Bobby Breslau

Breslau was a New York native.^[2] In the late 1960s, he was working as a graphic designer when he met fashion designer Stephen Burrows on Fire Island in New York.^[3][4] Breslau worked as a leatherwear designer at Burrows' O Boutique, which opened in Manhattan in 1968.^[3] Burrows and Breslau along with Burrows' friend from FIT, William Hill, as the patternmaker and fabric designer Hector Torres, worked out of the basement of the boutique.^[3]

Breslau and Burrows shared an apartment in the East Village in the early 1970s.^[4] After the O Boutique closed in 1970, Breslau managed Stephen Burrows World, an in-store boutique at the luxury department store Henri Bendel in Manhattan.^[5][4] He also became one of Burrows' assistants.^[6] Fashion model Pat Cleveland, who was a fitting model for Burrows at Bendel's studio recalled, "Bobby was tiny, animated, and enthusiastic about almost everything Stephen did."^[7]

In the early 1970s, Breslau began making bags when Halston asked him to make a fringed toy and some fringed pillows.^[1] Breslau studied the construction of a baseball and emulated the stitching while sewing a fringed leather pillow.^[1] Fashion designer Fernando Sanchez mistook the pillow for a handbag so Breslau added a strap and began using that design to create handbags.^[1] Breslau also stated, "The whole concept of the bag came from a Japanese puzzle bag Elsa brought back from Japan—one of those bags that just folds and ties and has no seams."^[8]

Breslau handmade each handbag in his East Village apartment until 1976. He gave the first to his friend, jewelry designer Elsa Peretti, whom he described as his inspiration,^[8] and the second to actress Carol Channing.^[8] Through Peretti, he became part of a circle of Halston associates that included Marina Schiano, director of public relations for Rive Gauche and Yves Saint Laurent; artist Joe Eula; photographer Berry Berenson Perkins; and various models and fashion personalities.^[8] Breslau produced his bags in a range of colors and sizes, and they were featured in a Halston collection, where they became known as the "Halston bag."^[9] Their jaunty, youthful quality complemented Halston's spare designs and drew significant attention from fashion professionals. Following this exposure, Breslau's bags were sold at Halston's Madison Avenue boutique.^[10][8]

Breslau later recalled, "Halston and Joe Eula were the teachers. Working with them was like going to the best university in the country."^[8] The design proved highly popular among models, designers, and celebrities, leading to widespread knockoffs.^[8] According to the Chicago Tribune, the "Halston bag" was chosen by the Smithsonian Institution "as part of a permanent collection of 20 of this century's most influential looks in American fashion."^[8] In 1975, to complement his well-known large sac, Breslau introduced a smaller version, which he called "the littlest hobo of them all."^[11] The design featured slender straps that could be worn over the shoulder or at the waist.^[11]

In 1976, Breslau began designing for Andrew Manufacturing Company, a subsidiary of Andrew Geller, Inc., known for producing high-end women's shoes. He signed a deal for his own fashion label which allowed him to mass produce his designs at a lower cost than his handmade bags.^[8] In 1977, Breslau created a new handbag that could be used in three ways. It was a "super-soft leather drawstring pouch with a twist to the top and a softly gathered shoulder strap."^[12] It was made in various colors and size options so that it could be "everything from a little evening bag to a jumbo weekender."^[12][13]

Breslau's designs appeared in Women's Wear Daily and Vogue.^[4] Diana Vreeland, former editor-in-chief of Vogue, wrote Breslau a note that said "you are to leather what Cellini was to gold."^[8] In the late 1970s, his pillow-clutches were sold at the luxury department store Neiman Marcus, and his handbags were sold at Cul de Sac, a boutique for accessories in the luxury department store Bloomingdale's.^[14][15] In 1979, Breslau licensed two pattern designs to Vogue for his "Big Pouch" and "Little Pouch."^[16] His Vogue Patterns provided sewers with directions to make both handbags in three sizes.^[4]

He also made leather bean bag chairs while continuing to handcraft pillows.^[1] In 1981, Breslau told The New York Times, "I feel that as far as the pillows are concerned, that I'm a sculptor and that my medium is leather."^[1] He liked to mix textures and worked with a variety of leathers such as "printed suedes and ostrich skin, cowhide, bronze and silver leathers, alligator as well as back leather, decorated with black patent-leather drops."^[1] He used a softer palette for his pillows.^[1]

Breslau was a close friend of pop artist Keith Haring, who he met at the Paradise Garage in the early 1980s.^[17] Haring respected Breslau's craftsmanship and looked to him for guidance, calling him his "Jewish mother."^[2][17] Haring credited Breslau with inspiring him to work with leather hides for his exhibition at the Fun Gallery in 1983.^[17] Breslau managed Haring's Pop Shop in SoHo, which opened in 1986, and he supervised the merchandising.^[17][18]

In early 1987, Breslau developed a lung problem, and within a week of checking himself into the hospital, he died at the age of 44 from AIDS-related complications on January 30, 1987.^[17] He is buried in a Jewish cemetery in Connecticut.^[4]

In an interview with journalist David Sheff for Rolling Stone in 1989, Haring, who also died from AIDS-related complications in 1990, recalled:

When Andy passed away, I had just lost a friend of mine who was sort of like a guardian angel for me, Bobby Breslau. He was like my conscience, my Jiminy Cricket. He was working here until he got so sick that he couldn't even come to work. I think he knew that he was really sick, but it wasn't diagnosed as AIDS for a long time. By the time he went to the hospital, he died within a week.^[19]