So I just realized that we’ve been reporting on Stephen Sprouse’s tribute collections by Louis Vuitton and Patricia Field without telling you who he is…
A design school dropout, Sprouse made a splash in 80’s era New York, partying with Andy Warhol and assisting design greats like Halston. In 1984, photographer Stephen Meisel persuaded Sprouse to launch his own line. Sprouse’s collection, largely influenced by the popular music scene, included dresses spray painted with ‘hip hop’ graffiti, cut out mini dresses printed with video images, and absolutely everything in day-glo bright colors:
In 2001 and 2006, he collaborated with Marc Jacobs to create graffiti inspired bags, shoes, and scarves for Louis Vuitton. The lines sold briskly.
Sprouse died in 2004 of heart failure due to lung cancer. He was 50 years old.
He was credited with pioneering a mix of “uptown sophistication in clothing with downtown punk and pop sensibility.”
Read more about him in The Stephen Sprouse Book by Roger and Mauricio Padilha.
