Jessica McClintock, the San Francisco stylist who made countless prom dress dreams come true, died. She was 90 years old.
McClintock was famous for its affordable formal wear and thousands of ballgoers have fond memories of trying on dresses at their Union Square boutique. The fashion pioneer was born in Maine in 1930 and left home at 17 to graduate. She graduated from San Jose State University and ended up settling on the West Coast, where she invested in the San Francisco fashion brand Gunne Sax in 1969. The brand was known for its prairie-style cheetah dresses, but after McClintock joined the effort which would later take its name, the dresses changed to a more romantic and elegant style.
“Jessica always spoke of her belief that ‘Romance is beauty that touches the emotional part of our being’ and believed that everyone could choose to surround themselves with romance in their daily life,” says his obituary. “With this idea, she incorporated romance and beauty, as well as elegant sensuality, into each product she designed.”
In the 1990s, Jessica McClintock was synonymous with affordable women’s formal wear. His designs adorned weddings, bridal parties and countless formal dances and dinners; Hillary Clinton wore a Jessica McClintock dress when she married Bill Clinton in 1975.
In 1997, Women’s Wear Daily ranked Jessica McClintock as the seventh most recognized brand, second only to Cartier and Tiffany.
McClintock worked until his retirement in 2013, at the age of 83. Although initially planning to completely close the brand with his retirement, the brand was licensed and is active today. Her son Scott, who survived her, will continue to run the record company.
“Jessica McClintock was a fashion icon for those without big wallets,” wrote Representative Jackie Speier on Twitter. “She was a dear friend, an elegant woman, a successful business woman who made all the girls who wore one of her prom dresses and brides, like me, feel like a princess. Rest in peace, a lovely friend. “
A celebration of McClintock’s life will be held in San Francisco later this year.