# Andrew Fezza

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{{short description|American fashion designer}}

{{Infobox person
| name        = Andrew Fezza
| image       = Andrew Fezza.jpg
| caption     =
| birth_name  =
| birth_date  = 1955
| birth_place = [Connecticut](/source/Connecticut)
| death_date  =
| death_place =
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| other_names =
| known_for   = Fashion design
| education   = [Boston College](/source/Boston_College), [Fashion Institute of Technology](/source/Fashion_Institute_of_Technology)
| employer    =
| occupation  =
| title       =
| spouse      = Marilyn Fezza
| partner     =
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| relatives   =
| signature   =
| website     = {{URL|http://www.andrewfezza.com/}}
| footnotes   =
}}
'''Andrew Fezza''' is an [Italian American](/source/Italian_American) menswear designer,<ref name=schen/> sometimes described as the "[Giorgio Armani](/source/Giorgio_Armani) of America".<ref name=future>{{cite news|last=Howard|first=T. J.|title=Fezza's Future|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|date=23 September 1992}}</ref><ref name=nym/><ref>{{cite book |last=Potvin |first=John |title=Giorgio Armani : empire of the senses|date=2013|publisher=Ashgate|location=Farnham, Surrey, England|isbn=978-1409406686|page=90|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gZUAGyRhhngC&pg=PA90}}</ref>

==Early life==
Andrew Fezza was born in 1955 in [Connecticut](/source/Connecticut),<ref name=ency>{{cite web|last=Martin|first=Richard|title=Andrew Fezza - Fashion Encyclopaedia|url=http://www.fashionencyclopedia.com/Es-Fo/Fezza-Andrew.html|publisher=Fashion Encyclopaedia|accessdate=13 February 2014|author2=Daryl F. Mallet}}</ref> and studied biology and sociology at [Boston College](/source/Boston_College) with the intention of becoming a dentist.<ref name=nym>{{cite journal|last=Morrisroe|first=Patricia|title=Turning Andrew Fezza into the 'American Armani'|journal=New York Magazine|date=24 October 1988|pages=42–51|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=auUCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA42|accessdate=13 February 2014}}</ref><ref name=schen>{{cite news|title=Award-winning Andrew Fezza Creative Force Here And Abroad.|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1917&dat=19850327&id=5BAhAAAAIBAJ&pg=2907,3360974|accessdate=13 February 2014|newspaper=Schenectady Gazette|date=27 March 1985}}</ref> Following a visit to [Florence](/source/Florence) where he saw [Italian fashion](/source/Italian_fashion)s first hand, he enrolled at the [Fashion Institute of Technology](/source/Fashion_Institute_of_Technology) in New York where he met his future wife, Marilyn.<ref name=schen/>

==Career==
After graduation, Fezza worked as a design assistant for the womenswear company Schrader Sport on [Seventh Avenue](/source/Seventh_Avenue_(Manhattan)), while producing a line of men's sweaters in the evenings that were bought by the New York menswear shop 'Camouflage'. In 1979, he and his future wife, Marilyn, launched their apparel company in a small apartment in [Greenwich Village](/source/Greenwich_Village), specializing in men's sportswear and leather clothing.<ref name=nym/><ref name=schen/> They added a womenswear line in 1984, which was designed by Marilyn.<ref name=csm>{{cite news|last=Wells Dill|first=June|title=Five menswear designers who are turning their talents to softly tailored women's lines|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/1984/0910/091067.html|accessdate=13 February 2014|newspaper=Christian Science Monitor|date=10 September 1984}}</ref><ref name=nym/>

