 
Of Lebanese descent, Joseph Abboud makes clothes for men and women which are an unusual combination of American sportswear and North African colours and textures. - "a little left of Polo, with a European flair." he says. He likes jackets with broad shoulders and no vents. In the 1960s Abboud collected Turkish kilims and these have inspired his natural palette and the stylized symbols that recur in his work. He began his career as a buyer at the elegant men's store Louis, Boston, where he worked part-time while studying English and French literature at the University of Massachusetts. After graduating from college, he stayed at Louis and began to dabble in design - choosing colours, fabrics, and shapes for the store's private-label sweaters, shirts, and suits and in 1981 joined Ralph Lauren later to become associate director of menswear design. He emerged four years later with a similar philosophy to Lauren: that clothing is as much about lifestyle as it is about design. In 1986 Abboud launched his own label and found a niche for his understated clothes with their rich colours and unusually crafted textures.  In 1986 Abboud formed a partnership with Boston manufacturer and launched his own label and found a niche for his understated clothes with their rich colours and unusually crafted textures.
Bergdoff Goodman gave his first collection its own ground-floor boutique.Abboud, in 1988 won the Cutty Sark award for most promising U.S. men's-wear designer. Sources: The Fashion Book, Phaidon; New York Magazine |