Albert Nipon (September 11, 1927 – November 20, 2022) was an American fashion designer and ladies clothing manufacturer.

Early life and education

Nipon was born and raised in

West Philadelphia West Philadelphia, nicknamed West Philly, is a section of the city of Philadelphia. Although there are no officially defined boundaries, it is generally considered to reach from the western shore of the Schuylkill River, to City Avenue to the n ...

, a section of

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

on September 11, 1927. Nipon graduated from West Philadelphia High School. Nipon, a graduate of

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...

, began his professional life as an accountant for DuPont. Nipon and his wife, Pearl, reportedly met when he threw her fully clothed into a swimming pool. They had three sons, Laurence, Leon, and Andrew, and a daughter, Barbara Joy, who is known as "B.J.". They lived in a condominium at the Residences at the Ritz-Carlton in Center City Philadelphia. The Nipons started their foray into fashion in 1954 as designers of

maternity clothes Maternity clothing is worn by women as an adaptation to changes in body size during pregnancy. The evolution of maternity clothing began during the Middle Ages, and became fashionable as women became more selective about style and comfort in the t ...

. Albert ran the business, while Pearl designed the clothing. They opened a small dress shop, which grew into a chain of stores called Ma Mere.

Career

The Nipons turned their maternity clothes company into an internationally known producer of ultra-feminine women's clothing in 1972. The birth rate was declining, and they decided to focus on creating chic dress. They sold Ma Mere to Dekon Corporation. Albert Nipon gave all the credit for the line that bears his name to Pearl and her design aesthetic. She, however, says she merely edits the lines. "Pearl is a chic woman," he told the

News and Courier ''The Post and Courier'' is the main daily newspaper in Charleston, South Carolina. It traces its ancestry to three newspapers, the ''Charleston Courier'', founded in 1803, the ''Charleston Daily News'', founded 1865, and ''The Evening Post'', f ...

in a 1973 interview. "She has a feel for what young career women would like their clothes to be. Smart, fluid, comfortable, in wonderful fit and the nice detailing that looks like the dress was made to order in Europe." The line's popularity caught the fashion world by surprise and quickly made Nipon's "Albert Nipon" brand of clothing famous. Sales of Albert Nipon dresses reached

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

60 million in 1984, and Nipon counted among his celebrity clients

Rosalynn Carter Eleanor Rosalynn Carter ( ; ; August 18, 1927 – November 19, 2023) was an American activist and humanitarian who served as the first lady of the United States from 1977 to 1981, as the wife of President Jimmy Carter. Throughout her decades of ...

Mary Tyler Moore Mary Tyler Moore (December 29, 1936 – January 25, 2017) was an American actress, producer, and social advocate. She is best known for her roles on '' The Dick Van Dyke Show'' (1961–1966) and ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (1970–1977), whic ...

Nancy Reagan Nancy Davis Reagan (; born Anne Frances Robbins; July 6, 1921 – March 6, 2016) was an American film actress who was the first lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989, as the second wife of President Ronald Reagan. Reagan was born in ...

, and

Barbara Walters Barbara Jill Walters (September 25, 1929December 30, 2022) was an American broadcast journalist and television personality. Known for her interviewing ability and popularity with viewers, she appeared as a host of numerous television programs, ...

.Staff (November 5, 1984)
"Albert Nipon: Fashion Fraud, a Dress Designer's Tax Woes"
''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

''. Abstract; for full article. Retrieved January 15, 2012. Nipon's fall was as rapid as his rise; in 1984, he was indicted for

tax evasion Tax evasion or tax fraud is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to red ...

and

bribery Bribery is the corrupt solicitation, payment, or Offer and acceptance, acceptance of a private favor (a bribe) in exchange for official action. The purpose of a bribe is to influence the actions of the recipient, a person in charge of an official ...

in an investigation of the

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting Taxation in the United States, U.S. federal taxes and administerin ...

office and served time in a

federal penitentiary The Federal Bureau of Prisons classifies prisons into seven categories: * United States penitentiaries * Federal correctional institutions * Private correctional institutions * Federal prison camps * Administrative facilities * Federal correcti ...

. He was housed at

Eglin Air Force Base Eglin Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in the western Florida panhandle, located about southwest of Valparaiso, Florida, Valparaiso in Okaloosa County, Florida, Okaloosa County. The host unit at Eglin is the 96th Test ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, a minimum security facility. "When you are stripped of everything material and physical and emotional, I don't care what the surroundings are, I don't know how anyone can call that a country club," he said in a ''

Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...

'' interview. "You have a job to do - I sorted clothes or cut grass - but it's just a job, a menial job. The challenge is to keep yourself busy, and I did that. "When the only thing you have is your mind, I understand now the tendency to become more spiritual," he said. "I was fortunate enough to be selected for a seminar at a rabbinical college. I learned a lot about

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

, history and

the Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writte ...

; I don't think I would have been able to do that otherwise." During the 20 months he was incarcerated, his company reportedly lost $15 million in revenues. However, the designer's career did not end with his conviction and

incarceration Imprisonment or incarceration is the restraint of a person's liberty for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is considered " false imprisonment". Impri ...

. Sales initially rebounded with Nipon himself stating they could not ship clothing sufficiently fast to fill orders. The company declared

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

in 1988. It was sold in 1988 to the Leslie Fay Company, which allowed the Nipons to continue running the design business. Albert Nipon designs and

fragrance An aroma compound, also known as an odorant, aroma, fragrance, flavoring or flavor, is a chemical compound that has a smell or odor. For an individual chemical or class of chemical compounds to impart a smell or fragrance, it must be sufficien ...

s continue to be available in dress shops and fashion boutiques around the world.

Death

Nipon died on November 20, 2022, at the age of 95.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nipon, Albert 1927 births 2022 deaths American businesspeople in fashion American fashion designers American people convicted of tax crimes Artists from Philadelphia Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government American businesspeople convicted of crimes Temple University alumni

Early life and education

Career

Death

See also

References