Stephen Sprouse
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Stephen Sprouse | |
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Born | Dayton, Ohio, U.S. | September 12, 1953
Died | March 4, 2004 New York City, U.S. | (aged 50)
Labels | |
Awards | Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) |
Stephen Sprouse (September 12, 1953 – March 4, 2004) was an American
Career
Stephen Sprouse's initial
Sprouse informally showed a Fall 1985 collection to buyers and the press at his new showroom in Union Square on Broadway - the last location of Andy Warhol's infamous "Factory" lofts. A runway presentation at Club USA in NYC was initially planned (and largely promoted) for its grand opening. Subsequently, the show was cancelled; a Stephen Sprouse Incorporated representative stated at the time that the show was cancelled due to the company relocating to their new Union Square location. The apparel shown were "finished samples."
Sprouse referred to his Fall 1985 collection as being "more hippie weird" and early seventies-inspired, with bell-bottom trousers, psychedelic prints, and maxi skirts, but the company lacked the funds and staff to produce the apparel.
Sprouse was initially noted by fashion magazines and retailers for using high-quality, expensive, custom-dyed fabrics (his woolens were largely sourced by the high-end Italian textile house Agnona). Sprouse personally did the graffiti that adorned many of his very early, expensive garments (1983, early 1984), which added to their desirability.
In September 1987, with financial backing from high-end furniture manufacturer
In 1992, Sprouse designed an exclusive men's and women's "
Sprouse showed a collection ("CyberGlitter") at Club USA in NYC for Fall 1993, but it never went into full production, despite orders being placed from retail buyers.
In 1995, Barneys New York handled the production of an exclusive women's spring/summer line. Vogue magazine featured the moderately priced garments in its pages, but it sold poorly. That same year, Sprouse also served as the costume curator for the new Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, and designed the staff's uniforms.
In 1996, Sprouse designed the logo and cover for New York Glam outfit Psychotica's self-titled album, released under American records. In 1998, with full production and backing from Italian manufacturer Staff International, he was briefly back in business, but the clothes sold poorly and were largely ignored by the fashion press and retailers that adored him in the 1980s.
Despite such ups and downs, Sprouse's apparel is still coveted - his clothing continues to fetch high prices in vintage stores and online (e.g.: eBay) for his most iconic pieces.
The graffiti logo bags he designed in collaboration with Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton in 2001 made the fashion world take notice once again.
In 2002, he created a vast collection of men's and women's apparel, home accessories, sports gear, etc. for the Target discount chain (dubbed "AmericaLand") - mostly rendered in a graffiti patriotic motif.
In 2003, Sprouse collaborated with fashion brand
For both Fall 2006 and 2008, Marc Jacobs utilized Sprouse's 1987 graffiti leopard images for handbags, shoes, and scarves for Louis Vuitton, which sold-out instantly.
Sprouse designed clothes for Blondie's Debbie Harry (his one-time downstairs neighbor in the Bowery section of NYC) in the late 70s/early 80s, prior to becoming a commercial designer. Sprouse worked extensively with the band Duran Duran in the late 1980s, designing the clothes for their 1989 tour for the album Big Thing, as well as the cover for their greatest hits album Decade of the same year. Additionally, he styled and dressed Billy Idol in the early 1990s for Idol's "comeback" (which garnered little interest).
Sprouse launched himself as a commercial fashion designer when he competed in a fashion show contest of young designers in the spring of 1983 (at the suggestion of photographer and friend Steven Meisel), sponsored by the Polaroid Corporation (he previously worked as a design assistant to Halston in the 1970s for three years). Based upon the favorable editorial reaction he received, he soon after formed his first company, Stephen Sprouse, Inc., and set up a showroom and production space at 57th Street and Fifth Avenue, launching his initial commercial collections for retail (prior to this, production of his early 1983 apparel, done on a small scale, was produced by Dianne Phelp's company "Triad").
Sprouse soon formed an in-house production staff for the small runway collection he showed in his silver-painted showroom (in homage to the Andy Warhol Factory loft of the sixties) in December 1983. The show garnered much attention and favorable reviews (notably from
Financial backing was provided by his parents, Norbert and Joanne Sprouse, for Sprouse's initial business.
Sprouse died at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York City of heart failure, after a closely guarded diagnosis of lung cancer a year before. He was 50.
A book on the career of Sprouse, The Stephen Sprouse Book, by Roger Padilha and Mauricio Padilha (with a foreword by Tama Janowitz), was released by Rizzoli on January 13, 2009.
In July 2022, an exhibition titled "Stephen Sprouse: Rock, Art, Fashion" opened at the Indianapolis Museum of Art.[8]
See also
References
- ^ Norwich, William (March 5, 2004). "Stephen Sprouse, Design Pioneer, Dies at 50". The New York Times. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
- ^ Sones, Melissa (August 8, 1987). "Sprouse Is Back". Newsday. United Press International. p. II/7. Retrieved July 24, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Listen: One to watch". Los Angeles Times. December 30, 1983. p. V-5. Retrieved July 24, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Coluruso, Mary (September 17, 1987). "Living in a material world". The Republic (Columbus, Indiana). p. B4. Retrieved July 24, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Suzy Menkes (September 30, 2003). "Renzo Rosso, jeans genius - New York Times". The New York Times. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
- ^ "Label Resource : Sprouse, Stephen". Vintage Fashion Guild. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
- ISBN 978-3-89955-095-5
- ^ Bahr, Sarah (July 22, 2022). "After Making a Splash in Manhattan, an Artist Gets His Due Back Home". The New York Times. p. ST2. Retrieved July 22, 2022 – via nytimes.com.
External links
- The Stephen Sprouse Book
- Marc Jacobs tribute to Stephen Sprouse
- New York Times, March 5, 2004 "Stephen Sprouse, Design Pioneer, Dies at 50", by William Norwich
- Obituary in Traverse City Record Eagle, his Michigan home town newspaper
- Deborah Harry of Blondie wearing a Stephen Sprouse creation
- Interview with some of Stephen Sprouse biggest collectors in the US