Bobby Breslau (1942/43 – January 30, 1987) was an American designer of fashion accessories. After starting out in the garment industry alongside Stephen Burrows in the 1960s, a chance commission from fashion designer Halston redirected him toward accessories and furniture, where his unstructured leather handbags were hailed by The New York Times as "the handbag of the 1970's."[1] In the 1980s, he collaborated closely with Pop artist Keith Haring until his death from AIDS-related complications in 1987.
Life and career
editEarly life and career
editBreslau was a New York native.[2] In the late 1960s, he was working as a graphic designer when he met fashion designer Stephen Burrows on Fire Island in New York.[3][4] Breslau worked as a leatherwear designer at Burrows' O Boutique, which opened in Manhattan in 1968.[3] Burrows and Breslau along with Burrows' friend from FIT, William Hill, as the patternmaker and fabric designer Hector Torres, worked out of the basement of the boutique.[3]
Breslau and Burrows shared an apartment in the East Village in the early 1970s.[4] After the O Boutique closed in 1970, Breslau managed Stephen Burrows World, an in-store boutique at the luxury department store Henri Bendel in Manhattan.[5][4] He also became one of Burrows' assistants.[6] Fashion model Pat Cleveland, who was a fitting model for Burrows at Bendel's studio recalled, "Bobby was tiny, animated, and enthusiastic about almost everything Stephen did."[7]
Handbag design and fashion career
editIn the early 1970s, Breslau began making bags when Halston asked him to make a fringed toy and some fringed pillows.[1] Breslau studied the construction of a baseball and emulated the stitching while sewing a fringed leather pillow.[1] Fashion designer Fernando Sanchez mistook the pillow for a handbag so Breslau added a strap and began using that design to create handbags.[1] Breslau also stated, "The whole concept of the bag came from a Japanese puzzle bag Elsa brought back from Japan—one of those bags that just folds and ties and has no seams."[8]
Breslau handmade each handbag in his East Village apartment until 1976. He gave the first to his friend, jewelry designer Elsa Peretti, whom he described as his inspiration,[8] and the second to actress Carol Channing.[8] Through Peretti, he became part of a circle of Halston associates that included Marina Schiano, director of public relations for Rive Gauche and Yves Saint Laurent; artist Joe Eula; photographer Berry Berenson Perkins; and various models and fashion personalities.[8] Breslau produced his bags in a range of colors and sizes, and they were featured in a Halston collection, where they became known as the "Halston bag."[9] Their jaunty, youthful quality complemented Halston's spare designs and drew significant attention from fashion professionals. Following this exposure, Breslau's bags were sold at Halston's Madison Avenue boutique.[10][8]
Breslau later recalled, "Halston and Joe Eula were the teachers. Working with them was like going to the best university in the country."[8] The design proved highly popular among models, designers, and celebrities, leading to widespread knockoffs.[8] According to the Chicago Tribune, the "Halston bag" was chosen by the Smithsonian Institution "as part of a permanent collection of 20 of this century's most influential looks in American fashion."[8] In 1975, to complement his well-known large sac, Breslau introduced a smaller version, which he called "the littlest hobo of them all."[11] The design featured slender straps that could be worn over the shoulder or at the waist.[11]
In 1976, Breslau began designing for Andrew Manufacturing Company, a subsidiary of Andrew Geller, Inc., known for producing high-end women's shoes. He signed a deal for his own fashion label which allowed him to mass produce his designs at a lower cost than his handmade bags.[8] In 1977, Breslau created a new handbag that could be used in three ways. It was a "super-soft leather drawstring pouch with a twist to the top and a softly gathered shoulder strap."[12] It was made in various colors and size options so that it could be "everything from a little evening bag to a jumbo weekender."[12][13]
Breslau's designs appeared in Women's Wear Daily and Vogue.[4] Diana Vreeland, former editor-in-chief of Vogue, wrote Breslau a note that said "you are to leather what Cellini was to gold."[8] In the late 1970s, his pillow-clutches were sold at the luxury department store Neiman Marcus, and his handbags were sold at Cul de Sac, a boutique for accessories in the luxury department store Bloomingdale's.[14][15] In 1979, Breslau licensed two pattern designs to Vogue for his "Big Pouch" and "Little Pouch."[16] His Vogue Patterns provided sewers with directions to make both handbags in three sizes.[4]
