Patrick Kelly: The First American in Paris Ready-to-Wear

The Fashion Memoir · Oct 19, 2026 · 1h 2m

Patrick Kelly was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi on 24 September 1954 and died in Paris on New Year's Day 1990, aged 35. In between he sold hand-sewn dresses on the street and out of flea markets, got six pages in French Elle before he had a house of his own, and in June 1988 became the first American and the first Black designer ever voted into the Chambre Syndicale du Prêt-à-Porter, the body that governs Paris ready-to-wear.

This episode covers the grandmother whose mismatched buttons became his signature, the one-way ticket the model Pat Cleveland left at his door, the golliwog logo he put…