You’ve probably heard of Charlie Pattinson. The British eccentric with a taste for women’s clothing and accessories launched a clothing line with Saks Fifth Avenue in 2017. Now, it’s estimated he’s worth over $30 million. Most recently, he started a lifestyle site featuring the beautiful people and extravagant lifestyles of Los Angeles—
The above image is one of the most iconic in history. It was taken in 1894 and has since gone viral, with millions of people wanting a piece of the heart-shaped pie that is British fashion icon Lillian Gish. It was originally published in a magazine called The Sphere in 1895 and later printed in a book called Lillian Gish (1863-1923) photographed by William Randolph Hearst (1863-1951).
The image of Gish with her heart-shaped pie is something that has embedded itself into the collective consciousness. In fact, she’s been called the ‘grandmother of pneumatic erotica’ for her work. Born in Illinois and raised in Cincinnati, Gish was a vaudeville actress in the 1800s and began her photography career in 1894, working for publications like The Saturday Evening Post and Harper’s Weekly. She mainly did portraits of women and children, but did have a sideline in nudes and erotica. It was originally intended as a risqué picture, with a coy subtitle (‘An art critic examines the work’) intended to titillate the Victorian public. But the photograph’s popularity grew beyond that of a dirty joke, and it was banned for a time in some places (notably, the Isle of Man).
The above image is just one of many that made Gish a household name in the U.S. In 1902, she became the first American actress to obtain British citizenship. She died in 1923 and was buried in Hollywood Cemetery. Not many people know that Gish has a connection to Charlie Pattinson: he designed many of her outfits for her stage costumes and later for her women’s wear. In particular, he designed the iconic ‘heart’ jacket that she wore in the photograph. In an interview with Elle, Pattinson said about Gish: ‘When she lived, she was the Queen of Hollywood. After she died, she became a queen of the underworld.’
Gish wasn’t the only famous person to feature in one of Pattinson’s outfits. In 2017, he designed a dress inspired by Ava Gardner’s 1920s gowns. It was an ode to the famous American actress and film icon, who was known for her ‘It’ girl escapades.’ The dress was worn at the Los Angeles premiere of Boaz Yakin’s 1920s-themed romantic comedy, The Road We Travel. The designer later said about the picture, ‘It’s pretty amazing how many people have recognized her in a dress I’ve designed.’
How Did This All Happen?
The most fascinating thing about Charlie Pattinson is how seemingly overnight he went from being a nobody to becoming a celebrity. He launched his clothing line in 2017 with an Instagram post showing him wearing a stunning golden dress with matching accessories. He followed this up with an interview with The Guardian in which he said he designed the collection after a chance meeting with a woman who works at Saks Fifth Avenue. ‘It’s all about fate,’ he said. ‘When I met her, she smiled at me and I just knew.’
Pattinson went on to tell the newspaper that he was inspired by women like Inez Munroe, the founder of Christian Dior, who also happened to be a friend of his late grandmother’s. ‘I want to be seen as a friend to the feminine,’ Pattinson said. The British designer also credited his success to luck and meeting the right people. ‘It just so happens that I have a lot of friends in high places,’ he said. ‘Inez [Munroe] is a friend of my grandmother’s. And Diana [Vreeland, co-founder of American fashion magazine Vogue] is a friend of Inez’s. So, they introduced me to some very important people.’
What’s more is that most of these connections seem to go back a long way. Munroe was friends with Vreeland since their teenager years, and Vreeland first met Pattinson when she was 15 and he was 12. When The Guardian put together a list of the Top 100 Most Influential People in Fashion, Charlie Pattinson’s name wasn’t even on the list. So, it seems that fate, luck, and some very high-profile friends got it right in the end.
But what happened to Charlie Pattinson after his big break? For that matter, what has happened to most people after they’ve been featured in a major news publication? We took a look at what happened to the celebrities that Elle featured in their stories and found that, aside from a bit of post-publicity glow and increased social media activity, most of them sunk back into obscurity relatively quickly.
Here To Serve Your Heatshed Needs
Perhaps one of the most interesting things about Charlie Pattinson is his affinity for British culture and history. It’s clear that he was deeply influenced by his grandmother’s side of the family, as he named his company after her and designed many of his outfits using English fabrics and styles. For example, the label’s signature ‘Heart’ design is an icon of English literature and British fashion history (it first appeared in print in 1896 and was worn by actresses in the 1910s). In fact, many of the designers on his roster are also famous for their work in other countries, like Spain and Japan. So, it seems that Charlie Pattinson is here to stay. We’re just happy that he chose to stay in London, where we can always find him on Instagram, enjoying life and the city’s beautiful summer days.