Jill Stuart (born 1955) is an American businesswoman and fashion designer based in New York City, where she has been operating since 1988. She established her eponymous label in 1993. She also has a significant international client base, particularly in Japan.

Early life

Stuart was born in New York City in 1965. Her parents George and Lynn Stuart worked in Manhattan's Garment District and created the label ''Mister Pants'', which was an early creator of women's tailored trousers and trouser suits in men's fabrics. Lynn Stuart also had her own higher end label, and became known for creating outfits for actresses including

Lucille Ball Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedian, producer, and studio executive. She was recognized by ''Time (magazine), Time'' in 2020 as one of the most influential women of the 20th century for h ...

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, and

Sheila MacRae Sheila Margaret MacRae (née Stephens; 24 September 1921 – 6 March 2014) was an English-born American actress, singer, and dancer. Career MacRae appeared in such films as '' Caged'' (1950), '' Backfire'' (1950), and '' Sex and the Single Gi ...

. Stuart attended Manhattan's

Dalton School The Dalton School, originally the Children's University School, is a private, coeducational college preparatory school in New York City and a member of both the Ivy Preparatory School League and the New York Interschool. The school is located in ...

and later

Rhode Island School of Design The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase th ...

Career

Stuart's career began early, having sold her first collection of fashion sets to

Bloomingdale's Bloomingdale's Inc. is an American luxury department store chain founded in 1861 by Joseph Bloomingdale and Lyman Bloomingdale. It was acquired by Federated Department Stores in 1930, which purchased the Macy's department store chain in 1994, ...

by the age of 15 – suede

hobo bag The hobo bag is a style of handbag or purse that is typically large and characterized by a crescent shape, a slouchy posture and a long strap designed to wear over the shoulder. Hobo bags are made out of soft, flexible materials and tend to slum ...

s and silver and leather

choker A choker is a close-fitting necklace worn around the neck, typically 14 inch to 16 inch in length. Chokers can be made of a variety of materials, including velvet, plastic, beads, latex, leather, metal, such as silver, gold, or platinum, etc. Th ...

s. In 1988, her fashion entrepreneurship career took off as she established her first store, a fashion boutique located on the

Upper East Side The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the boroughs of New York City, borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded approximately by 96th Street (Manhattan), 96th Street to the north, the East River to the e ...

focusing on accessories such as belts and handbags. By 1990, her stoles, bags and fur accessories could be found in stores such as

Neiman Marcus Neiman Marcus is an American department store chain founded in 1907 in Dallas, Texas by Herbert Marcus, his sister Carrie Marcus Neiman, and her husband Abraham Lincoln Neiman. It has been owned by Saks Global, a Corporate spin-off, spin-o ...

and

Bergdorf Goodman Bergdorf Goodman Inc. is an American luxury department store based in New York City, founded in 1899 by Herman Bergdorf. , it operates a women's store and a men's store across the street from each other on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. ...

. Her eponymous label was launched in 1993 and included Skinclothes – a range of leather garments, such as slip dresses, kilts, jeans and jackets. Items from her collection appeared in the 1995 movie ''

Clueless ''Clueless'' is a 1995 American coming-of-age teen comedy film written and directed by Amy Heckerling. It stars Alicia Silverstone, and was produced by Scott Rudin and Robert Lawrence. The film is a loose adaptation of Jane Austen's 1815 no ...

.'' The following year, Stuart's designs were stocked by

stores in the US. From the mid 1990s, Stuart began opening stores in Japan, including branches in Tokyo, Osaka and Kobe, and concessions in some 70 outlets across the country. Later the brand was sold in South Korea. In 2007,

Lindsay Lohan Lindsay Dee Lohan ( ; born July 2, 1986) is an American actress, singer, producer, and businesswoman. Born in New York City and raised on Long Island, Lohan was signed to Ford Models at age three. She appeared as a regular on the soap opera ' ...

was photographed by

Mario Sorrenti Mario Sorrenti (born October 24, 1971) is an Italian-American photographer best known for his spreads of nude models in the pages of ''Vogue'' and ''Harper's Bazaar''. Early life Sorrenti was born in Naples, Italy, and moved to New York City at ...

as the face of the brand in Japan, becoming the subject of some controversy. The brand is reported to have annual sales of around $30 million in the US, plus Asian sales of nearly $100 million. Customers include

Hilary Swank Hilary Ann Swank (born July 30, 1974) is an American actress and film producer. She first became known in 1992 for her role on the television series '' Camp Wilder'' and made her film debut with a minor role in ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' (19 ...

Kate Bosworth Katherine Anne Bosworth (born January 2, 1983) is an American actress. Following minor roles in the films ''The Horse Whisperer (film), The Horse Whisperer'' (1998) and ''Remember the Titans'' (2000), she had a leading role in movie ''Blue Crush' ...

and

Leighton Meester Leighton Marissa Meester ( ; born April 9, 1986) is an American actress, singer, and model. She is known for her starring role as Blair Waldorf on the CW television series ''Gossip Girl'', which ran from 2007 to 2012. She has also appeared in fi ...

Family

Stuart lives in SoHo, New York. Her daughter, Morgan Curtis, established the Morgan Lane brand of sleepwear and lingerie in 2012 after working for Stuart.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stuart, Jill 1965 births Living people 1980s fashion 1990s fashion 2000s fashion 2010s fashion 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century American businesspeople Fashion designers from New York City American businesspeople in fashion American women company founders American women fashion designers American fashion designers Businesspeople from New York City Dalton School alumni High fashion brands Rhode Island School of Design alumni