Jay Jaxon
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Jay Jaxon | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 30, 1941 |
| Died | July 19, 2006 (aged 64) |
| Occupations | Fashion designer, costumer, couturier |
| Years active | 1966–2006 |
Eugene Jackson (August 30, 1941 – July 19, 2006),[1] known professionally as Jay Jaxon, was an American fashion designer, costumer, and couturier.
He was the first American and the first Black person to work as a couturier for a fashion atelier in Paris.[2] He worked for the fashion houses Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Dior, and Jean-Louis Scherrer.[1][3] Jaxon became creative director of the house of Jean-Louis Scherrer at the age of 24 and released his first haute couture collection as head designer in 1970.[2][3]
After returning to the United States he designed clothing for film, television, and various performers.[1]
Born in Jamaica, Queens to father Sidney Jackson and mother Ethel Rena-Jackson, he was the youngest of four children.[1] His mother worked as a housekeeper and his father worked for the Long Island Rail Road.[1]
While in high school, Jaxon moved in with a nearby family to assist with childcare.[1] The family frequently made their own clothes and it was there that Jaxon first learned about clothesmaking.[1]
Jaxon earned a bachelor's degree from Hunter College in Manhattan and attended the New York University School of Law for about a year before changing paths.[1][2] Jaxon told the Women's News Service in 1970 that he was inspired to work in fashion design after helping a girlfriend design a dress for a party.[2] He then dropped out of law school, took a job as a bank teller to support himself and enrolled at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT).[2]
While at FIT he met his boyfriend Kenneth Battelle, a hairstylist better known as Mr. Kenneth.[1] Some of Battelle's high-profile clientele became Jaxon's first customers as a fashion designer.[1] Jaxon graduated from FIT in 1966.[1]
He changed his name to Jay Jaxon at the suggestion of fashion publicist Eleanor Lambert.[1]