Patrick Kelly (September 24, 1954 – January 1, 1990) was a native of Vicksburg, Mississippi. As a fashion designer, he was based out of New York City/Paris. He was an (African American) Women's Wear Designer who at the age of 35 died on New Year's Day 1990 due to complications of AIDS at the age of 35.

Background

Patrick Kelly is considered to be one of the most unique fashion designers in the U.S. as well as in the fashion capital, Paris. He brought a style never before seen, a style with an amazing mix of his Southern background and the new age styles of Paris.

Kelly was born in 1954 in Vicksburg. He spent all of his childhood in Vicksburg being raised by his mother, a home economics teacher and his father, a fishmonger, insurance agent, and cabdriver. Studying art history, Kelly went to Jackson State University but he eventually dropped out. After working in Atlanta, Georgia with a tailor, he studied at Parsons School of Design in New York City to start his fashion career.

Kelly did not spend much of his adult life in Mississippi, but it has been with him all throughout his life. Mississippi has been a major inspiration to his designing. Mississippian's clothing has always been considered simple and very Southern. No one ever considered them to be fashionable, even Mississippians themselves. Kelly, however, changed everyone’s way of thinking. He used the clothing styles of Mississippi to make some of the most brilliant fashion designs ever seen.

As A Fashion Designer

Kelly followed his friend's advice, moved to New York, and enrolled in the prestigious Parsons School of Design. He struggled financially, however. He was not able to find a steady job and he supported himself with sporadic work, including a part-time job working at Baskin Robbins. He also earned money by selling his own dresses to models. Then his friend Pat Cleveland suggested that he move again, this time to Paris. Kelly laughed at the idea because he knew he could not afford the trip. However, when a one-way ticket to Paris was mailed to Kelly anonymously in 1979, he seized the opportunity and moved to the fashion capital of the world. Looking back on this important move, Kelly told Time magazine in 1986, "I can't say I wouldn't have made it in New York because I didn't stay to find out."

Kelly had much better luck in Paris than he did in New York. He was quickly hired as a costume designer for a nightclub called Le Palace. He continued to sell his own creations on the street and even sold homemade fried chicken dinners to make ends meet. He shared a tiny apartment with a model and made dresses with one Singer sewing machine. His hard work and perseverance paid off for him. People began to recognize Kelly's designs and soon there they were in demand. In 1984 an exclusive Paris boutique called Victoire hired Kelly and gave him a workshop and a showroom. Only a year later Kelly went into business for himself. He and his friend, photographer Bjorn Amelan, joined together to create Patrick Kelly Paris. Soon they were making outfits for Benetton and an upscale Right Bank boutique.

Kelly quickly established his reputation as a designer and his business blossomed. In 1987 he was interviewed by Gloria Steinem for NBC's Today Show. Steinem then introduced Kelly to Linda Wachner, the chief executive officer of Warnaco, an apparel manufacturer. Kelly signed a five million dollar contract to create a line of clothing for Warnaco, which gave him international recognition. Soon afterwards he also signed two licensing deals with Vogue Patterns and Streamline Industries for his famous big buttons. After making these deals Kelly's business revenue increased from less than one million dollars a year to more than seven million dollars a year.

Kelly's popularity stemmed from his fun, colorful, and exotic style. As the Washington Post described him in 1988, "Patrick Kelly has a witty way with fashion." Kelly's earliest influence was his grandmother. Since she had limited resources, she would replace lost buttons on his clothing with whatever she could find and she would often add her own touch to spruce up the clothing a bit. Large, colorful buttons later became a trademark of Kelly's designs, but his creativity did not stop there. He decorated dresses with colorful bows, embroidered lips and hearts, and even billiard balls. In 1986 Time magazine described his clothes as "fitted, funny, and a little goofy."

Price was an important factor for Kelly's designs and he stressed the importance of differentiating between cheap and affordable. Contemporary Fashion described Kelly's designs as "unpretentious yet sexy, affordable while glamorous." He strove for the latter in order to distinguish himself from other Parisian designers whose clothes came with a hefty price tag. In a 1986 Time magazine article Kelly declared, "I'm the hero of people who just don't want to spend a lot of money on clothes."

