Wendy Brandes Jewelry Blog

Never Is the Next New Thing

Meet ’80s Designer Patrick Kelly

by

For 20 years, I’ve been fascinated by Patrick Kelly, the designer of my controversial leopard-print dress.

Kelly designed his own label from 1985 to 1989. He died of AIDS on New Year’s Day in 1990 at the age of 35. (At the time, the death was attributed to bone marrow disease and a brain tumor, but since then his partner has confirmed that the cause was AIDS). Kelly was a gay black man from Mississippi without formal training, whose stretchy, button-decorated clothes were inspired by his grandmother’s sewing. He became the first American member of the Chambre Syndicale du Prêt-à-Porter (the governing body of the French ready-to-wear industry).

Patrick Kelly with a model in a button dress
Photo from Fashionwindows

Kelly went to Paris in 1980, when the model Pat Cleveland anonymously gave him an airplane ticket. He worked for Paco Rabanne, catered and put on guerrilla fashion shows until 1985, when French Elle did a major spread on him. Kelly’s career took off.

Kelly and models wearing his typical animal print designs
Photo from the Brooklyn Museum

Another big break came in 1987, when actress Bette Davis, then pushing 80, appeared on the David Letterman show in one of Kelly’s ultra-tight dresses. I wish I could find a clip of this appearance on YouTube. (It is available on one of the David Letterman “best of” DVDs.) Davis made a special point of showing off the dress and talked up Kelly so much, that Linda Wachner of Warnaco immediately signed on as a financial backer. Hmmm! People always tell me, “It takes seven years to become an overnight success.” I guess they’re right.

A Kelly jacket, available at AntiqueDress.com

Kelly had an enormous collection of black memorabilia, including “Mammy” and “Aunt Jemima” dolls. Always willing to provoke people, Kelly used those racial images in his work, incorporating a “golliwog” caricature into his logo. He also gave out little black baby-doll pins by the thousands.

Kelly with models holding his “golliwog” bags
Photo from Cyberstyle

According to the New York Times, Kelly said, ” ‘I don’t know if the N.A.A.C.P. would like my dolls’- the organization didn’t, and took objection to the golliwog logo on his label and shopping bags — ‘but they give me pleasure.’ ”

A closer view of the bags from the Brooklyn Museum’s 2004 Kelly retrospective
Photo from Ham and Enos

Kelly said he used the images because they brought up important issues about racial stereotyping. Clearly, he accepted them as part of black history. As a history buff myself, I know that a lot of the past is very unpleasant, but there is no sense denying it. As Kelly put it, “If you don’t know where you’ve been, you can’t go too far.” Or, as I put it, “While it was a good idea for a 7th century Chinese empress to kill her relatives, family-murdering is now unacceptable behavior. Unless you’re a character on the Sopranos. In which case, I totally support you because Christopher had it coming.”

Getting back to Kelly, he once mused to Essence magazine: “Recently somebody Black told me they were harassed about wearing the Black baby-doll pin. And I thought, you can wear a machine gun or a camouflage war outfit and people think it’s so chic, but you put a little Black baby pin on and people attack you.”

Kelly’s runway shows were fabulous, exuberant affairs. Click here for a Fashion Television report on Kelly, including great show clips. Tell me you don’t wish more shows were like that now!

A Kelly dress and jacket from Decades

Obviously, Kelly was in business for such a short amount of time that you can consider yourself quite fortunate if you find one of his pieces. Here are a few more examples.

Dress (sold, sorry!) from the same season as my gown.
Picture from Swank Vintage

Two views of dice jacket from FiveTone.
Sold because…I bought it!
One of the famous button dresses
Available at Rare Vintage

I’ll eventually do more posts on my favorite vintage designers. In the meantime, here are the ones I’ve already done.

Oh, and one more thing. Let’s reflect on that Bette Davis story again. She was rocking the stretchy dress — and she was almost 80. EIGHTY, people! I bet someone tried to tell Bette that the dress was “too young for her” and she killed the bitch. Then she washed the blood off her hands and had a nice chat with Dave.

UPDATED NOV. 30, 2009, TO ADD: Here’s Bette giving Patrick Kelly multiple shout-outs on Letterman.

UPDATED MAY 23, 2012 TO ADD: Thanks to The Wow Report for finding this great shot of Bette Davis wearing Patrick Kelly.

Click for source.


Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. I kind of like the button dress.

    The Patrick Kelly logo on the shopping bags – it looks just like the packing for a finnish liquorice from the 20’s. The packing was totally ok at the time they made it (OK as in no one here in the north of Europe had no idea it actually was rather offending) and was in use until just last year, when it was changed into a abstract (and neutral!) design.

  2. I kind of like the button dress.

    The Patrick Kelly logo on the shopping bags – it looks just like the packing for a finnish liquorice from the 20’s. The packing was totally ok at the time they made it (OK as in no one here in the north of Europe had no idea it actually was rather offending) and was in use until just last year, when it was changed into a abstract (and neutral!) design.

  3. Wow-excellent post, Wendy. I’m loving these posts you do on the designers-and you managed to get another piece! This dice jacket rocks!!

