David Sassoon (born 1932) is a high end British fashion designer, who owns the Bellville Sassoon salon in Knightsbridge, London, founded by Belinda Bellville in 1953.
Born to Iraqi Jewish parents, Gourgi and Victoria Sassoon in north London, Sassoon initially intended becoming an actor but turned to fashion when his father disapproved. [1] He attended Avigdor High School and Lauderdale Road Synagogue in West London. [1] He was invited by Belinda Bellville to join her salon in 1958 and in 1970 it became the Bellville Sassoon. [1] [2] [3] In 2023, it was announced that some of Sassoon's designs would be featured in an exhibition on the role of Jewish designers in London's fashion scene. [4]
He counts numerous socialites and the royal family as amongst his clientele and was the most prolific of Princess Diana's early designers. [5] [6] Sassoon has said of Diana, "When she got engaged, her mother brought her in to us and asked us to make the going-away outfit." [7] Aside from Diana, Sassoon has designed clothes for Princess Margaret, Princess Michael of Kent, the Duchess of York, the Duchess of Gloucester, Jackie Kennedy, Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor and Jerry Hall. His designs have appeared on the covers of Vogue and Harper's Bazaar . [1] Sassoon has claimed that he is "probably the only designer around today who has dressed every female member of the royal family except the Queen." [8]
Diana, Princess of Wales was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her activism and glamour, which made her an international icon, earned her enduring popularity.
Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton was a British fashion, portrait and war photographer, diarist, painter, and interior designer, as well as costume designer and set designer for films and the theatre. His work earned him three Academy Awards and four Tony Awards.
Sir Norman Bishop Hartnell was a leading British fashion designer, best known for his work for the ladies of the royal family. Hartnell gained the Royal Warrant as Dressmaker to Queen Elizabeth in 1940, and Royal Warrant as Dressmaker to Queen Elizabeth II in 1957. Princess Beatrice also wore a dress designed for Queen Elizabeth II by Hartnell for her wedding in 2020.
Vidal Sassoon was a British hairstylist and businessman. He was noted for repopularising a simple, close-cut geometric hairstyle called the five-point cut, worn by famous fashion designers including Mary Quant and film stars such as Mia Farrow, Goldie Hawn, Cameron Diaz, Nastassja Kinski and Helen Mirren.
Diane von Fürstenberg is a Belgian fashion designer best known for her wrap dress. She initially rose to prominence in 1969 when she married into the German princely House of Fürstenberg, as the wife of Prince Egon von Fürstenberg. Following their separation in 1972 and divorce in 1983, she has continued to use his family name.
Kenneth Jay Lane was an American costume jewelry designer.
Elizabeth Florence Emanuel is a British fashion designer who is best known for designing, with her former husband David Emanuel, the wedding dress worn by Lady Diana Spencer on her wedding to Prince Charles in 1981. Since then Elizabeth has developed her own label and worked in costume design for airlines, cinema, pop video and television productions, as well as providing a couture service to some of the world's most famous women.
Richard Cawley is an English food writer, chef and fashion designer.
Catherine Walker was a French-born fashion designer based in London. Born Catherine Marguerite Marie-Thérèse Baheux in Calais, France, Walker is known for having supplied over a thousand garments for Diana, Princess of Wales.
John Cavanagh was an Irish couturier of the 1950s and 1960s. A member of the Incorporated Society of London Fashion Designers (IncSoc), his style has been described as reflecting Parisian chic. He designed the wedding dresses for the Duchess of Kent in 1961 and for Princess Alexandra in 1963.
Stephen Jones OBE is a British milliner based in London, who is considered one of the most radical and important milliners of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. He is also one of the most prolific, having created hats for the catwalk shows of many leading couturiers and fashion designers, such as John Galliano at Dior and Vivienne Westwood. His work is known for its inventiveness and high level of technical expertise. Jones co-curated the 2009 exhibition Hats: An Anthology for the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Jenny Margaret Kee, is an Australian fashion designer.
Bellville Sassoon is a high end British fashion salon originally based on Pavilion Road, Knightsbridge, London, now located at 18 Culford Gardens in Chelsea.
Gina Fratini was a Japanese-born British fashion designer.
Victor Edelstein is a British former couturier best known for his fashion designs for Diana, Princess of Wales, in the 1980s. In 1989 he was described as the English equivalent to Oscar de la Renta, and "the master of the English thoroughbred look". He now works as a painter.
John Richardson Boyd MBE was a Scottish milliner based in London. Designing hats for over seventy-five years, Boyd was one of London's most respected milliners and is known for his creations for Diana, Princess of Wales and Anne, Princess Royal. Boyd was a milliner to three generations of Diana's family – Diana, her mother Frances Shand Kydd and grandmother Ruth Roche, Baroness Fermoy – and had remained at the centre of his craft adding another generation of royals with Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge. Boyd had one of the longest millinery careers in the world whilst continuing to practise his art before his death in 2018. Boyd’s label continues with his protégé and senior milliner Sarah Marshall.
For the French general and diplomat, see Claude Carra Saint-Cyr
Jacques Azagury is a Moroccan-born fashion designer.
The fashion of Diana, Princess of Wales, had a substantial impact on the clothing industry; her style in the 1980s and 1990s led her to be considered a fashion icon.
Belinda Bellville was a British fashion designer, and the co-founder in 1953 of Bellville Sassoon.
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