A home town guy has passed...
Born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 1922, Blass started his career early, sketching designs while in his teens. After a brief stint in counterintelligence during World War Two, he returned to the world of fashion, eventually building up a multimillion-dollar business.
U.S. designer Bill Blass, the man who made American casual chic and dressed such famous women as Nancy Reagan, Nancy Kissinger and Jessye Norman, died late on Wednesday in Connecticut, just days short of his 80th birthday.
A local funeral home said he died at his Connecticut home late on Wednesday. The cause of his death was not known, but Blass, a longtime smoker, had been battling throat cancer.
Born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 1922, Blass started his career early, sketching designs while in his teens. After a brief stint in counterintelligence during World War Two, he returned to the world of fashion, eventually building up a multimillion-dollar business.
U.S. designer Bill Blass, the man who made American casual chic and dressed such famous women as Nancy Reagan, Nancy Kissinger and Jessye Norman, died late on Wednesday in Connecticut, just days short of his 80th birthday.
A local funeral home said he died at his Connecticut home late on Wednesday. The cause of his death was not known, but Blass, a longtime smoker, had been battling throat cancer.
