Remembering Don Robbie

We’ve received a few letters from readers, sharing memories of the late Don Robbie, the flamboyant former Yves St. Laurent and Pierre Cardin designer. Here are two of them:

Sad to hear about the death of Don; the guy had so much moxie! I loved when he’d give us a pitch about some far-fetched concept; far-fetched because Cliftex was a mainstream producer that sold it by the pound. Navy blue blazers, pinstriped suits, shetland & Harris Tweed sportcoats, etc. I mean, you should have seen Don Robbie and Joel Anapol discuss fashion. It was absolutely laughable. Joel was clueless, except when it came to making big money. Don knew how to excite an audience but maybe not how to make big money. I enjoyed Don immensely. He was exciting, really talented and had an absolutely fabulous head of hair. The very best was when he’d tell Joel how he ought to try having sex with men, because ‘Joel, you just don’t know what you’re missing.’ For someone in the room (me), it was hilarious; comedy at its best. Don Robbie was authentic, imitating nobody. How unique that would be today, don’t you think?

–Joshua Weiss, former Cliftex executive

Another huge loss. One of the great visionaries who literally made the young men’s business, along with several others. One of my fondest memories is being in Don’s office, which featured pillows hanging from the ceiling, and Don wearing a tweed suit with the pants stuffed into hiking boots. Fashion intuition; ya think? This was 1978! A man well before his time but most certainly of his time.

–Jack Abelson, former menswear executive