Sarah Phillips

Sarah Phillips is an American luxury and couture fashion designer. Deemed "7th Avenue's Cinderella", Phillips was selected to design Hillary Rodham Clinton's gown for the 1993 Inaugural Ball. Though Phillips lost her initial financial backing, she continued producing her collections and selling to her major accounts Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, and luxury specialty stores through the United States, Hong Kong, Canada and international locations. Early life Phillips was born in New York City, and is an alumna of the Parsons School of Design in NYC. During the early years of her career, she worked for Yves Saint Laurent, Ralph Lauren, and Christian Dior. Sarah Phillips, New York Reported by The New York Times, Phillips began professionally designing her own pieces in 1989, while still working for Dior. ⁣ She sold several of her first pieces to Henri Bendel, where they were featured in the front store windows along Fifth Avenue. She produced her first official line in April 1991 while working out of her loft in lower Manhattan. The line, a 15-piece collection of suits and evening clothes, was bought by Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus amongst other specialty stores throughout the US, Canada, and Hong Kong. represented with Karl Lagerfeld and Richard Tyler as the “structuralists”. Lisa Anderson of the Chicago Tribune states that "Phillips' clean, classic designs in suits and separates, her high-quality workmanship and her relatively affordable ($400 to $1,500) prices attracted store buyers." Her sales doubled between her first and second years of business.