Jessica McClintock

Jessica McClintock was born June 19, 1930, in Frenchville Maine In 1969. Shi stablished a company under her name. She was always interested in designing garments, having learned from her seamstress grandmother at a young age how to sew her own clothes. However, she initially chose a different path, graduating from Boston University with a teaching degree and teaching elementary school music and science until 1969. It was in that year that McClintock moved to California and invested in a small, upstart clothing boutique called Gunne Sax. She designed her first fashion line under the Sax name and soon took over the company, which became Jessica McClintock Inc. in 1978. Twenty years later, the brand had expanded into five divisions: the signature eveningwear collection, Gunne Sax junior dresses, Scott McClintock lower-priced eveningwear, Jessica McClintock for Girls and Jessica McClintock Bridal. With her first line catered to San Francisco's 'hippie generation', her designs continue to be recognized for their appeal to the free-thinking and romantic playfulness of youth. She has been recognized for her work with numerous awards, including a Best California Designer in 1985 and a Tommy award in 1986 and four DEBI (Design Elegance in the Bridal Industry) Awards. She remains the CEO of her company, which now spans more than 40 locations. Although the bridal collections make up about half the business, the company has made most of its expansion in the new millennium through licensing. The Jessica McClintock rug collection by Bashion, Goods by American Drew, Furniture by Clay Marcus, wall decor by Salem Graphics and dinnerware by PTS combined to become Jessica McClintock Home. The Romance Collection in 2001. This trend continued in 2002 with fashion bed and bath products under the McClintock name by Haywin Textile Products. This year, the company is releasing a bed and bath collection through Pacific Coast Furnishings and the Jessica Baby infant apparel collection. Other current licensing partners include Lea Industries, C.R. Lane, Loloi and Minka Group.

The Jessica McClintock name launched its first fragrance in select Macy's stores in 1988 The namesake women's fragrance, designed by Roure Bertrand Dupont, was a slight twist of lemon citrus, basil, rose and jasmine. Notably, the fragrance was not licensed to a fragrance or cosmetics company but instead produced by the company itself. It was joined in 1992 by the brand's first men's fragrance, Scott McClintock. Named after Jessica's son, the scent was a potent mixture of incense, flowers, and spice. Other popular scents for the brand now include New Victorian, Gunne Sax, the bridal-inspired Jessica McClintock Silk Ribbons, and 2001s Jessica McClintock # 3, a fresh, watery scent featuring fruits and lilac.