just the way he is in life. He always keeps creativity No. 1 and business No. 2. He never compromises.