Bellville Sassoon
{{Short description|British fashion salon}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}
{{EngvarB|date=July 2019}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Bellville Sassoon
| logo = Bellville Sassoon.jpg
| logo_size = 177px
| foundation = 1953
| location = Chelsea
London, {{postcode|SW|1}}
United Kingdom
| key_people = Belinda Bellville, David Sassoon, Lorcan Mullany
| num_employees =
| industry = Clothing
| products =
| revenue =
| net_income =
| homepage =
}}
Bellville Sassoon is a high end British fashion salon originally based on Pavilion Road, Knightsbridge, London, now located at 18 Culford Gardens in Chelsea.
History
Bellville Sassoon was founded in 1953 by Belinda Bellville, who retired in 1981.{{cite web | url=http://www.fashionmodeldirectory.com/brands/bellville-sassoon/ | title=Bellville Sassoon | publisher=FMD | access-date=26 July 2013}} It became Bellville Sassoon by name in 1970 after David Sassoon, who had joined the company in 1958 and remained for some 50 years.{{cite book|last1=Sassoon|first1=David|last2=Stemp|first2=Sinty|title=The glamour of Bellville Sassoon|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s5VoNwAACAAJ|access-date=22 February 2012|date=25 January 2009|publisher=ACC Editions|isbn=978-1-85149-575-7}}{{cite book|author=63rd Ed|title=International Who's Who 2000|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SC4aAAAAYAAJ|access-date=22 February 2012|date=1 January 1999|publisher=Europa|isbn=978-1-85743-050-9|page=1372}} The company is currently run by Irish fashion designer Lorcan Mullany.
Bellville Sassoon actually has its origins in Belinda Bellville's grandmother, Cuckoo Leith, who ran a dress-shop in the 1920s.{{cite book|last=Honeycombe|first=Gordon|title=The year of the princess|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sA0xV-FxBY4C|access-date=22 February 2012|year=1982|publisher=M. Joseph|isbn=978-0-7181-2146-4|pages=104–6}} Belinda Bellville invited David Sassoon to join the firm in 1958.{{cite web|url=http://www.thejc.com/arts/arts-interviews/interview-david-sassoon|title=David Sassoon has been an A-list favourite since the sixties. Now, he's ready to take a back seat.|work=The Jewish Chronicle|date=8 January 2009|access-date=22 February 2012}}
Due to Sassoon's Jewish roots, Bellville Sassoon has become a notable Jewish fashion house, and according to Sassoon the salon has done "a tremendous amount for weddings and barmitzvahs, because Jewish women like to dress up for these occasions. They have been very big business for us over the years."
Late 20th century
Bellville counts numerous socialites and the royal family as amongst its clientele and was the most prolific of Princess Diana's early designers.{{cite book|last=McDowell|first=Colin|title=Diana style|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tFlEAAAAYAAJ|access-date=22 February 2012|date=1 July 2007|publisher=Aurum|isbn=978-1-84513-200-2}}{{cite book|last=Owen|first=Jane|title=Diana, Princess of Wales: the book of fashion|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DeoJAQAAMAAJ|access-date=22 February 2012|year=1983|publisher=Greenwich House|isbn=978-0-517-42981-5}} Bellville Sassoon designed her "Gonzaga dress", amongst numerous other items of clothing. Sassoon has said, "When she got engaged, her mother brought her in to us and asked us to make the going-away outfit."{{cite book|last=Clehane|first=Diane|title=Diana: The Secrets of Her Style|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cUvW6zKFsgUC|access-date=22 February 2012|date=September 1998|publisher=Gt Pub Corp|isbn=978-1-57719-348-7|page=28}} Aside from Diana, Bellville Sassoon has designed clothes for Princess Margaret, Princess Michael of Kent, the Duchess of York. Jackie Kennedy, Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, Jerry Hall, Anita Baker, Melanie Griffith, Helen Mirren, Ivana Trump, Madonna, Jada Collins and Melissa Brown and his designs have appeared on the covers of Vogue and Harper's Magazine.{{Cite web|url=http://www.fashionmodeldirectory.com/brands/bellville-sassoon/ |title=Bellville Sassoon|publisher=Fashion Model Directory|access-date=22 February 2012}}{{cite journal|title=Jet|journal = Jet|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9LADAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA16|access-date=22 February 2012|date=30 September 1985|publisher=Johnson Publishing Company|page=16|issn=0021-5996}}{{cite journal|title=Jet|journal = Jet|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rr0DAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA32|access-date=22 February 2012|date=24 October 2005|publisher=Johnson Publishing Company|page=32|issn=0021-5996}}
21st century
In recent years, due to old age, Sassoon has increasingly given responsibility to Irish designer Lorcan Mullany in the running of the company. The firm won the Export Award in 2005.{{cite video|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd6_Tk1xczo|title=Designer David Sassoon at Buckingham Palace |publisher=Channel 4|access-date=22 February 2012}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.fashionmodeldirectory.com/brands/bellville-sassoon/ Fashion Model Directory article]
- [http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bellville-Sassoon/158116964231149 Facebook page]
{{Authority control}}
{{Coord|51.491979|-0.160898|type:landmark_region:GB-KEC|display=title}}
Category:Buildings and structures in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
Category:Clothing brands of the United Kingdom
Category:Clothing companies based in London
Category:Clothing companies established in 1953
Category:1953 establishments in England