Geoffrey Beene (August 30, 1924 – September 28, 2004) was an American fashion designer.
Beene was born in Haynesville, Louisiana. He studied medicine at Tulane University, but dropped out in 1946, after three years. He moved to New York in 1947 to attend the Traphagen School of Fashion. He then worked at a number of fashion houses, both in Paris and New York, including Harmay and Teal Traina. & Rockohype
In 1963 he started his own company, Geoffrey Beene, Inc., with a showroom located on Seventh Avenue in Manhattan. His clients included such notables as Lady Bird Johnson, Pat Nixon, Nancy Reagan, Faye Dunaway and Glenn Close.
He was known as both an innovator and a teacher. Several of his former apprentices, Kay Unger, Alber Elbaz and Doo Ri Chung are now successful fashion designers, thanks to his early guidance in their respective careers.
Beene died on September 28, 2004, due to complications from cancer. His career in fashion design spanned over 40 years.
In honor of Beene’s fashion legacy, the CFDA] (Council of Fashion Designers of America) created the annual Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement award, which was presented in 2009 to the influential designer, Anna Sui.
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