Narciso Rodriguez III (born 27 January 1961) is an American
fashion designer.
Rodriguez is the eldest child and only son of
Cuban immigrants Narciso Rodríguez II, a
longshoreman, and Rawedia María Rodríguez. He grew up in
Newark, New Jersey. His parents were against Narciso entering fashion: "They wanted me to be a doctor or a lawyer or a dentist. So when I dared to tell them, the s--- hit the fan. It was crazy. But no matter how many times I heard 'No,' I just kept going. I never thought about 'no'. 'No' wasn’t an option."
He received his formal education at the prestigious
New School in New York, studying at their art and design college,
Parsons the New School for Design. Following freelance work in New York’s garment industry, he joined Anne Klein as Women’s Design Director under
Donna Karan. Later, he moved to
Calvin Klein where he worked on the Women’s Collection. In 1997 he launched his own label. His first major attention came when he designed the instantly-famous wedding dress of fellow Calvin Klein employee
Carolyn Bessette Kennedy for her wedding to
John F. Kennedy, Jr..
In 2005, he became the first American to win the
Council of Fashion Designers of America Womenswear Designer of the Year Award two years in a row. However, by 2006, Rodriguez, who had ended his partnership with his label's manufacturer, Aeffe, was over $1 million in debt to his suppliers, and needed fabric donations for his spring collection. The subsequent collection met with enthusiastic reviews and revived his fortune.
[Horyn, Cathy; May 7, 2007; ""; The New York Times; retrieved May 7, 2007.] His clients include
Salma Hayek,
Claire Danes,
Sarah Jessica Parker,
Rachel Weisz, and
Sonia Braga.
On May 5, 2007,
Liz Claiborne acquired a 50% interest in the Narciso Rodriguez label.
In 2003, Rodriguez introduced a women's
perfume with
Shiseido's Beauté Prestige International division called, "For Her". His men's fragrance, "For Him", launched in July 2007. A new fragrance will launch in early 2009.
On November 4, 2008,
Michelle Obama wore a dress from Narciso Rodriguez's spring 2009 collection when she joined her husband, Barack Obama, appearing for the first time as president-elect of the United States, on the stage at Grant Park in Chicago; it was widely panned by the fashion press and public alike. The dress, originally unveiled at New York City's Fashion Week in September 2008, came from Rodriguez's "stress-relief" design collection. Rodriguez was a strong supporter in the fashion world of Barack Obama's campaign; in August 2008, he blamed a slowdown in his business on "this Bush mess".
