Burrows, Stephen Gerald
Stephen Gerald Burrows is an Afro American fashion designer, born in 1943 and base in New York.
The beginning
Stephen Gerald Burrows was born on 15th September 1943 in Newark, in New Jersey. When he was a child, he used to her his grandmother swing, so he managed to develop a textile creativity. So, after graduating at Philadelphia Museum College of Art, he moved to New York, where he attended the Fashion Institute of Technology, where he graduated in 1966.
His career began at Weber Originals blouse manufacturing; then, in 1968, he started selling his creations in a store he opened in New York together with his friend Rob Rubenstein. A year later he obtained a job at prestigious Henri Bendel store, on the Fifth Avenue, which has always been a hotbed for emerging fashion designers: there he could fully express his creativity and represent the quintessence of ’70s fashion. Since 1970 the prestigious new yorker store dedicated a space, called Stephen Burrows World, to the fashion designer.
In 1973 he was included in the 5 American fashion designers chosen to take part in the iconic Versailles fashion shows, known as The battle of Versailles, where French and American style fought: the first one was represented by Pierre Cardin, Christian Dior, Hubert de Givenchy, Yves Saint Laurent and Emanuel Ungaro, while the second one by Burrows, Halston, Oscar de la Renta, Bill Blass and Anne Klein.
He wanted to confront with less exclusive clothes, so in 1974 he left Henri Bendel to work elsewhere, but he went back in 1977: in the previous 3 years, indeed, he worked for people who were attentive to costs and who only bought artificial and cheap materials, so he felt he couldn’t fully express his creativity.
During the ’80s he disappeared from fashion system and the whole press of the sector required him. In 1993, his coming back to Henri Bendel was welcomed with rejoicing. In 2002 his space in the new yorker store was reopened.
Awards
Burrows was one of the first Afro American fashion designer to have success – together with Ann Lowe – and his talent was recognized. His pieces, indeed, were worn by many celebrities, among which Cher, Diana Ross, Liza Minnelli, Oprah Winfrey, Taylor Swift, Naomi Watts, Barbra Streisand and Michelle Obama, and he won many awards.
The Coty American Fashion Critics, indeed, gave him the Winnie Award in 1973 and in 1977 and the Special Award in 1974; then, in 1975, he obtained the Council of American Fashion Critics Award and the Knitted Textile Association Crystal Ball Award. In 2002 he was awarded with a star on the Seventh Avenue Fashion Walk of Fame and, in May 2006, eventually, the Council of Fashion Designers of America honored him with the Board of Directors Special Tribute.
Burrows style
His pieces were characterized by loud colors: Burrows was indeed sure that clothes should have a certain humor and that people should be happy, wearing them. He took inspiration by American culture and modern art.
That’s all reflected in his clothes, whose velvets and jerseys are enriched by asymmetric and zigzag cuts, in order to make the wearer stand out in the crowd. But his attention was also addressed to comfort, as you can see from skirts, which were characterized by soft fabrics and elastic waistline and which were matched to tops closed by big buttons.
You may also like:
Contacts
550 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10013
To read the item in Italian click here.（阅读意大利文版的项目，请点击这里。）
Vexed Generation
