Edmond "Ted" Lapidus was a French fashion designer. He was born in Paris the son of a Russian-Jewish �migr� tailor. Lapidus was considered the creator and pioneer of the unisex fashion look and is credited with introducing a military and safari look into haute couture. He is credited as the first designer to put Military style Shoulder straps on both male and female clothing, and with making blue jeans part of the mainstream of fashion design. After an apprenticeship with Dior, Lapidus started his own fashion label in 1951, and gained prominence in the 1960s when French celebrities such as Brigitte Bardot, Fran�oise Hardy and Alain Delon started wearing his creations. Lapidus proved influential outside France, too, and was the first designer to persuade Twiggy to wear a suit and tie rather than a mini-skirt. John Lennon was another admirer and in 1969 he asked Lapidus to design a white leather bag to house a set of fourteen erotic lithographs he had made. Known as "Bag One", the limited edition of 300 bags incorporated zips, handles and a lock, as well as Lennon's signature in black, and was hand-stitched in Italy and later autographed by the Beatle. 

June 23rd, 1929 in Paris  /  Died:   Dec 29th, 2008