Bijan (designer)


Bijan Pakzad, generally known simply as Bijan, was an Iranian designer of menswear and fragrances.

Early life and education

Born in Tehran, Iran, in 1940, although his birth year has also been claimed to be 1944. Upon immigrating to America in 1973, Bijan settled in Los Angeles and established his exclusive boutique on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills in 1976. It has been described as "the most expensive store in the world".

Career

Bijan's career began in Iran with the Pink Panther Boutique in Tehran.
Among his clients, Bijan claimed to count five American Presidents – both George Bush and his son, Barack Obama, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton – as well as politicians such as Tony Blair, Vladimir Putin, Kastriot Uruci, Najib Razak, and the Shah of Iran. He also dressed other fashion designers such as Oscar de la Renta, Tom Ford, and Giorgio Armani, high-profile actors including Tom Cruise and Anthony Hopkins and professional footballers including Mick McCarthy and Liam Brady.
Bijan's fragrances for both men and women are known for their distinctive circular glass flacon with an open center and a dividing web. When half full, the fragrance fills two separate chambers, seemingly defying the law of gravity that liquid seeks its own level. One of these perfume bottles is featured in the permanent exhibit of the Smithsonian Institution.
In 2000, Bijan generated controversy when he published advertisements featuring a nude "rotund model named Bella", which were rejected by many New York magazines before being accepted by Tina Brown's Talk. He said the ads were an homage to painters Peter Paul Rubens, Henri Matisse, and Fernando Botero, whose art has featured full-figured women, and said "I embrace the beauty of all women". Once they were published in Talk, the ads were accepted by several of the publications that had previously rejected them.
According to the 2001 Los Angeles Times Calendar Section, the Bijan Perfume and Fashion Business has brought in an estimated $3.2 billion in sales worldwide.

Personal life, death and legacy

Bijan was married twice. His first wife of eighteen years was Sigi Pakzad a Swiss-German whom he met while living in Europe in the 1960s; they had one daughter, Daniela Pakzad. His second wife was Irish-Japanese interior designer and model Tracy Hayakawa; they married in 1986 and divorced in 1995. They had two children together: Alexandra and Nicolas.
On April 14, 2011, Bijan suffered a stroke and was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He had brain surgery, but never recovered and died two days later on April 16, 2011 at 8:05 am. Public records indicate he was 71.
Bijan's store on Rodeo Drive was sold to LVMH for US$122 million in August 2016.