Andrew Fezza was presented by the GFT USA Corporation (a subsidiary of the Italian company Gruppo GFT), which had already provided support to the successful designers [Emanuel Ungaro](/source/Emanuel_Ungaro), [Louis Féraud](/source/Louis_F%C3%A9raud) and [Valentino](/source/Valentino_SpA), and launched [Giorgio Armani](/source/Giorgio_Armani) to fame.<ref name=nym/> GFT, who in 1988, retailed Armani suits for $700–900 apiece, wanted to offer comparable quality but lower-priced (at $300–400) suits to the consumer with a tighter clothing budget, and following market research, decided that their new line needed a name designer, ideally a young American creating European-style garments.<ref name=nym/> Fezza fit this profile, and as he was not a "big star", would not cost GFT too much money to acquire.<ref name=nym/> His ''Firma'' line, offering the Armani look for lower prices, was a commercial success, and Fezza, according to the GFT marketing and image people, was "a designer people can relate to."<ref name=nym/> Although the Firma line was in demand, GFT were careful to limit its availability, stating in 1988 that they were "building a whole romantic image [...] creating a hero" and wanted to keep the line exclusive and avoid overselling.<ref name=nym/> By 1992, Andrew and Marilyn Fezza were taking in $21 million a year in clothing sales.<ref name=future/>

In 1992, Fezza left GFT, launching his solo collections for spring 1993. His plan was to shift the focus of the ''Andrew Fezza'' brand to [sportswear](/source/sportswear_(fashion)) rather than tailoring, and offer more [unisex](/source/unisex) clothing under his ''Fez'' brand, which he introduced in 1991.<ref name=future/> He also reduced prices, making his products more affordable, selling shirts for $75 rather than $150, and [sport coat](/source/sport_coat)s for $175 to $325, rather than $375–550.<ref name=future/>

In 2010, Andrew and Marilyn created a multimedia production company called Seven Sisters Productions, LLC. 7Sisters Media is a global female empowerment platform "designed to disrupt mainstream media and create intelligent, meaningful programming tailored to young women."<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://www.linkedin.com/company/9549852?trk=tyah&trkInfo=clickedVertical%3Acompany%2CclickedEntityId%3A9549852%2Cidx%3A1-2-2%2CtarId%3A1444677207432%2Ctas%3A7%20sisters|title = 7 Sisters Project: Overview|date = October 12, 2015|accessdate = October 12, 2015|website = LinkedIn|publisher = |last = |first = }}</ref>

==Awards==
In 1984, Fezza was the last recipient of the [Coty Award](/source/Coty_Award) for menswear.<ref name=mcdowell>{{cite book| last = McDowell| first = Colin| title = McDowell's Directory of Twentieth Century Fashion| publisher = Frederick Muller| year = 1984| pages =299–301| isbn =0-584-11070-7}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=1985-06-17 |title=Coty Awards discontinued after 4 decades. (fashion design) |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb4298/is_198506/ai_n14975552 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080921112245/http://findarticles.com:80/p/articles/mi_hb4298/is_198506/ai_n14975552 |archive-date=2008-09-21 |access-date=2025-01-29 |website=findarticles.com |language=en}}</ref> His win was seen as significant as the Coty Awards had been criticized for becoming too predictable.<ref name=Duka>{{cite news |last=Duka |first=John |title=COTY AWARDS: VITTADINI AND FEZZA ARE WINNERS|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/09/25/style/coty-awards-vittadini-and-fezza-are-winners.html|accessdate=13 February 2014|newspaper=The New York Times|date=25 September 1984}}</ref> Fezza had previously been nominated in 1981, when he received a Menswear Special Award following an executive decision by the organisers that, as [Calvin Klein](/source/Calvin_Klein), [Geoffrey Beene](/source/Geoffrey_Beene), and [Ralph Lauren](/source/Ralph_Lauren) had all rejected their Cotys, all nominees would receive an award.<ref name=mcdowell/>

Fezza has also received the Council of Fashion Designers of America Award for Menswear, the Cutty Sark Award for Outstanding Designer, and the Chrysler/Cartier Stargazer Award for Best New American Designer.<ref>{{Cite web|title = BRAND {{!}} Andrew Fezza|url = http://www.andrewfezza.com/brand/|website = www.andrewfezza.com|accessdate = 2015-10-18}}</ref>

==References==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Fezza, Andrew}}
Category:1955 births
Category:American fashion designers
Category:American people of Italian descent
Category:Living people
Category:Place of birth missing (living people)
Category:Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences alumni
Category:Fashion Institute of Technology alumni
Category:Businesspeople from Connecticut
Category:Menswear designers

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Andrew Fezza](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Fezza) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Fezza?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.