Leatherwork and collaboration with Keith Haring
editHe also made leather bean bag chairs while continuing to handcraft pillows.[1] In 1981, Breslau told The New York Times, "I feel that as far as the pillows are concerned, that I'm a sculptor and that my medium is leather."[1] He liked to mix textures and worked with a variety of leathers such as "printed suedes and ostrich skin, cowhide, bronze and silver leathers, alligator as well as back leather, decorated with black patent-leather drops."[1] He used a softer palette for his pillows.[1]
Breslau was a close friend of pop artist Keith Haring, who he met at the Paradise Garage in the early 1980s.[17] Haring respected Breslau's craftsmanship and looked to him for guidance, calling him his "Jewish mother."[2][17] Haring credited Breslau with inspiring him to work with leather hides for his exhibition at the Fun Gallery in 1983.[17] Breslau managed Haring's Pop Shop in SoHo, which opened in 1986, and he supervised the merchandising.[17][18] The leather "baby" pillow that Breslau made for Haring was the protype for the "inflatable baby" sold at the shop.[2]
Death
editIn early 1987, Breslau developed a lung problem, and within a week of checking himself into the hospital, he died at the age of 44 from AIDS-related complications on January 30, 1987.[17] He is buried in a Jewish cemetery in Connecticut.[4]
In an interview with journalist David Sheff for Rolling Stone in 1989, Haring, who also died from AIDS-related complications in 1990, recalled:
When Andy passed away, I had just lost a friend of mine who was sort of like a guardian angel for me, Bobby Breslau. He was like my conscience, my Jiminy Cricket. He was working here until he got so sick that he couldn't even come to work. I think he knew that he was really sick, but it wasn't diagnosed as AIDS for a long time. By the time he went to the hospital, he died within a week.[19]
References
edit- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Slesin, Suzanne (July 9, 1981). "Beyond the Fringe: A Designer's World In Leather". The New York Times.
- 1 2 3 Haring, Keith; Thompson, Robert Farris; Hockney, David (1996). Keith Haring Journals. New York: Viking. pp. 114–116. ISBN 978-0-670-84774-7.
- 1 2 3 Givhan, Robin (2015-03-17). The Battle of Versailles: The Night American Fashion Stumbled Into the Spotlight and Made History. Macmillan. p. 111. ISBN 978-1-250-05290-2.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Helms, Laura McLaws (2022-02-01). "The Cellini of Leather". Sighs & Whispers. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
- ↑ Morris, Bernadine (August 12, 1970). "The Look of Fashions for the Seventies In Colors That Can Dazzle". The New York Times.
- ↑ Sheppard, Eugenia (1970-12-27). "Burrows Mad for Color". Corpus Christi Caller-Times. p. 40. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
- ↑ Cleveland, Pat; Glennon, Lorraine (2017). Walking with the Muses: A Memoir. Simon and Schuster. p. 156. ISBN 978-1-5011-0823-5.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Buck, Genevieve (1976-05-17). "Designer Bobby Breslau has been involved with fashion for more than a half-dozen years now". Chicago Tribune. pp. Section 4 - 5. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
- ↑ Ondovcsik, Maryann (1975-06-30). "The Halston Bag — All Sewn Up". Chicago Tribune. pp. Feminique 4. Retrieved 2024-03-04.
- ↑ "Outsize Handbag". The Buffalo News. 1975-01-28. p. 37. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
- 1 2 Nemy, Enid (1975-09-21). "Bags Are Small, Smaller, Smallest". The Fresno Bee. pp. B6. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
- 1 2 "Accessories Alter Wardrobe". The Jersey Journal. 1977-03-24. pp. BS. Retrieved 2024-03-04.
- ↑ "Bobby Breslau, Unconstructed, Contemporary (Balliets Advertisement)". The Sunday Oklahoman. 1977-04-24. p. 7. Retrieved 2024-03-04.
- ↑ "Plump, pillowy, cushiony ... (Advertisement)". Chicago Tribune. 1977-02-23. p. 3. Retrieved 2024-03-04.
- ↑ "Bloomingdale's Fashion Apparel (Advertisement)". The Boston Globe. 1978-09-06. p. 12. Retrieved 2024-03-04.
- ↑ Salyers, Donna (1979-08-02). "Sew Leather Bogs With Vogue's Help". The Cincinnati Enquirer. pp. F-5. Retrieved 2024-03-04.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Gruen, John (1991). Keith Haring: The Authorized Biography. New York: Prentice Hall Press. pp. 89–90, 148, 169. ISBN 978-0-13-516113-5.
- ↑ Slesin, Suzanne (April 18, 1986). "An Artist Turns Retailer". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
- ↑ Sheff, David (1989-08-10). "Keith Haring: Just Say Know". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2024-03-03.