Sarah Phillips (fashion designer)

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.[1][3]

Reported by The New York Times, [3] Phillips began professionally designing her own pieces in 1989, while still working for Dior. ⁣[2] She sold several of her first pieces to Henri Bendel, where they were featured in the front store windows along Fifth Avenue.[4] She produced her first official line in April 1991 while working out of her loft in lower Manhattan.[5] 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.[1] represented with Karl Lagerfeld and Richard Tyler as the “structuralists”. [2]

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."[6] Her sales doubled between her first and second years of business.[4]

Phillips decided to take a break from designing in order to spend more time with her family.[2][4] Phillips announced she would be relaunching her line in 2013. [4][7] Her new collection consisted of "40 special-occasion pieces made of silk and cashmere" and a scaled-back business model; the line was sold only through trunk shows to her private clients and her website.[4]

Hillary Clinton, then the First Lady of Arkansas, wore a pale yellow silk suit designed by Phillips to the 1992 Democratic National Convention at Madison Square Garden, where her husband accepted the Democratic nomination for President of the United States.[1][5]

When Hillary Rodham Clinton tapped the virtually unknown, 37-year-old designer to whip up her inaugural gown, she was christened “7th Avenue’s Cinderella” and was overwhelmed by an avalanche of publicity.[1]

People magazine clamored for an interview, store buyers were buzzing to place orders (Fred Hayman requested some gowns for Oscar night), Hanes stockings wanted her for an ad, and Katie Couric thrust her before the cameras at the Arkansas Ball on inaugural night.[1] Michelle Revere, a couture and designer buyer, from the specialty designer store where Clinton discovered the suit, encouraged Phillips to submit sketches for the gown Clinton would wear to the 1993 Inaugural Ball. Her sketch was selected; Phillips described the resulting design, a couture violet lace sheath gown with a silk mousseline overskirt, as "a fairy-tale sort of dress, very traditional, which really isn't typical of my style."[1][8]

Nicole Fischelis, then-fashion director of Saks Fifth Avenue, said of the gown, "I think Sarah Phillips is part of a new generation of young designers who are very contemporary and have a definite feel for quality clothes … I think it's terrific that Mrs. Clinton would pick someone young and unknown to the public."[6]

The gown appeared on several national television shows and in magazines, such as Today, People Magazine, and in parody form on Saturday Night Live.[1] It was later introduced into The Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution's collection of First Lady Inaugural Ball gowns.[5] Following the ball, Phillips was asked to design gowns for several other women for that year's Academy Awards red carpet and ceremony.[9] She also became a member of the CFDA.[10]