  4. hahaha, great post wendy!

    As a graphic designer, I have to say, I love Patrick Kelly’s logo!!

    😀

    cheers!!

  5. Wonderful post on Patrick. I was quite unaware of his work. I love his sense of irony.
    As for Bette, there is the answer to my ‘Dressing your age” question. If you want to rock it, do.

  9. I would love that button dress! Fascinating read, I didn’t know about him.

  13. Love this informative post, Wendy. You must have been a reporter at some point because you really drill down!

  14. Love that Betty Davis dared to wear a Patrick Kelly dress and your speculation on what happened to the fool that tried and stop her. LOL!

  15. Fantastic post. Miss J knew next to nothin’ about Mr. Kelly. What a shame he had such a short life.

  18. Oh my gosh, Wendy, what an amazing post! I feel like a philistine because I never knew anything about Patrick Kelly.. I love the fact that he was pushing people out of their comfort zone for a purpose, not just to shock… oh and I love love love that button dress!
    Thanks!

  19. I always appreciate it when people challenge the stereotypes of their own demographic. He was a brave guy, and did some really cool things in a very short period of time.

    I love the dress you wore that landed you in the disaster area. I still contend that somebody was jealous of how you looked and sought to reduce you to the ranks of the “disasters.”

  20. Yay for more posts on vintage designers! I love those zebra (the b+w) dresses. LOVE. I’m talking wide-eyed love. I’d never heard of this designer but I’m really intrigued and enjoyed your post. And you rocked the leopard gown. It is outrageous and yet you’re covered from neck to toe. Kelly would’ve been proud. I just wish you’d have had one of those black baby-doll pins 🙂

  22. Wonderful post. So sad that he died so young.

    It’s funny–a lot of that black memorabilia is collected by black people. It’s definitely not to my taste but I certainly don’t think it should be forever shuttered away. People try to forget things too quickly, I think.

  23. What a great post! I’ve never heard of him before but it was really interesting to read about…

  24. EXCELLENT !
    I hope you saw the show at Brooklyn Museum – it was the high point of the year for me.
    Loved his stuff…
    Too sad tolose someone like that.

  25. thank you for that informative and insprirational post! i learned something new today!

  26. I feel like I would like almost any gay black man from Mississippi, sight unseen.

  28. wow, great information about jewelry and clothing. I just started my online business ( http://dresspack.com & http://myjewelpack.com )into fashion, and this is awesome. I am going to check this site daily for updates. Thanks Wendy brandes, you motivated me!

  29. I love how PK always included himself in his ads, in a smiling, subversive manner. Although I typically don’t novelty, I’d absolutely wear one of these button dresses.

  30. Leave it to Wendy B to give us the lowdown and the (high-ups?) of vintage designers I personally barely ever heard of.

  31. Woo woo woo!

    These are my favourite of all the many and varied posts that you do. I’m obsessed with fashion’s exuberance and irony in the 80s.

    Fabulous Bette Davis story too!

    Becky

  32. Wendy, what am awesomely quirky selection of clothing! Did you buy the red dress too? And that dice jacket is soooo downtown! Can’t wait till a blogger meeting rolls around in the proper weather for that jacket…

  33. Altamira, I didn’t get the red dress. I didn’t see it on time, but I think also it’s not “Patrick Kelly” enough for me. I am sure tempted by the safari jacket at Antique Dress but it’s linen, and I crumple linen in about two seconds flat.

  34. You own the dice coat? Wowsers. And I agree with you about Bette Davis–confidence personified.

  35. Hello there Wendy, I sent you an email quite a while ago, but not sure if you received it. I am a black gay man from Mississippi, who feels as if I am the “spiritual son” of Patrick Kelly. My name is Patrick Patterson, and my name in Irish literally means: Patrick and Patrick’s Son. Can you believe that?? It’s true. I have a lot of admiration for Patrick Kelly and I have high hopes of bringing his story to life one day. Check out my YouTube Channel and let me know your thoughts. I am working to get it launched into an actual television show, that will bring a lot of “unknown” things in fashion and the sewing industry to light – ESPECIALLY the Patrick Kelly story. Thanks for the post about him, it brought me to tears.

  36. Do you happen to know how much Patrick Kelly’s clothing is worth today? I picked up a black wool turtleneck mini dress of his recently and I’m interested to know if I got a deal on it. Thanks. 🙂

  37. I just happened across this site – doing closet cleaning. I have 3 Patrick Kelly Dresses that I would love to put on consignment so someone else can enjoy them. I live in Northern VA (Washington DC metro area) Does anyone have recommendations for vintage consignment shops? Thanks

  38. Brilliant and perfectly true … really whipped Paris into a frenzy and then his appearance that made everyone somehow happy. Creativity not being limited to any stereotypical designers. Sad days for so many and maybe especially in fashion.

  39. Talented guy, shame he died so young. Bette was amazing – she looked fab in that dress..although how she resisted stubbing out her 500th cigarette of the day in Dave’s eyeballs is a mystery. (My anti- spam word was “witch”! Don’t hold back!