Kelly's designs also carried a Southern flavor. He was proud of his heritage and his upbringing as an African American child in Mississippi was reflected in his work. For example, he was known for his watermelon brooches, dresses decorated with gardenias, and polka-dotted bandannas. He also made Billie Holliday and Michael Jackson earrings and used Josephine Baker memorabilia to decorate his showroom. Kelly's use of African American culture in his art even generated some controversy. He created lapel pins featuring black babydoll faces that some thought were offensive to African Americans. Kelly defended the image as a part of Black history. In fact he had a collection of over 6,000 Black dolls from various eras of American history that he hoped to house in a museum. Nonetheless, the pins were more popular in Europe than America because some Americans were afraid the image would be misinterpreted. In an interview with Essence magazine, Kelly noted his surprise regarding the controversy. He said, "Recently somebody Black told me they were harassed about wearing the Black baby-doll pin. And I thought, you can wear a machine gun or a camouflage war outfit and people think it's so chic, but you put a little Back baby pin on and people attack you." These pins became a trademark for Kelly and he gave them away to everyone he met. It was estimated that he gave away 800-1,000 pins a month.

Kelly's carefree style and southern heritage were apparent in his own image as well. He was most often seen dressed in a pair of oversized denim overalls. He often sported a baseball cap and his favorite means of transportation was a skateboard. He had a fun-loving and extroverted personality. For example, he would start his fashion shows by entering the stage dressed in his overalls and spray-painting a large red heart on the backdrop of the runway. Parisians loved Kelly's persona as much as they loved his designs. Despite his humble beginnings and simple personal style, Kelly was a sharp businessman and a skilled marketer. He understood the importance of publicity in the fashion industry.

Died at the Height of His Success

Kelly's designs never became a household name, but his clientele included many famous people, such as Bette Davis, Grace Jones, Jessye Norman, Isabella Rossellini, and Jane Seymour. In 1988 Kelly was voted in as a member of the Chambre Syndicale, an elite organization of designers based in Paris. Kelly was the first American to join the ranks of famous designers such as Saint Laurent, Lagerfeld, and Lacroix. One privilege of being a member of this elite group was the opportunity to have a show at the Louvre Palace. True to Kelly's fun style, his first show was a spoof on the Mona Lisa.

Unfortunately, Kelly's career ended soon after he became famous. Kelly died on January 1, 1990. While the official cause of death was listed as bone marrow disease, many suspect he died of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) like several other young prominent figures in the fashion industry who had died in the 1980s, including Perry Ellis, Willi Smith, Isaia Rankin, and Angel Estrada. By the early 1990s the fashion industry had suffered huge losses, both personal and financial, due to the epidemic. A 1990 article in Time magazine declared that "The industry's creative energy is being dissipated - and diminished - by AIDS."

Kelly's rather sudden death left a lot of unfinished business. He was negotiating licenses for his designs for furs, sunglasses, and jewelry. He was also looking for a museum to house his large, unique Black doll collection. There was even talk of making an autobiographical movie.

Despite his untimely death, Kelly left his mark on the fashion world. In his obituary The Independent declared, "Kelly belonged to that rare group of designers who knew how to wield the cutting scissors and sew a seam. Both proved invaluable when in 1979 he arrived in Paris with nothing but that unflagging good humour." Kelly has also inspired a new generation of designers, including Sharon "Magic" Jordan and Patrick Robinson. A memorial was held for Patrick Kelly on March 28, 1990 by the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. The windows of the 7th Avenue showrooms were filled with his creations. Patrick Kelly will never be forgotten for he shown a new light on the world of fashion and especially on Mississippi. Kelly proved that if one reaches for the stars there is no telling where one may go.

Tribute

Kelly's designs are on display at the Black Fashion Museum in Washington, D.C. and a special exhibit at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art called "A Century of Fashion, 1900-2000."

In the month of September of 2004, Kelly's work was the subject of an exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

In 2004, the Brooklyn Museum of Art presented a retrospective of his work (April 2004 - September 2004). Patrick Kelly: A Retrospective was organized by guest curator Thelma Golden, Deputy Director for Exhibitions and Programs at The Studio Museum in Harlem.

The exhibition was made possible in part by the Brooklyn Museum's Richard and Barbara Debs Exhibition Fund, Eileen Harris Norton, the Peter Norton Family Foundation, Trish McEvoy, Daffy's Inc., Linda Johnson Rice, Carol Sutton Lewis, and other members of the Leadership Circle

His designs were sold at prestigious retailers such as Henri Bendels, Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdale's in New York City and worn by movie stars and celebrities like Isabella Rossellini, Bette Davis, Cicely Tyson, Grace Jones.

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