Geoffrey Beene

The comapany Geoffrey Beene, part of the Elizabeth Arden group, was founded in 1963 by Geoffrey Beene.Beene was born in the Haynesville in Louisiana, USA, in 1924. Beene's first career choice was to become a doctor and so he started to study medicine at New Orleans' Tulane University. When he realized that he wanted to be a fashion designer he left university in 1946 and moved to New York the following year.He took up fashion design at a local college and, after finishing his studies successfully, he went on to work for several fashion houses in New York and in Paris, France.When he felt that he had gathered enough experience he set up his own business, Geoffrey Beene, Inc., in Manhattan, New York. His company was located on Seventh Avenue (also dubbed Fashion Avenue) and featured a design showroom that soon attracted New Yorkers from all ways of life. Only one year after the company was founded, one of Beene's designs featured on the cover of VOGUE fashion magazine. Some of his most prominent customers were the well known actresses Glenn Close and Faye Dunaway, and Nancy Reagan, the US's first lady from 1981 to 1989.His collections were inspired by timeless and futuristic designs that he reworked into fashionable creations. The first fragrance under the Geoffrey Beene umbrella, Grey Flannel for men, was presented in 1975. For those who could not afford the label's clothes, the fragrance was their chance "to own a Beene". Another fragrance, Bowling Green, was presented in 1986.But Beene was not only a fashion designer, but a mentor to young designers, i.e. Alber Elbaz, Doo Ri Chung and Kay Unger, who all went on to become successful fashion designers. After his death in 2004 the Council of Fashion Designers of America honored his legacy by creating the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award. The brand Geoffrey Beene, now an LLC, has successfully managed to stay in business despite Beene's passing. The Geoffrey Beene LLC has set up two foundations and supports several charitable organisations. In fact, 100% of the company's net profits, gained from the sales of shirts, suits, ties, eyewear, wallets, jewellery, luggage, hats, scarves, belts and other clothing garments and accessories are donated for causes.Designer Geoffrey Beene has 8 perfumes in our fragrance base. The earliest edition was created in 1971 and the newest is from 1998. Geoffrey Beene fragrances were made in collaboration with perfumers Sophia Grojsman, Michel Gouges, Ron Winnegrad, Robert Gonnon and Andre Fromentin. more...