Rodriguez was born in Newark, New Jersey, the eldest child and only son of Cuban parents. His parents, Narciso Rodríguez Sanchez II, a longshoreman, and Rawedia María Rodríguez.[2][3] His paternal grandfather was born on the Canary Islands.[1]
Rodriguez performed freelance design work in New York before becoming Women’s Design Director for the Anne Klein label, then later working for Calvin Klein. His first major attention came in 1996 when he designed the wedding dress of fellow Calvin Klein employee Carolyn Bessette for her wedding to John F. Kennedy Jr.[6]
Early in his career, Rodriguez worked as a design assistant at Calvin Klein, as a design consultant at Tse Athletics, and as design director of Cerruti Arte (1995–1997).[7][8]
Loewe
From 1997 to 2001, Rodriguez held the position as women’s ready-to-wear designer at Loewe.[9][10]
Narciso Rodriguez
Also in 1997, Rodriguez launched his own label. That year, he showed his first fur collection under his own name for Goldin-Feldman in New York.[11]
When George magazine collapsed after John F. Kennedy Jr.'s death, Rodriguez hired Stephanie Mikesell, who had been an editorial assistant there, as his assistant.[12] He designed her wedding gown when she married Mark Madoff, eldest son of Bernie Madoff.
In 2003, Rodriguez launched his first fragrance, Narciso Rodriguez for Her, inspired by a bottle of Egyptian musk oil he had been given in high school.
By 2006, Rodriguez, who had ended his partnership with his label's manufacturer, Aeffe, was over US$1 million in debt to his suppliers, and needed fabric donations for his spring collection.[6]
On May 5, 2007, Liz Claiborne acquired a 50% interest in the Narciso Rodriguez label.[6] However, in 2008, Narciso Rodriguez bought the 50% interest back from Liz Claiborne for 12 million dollars.[13]
On November 4, 2008, Michelle Obama wore a dress from Narciso Rodriguez's spring 2009 collection when she joined her husband, Barack Obama, appearing for the first time as president-elect of the United States, on the stage at Grant Park in Chicago; it received substantial attention in the press.[14] The dress, originally unveiled at New York City's Fashion Week in September 2008, came from Rodriguez's "stress-relief" design collection. Rodriguez was a strong supporter in the fashion world of Barack Obama's campaign; in August 2008, he blamed a slowdown in his business on "this Bush mess".[15] Michelle Obama wore Narciso Rodriguez for her final State of the Union appearance as First Lady.[16] The same year, Rodriguez' dresses were featured in a catwalk scene in the feature film The Women, as being the designs of the character Mary Haines (played by Meg Ryan).
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Sara Lieberman (March 2013). "Madoff's Ultimate Victim"(PDF). Page Six magazine. pp. 36–42. Archived(PDF) from the original on February 21, 2016. Retrieved October 17, 2020. 'We worked together for six years, and I consider her family,' Rodriguez, one of Michelle Obama's favorite designers, tells Page Six Magazine. 'She's a down-to earth, kind, loyal and sweet woman. She was an ace assistant and an important part of my team.'
