Lapidus

Ted. Brand of Edmond Lapidus (1929). French tailor, born in Paris (his father was a tailor who emigrated from Russia to France), he discovered avant-garde technologies in Japan that allowed him to make possible his requirement for high quality with industrial production. During the 1950s, he returned to Paris and, after a short apprenticeship at Dior, he opened his own haute couture atelier. Paradoxically, immediate success in haute couture allowed him to present himself as one of the anticipators of the movement that, in the 1960s and 1970s, was to revolutionize fashion. His prêt-à-porter line was unisex, and featured the military look and safari style. The safari jacket, one of his biggest successes, sold millions. He also introduced jeans into haute couture, and he referred to himself as a street tailor. His popularity and the ownership of several licenses guaranteed a good performance in the prêt-à-porter line until the mid 1980s. From 1986 to 1990, the brand looked for a new stimulus, and ownership of the company changed frequently before ending up in the hands of a branch office of the Crédit Lyonnais in 1993. Ted’s son, Olivier, tried hard to follow in his father’s footsteps, but his father prevented him from using the family name for commercial purposes. Olivier decided to work in Japan under the pseudonym Olivier Montagut. In 1984 he patented a solar energy garment but he soon abandoned his brand, and, in 1991, after reconciling with his father, he took over leadership of Ted Lapidus’ haute couture. Olivier is much more revolutionary than his father, to the point that his style is known in the fashion sector as the “chaos theory.” He goes to extremes and in 1997 proposed hologram-effect fabrics and fibers obtained from plants and fruits, mixed with powder from rubies and emeralds.