Paul William Compitus is a fashion

Fashion

Fashion, a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing, foot wear, or accessories. Fashion references to anything that is the current trend in look and dress up of a person...

 designer and educator, and is noted for his sexy, avant-garde, surreal and often futuristic style.

Life and career

Paul Compitus is a British fashion designer who worked for many of the most famous design houses. Although he primarily designed menswear, he ran his own womenswear line, Paul Compitus Fashions, until 1999. As a university lecturer he mentored young designers in both the UK and in the United States. Although his work was photographed for many magazines, and seen on several celebrities, he is most well known for the pants worn in one of David LaChapelle

David LaChapelle

David LaChapelle is a photographer and director who works in the fields of fashion, advertising, and fine art photography, and is noted for his surreal, unique, sexualized, and often humorous style.-Early life:...

's "surgery story" photographs as well as for designing costumes for the Stephen Petronio

Stephen Petronio

Stephen Petronio is an artistic company founder/director, choreographer, and an American dancer based in New York City.Born in Newark, New Jersey, on March 20, 1956. Petronio received a B.A. degree from Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts, where he began dancing in 1974...

 Dance Company.

Compitus attended Kingston University

Kingston University

Kingston University is a public research university located in Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, United Kingdom. It was originally founded in 1899 as Kingston Technical Institute, a polytechnic, and became a university in 1992....

 in England where he received his Bachelor's degree in Fashion Design. He was the first non-Japanese designer to work for the Japanese fashion house Matsuda

Matsuda

is a Japanese family name.-People with the family name:*Iwao Matsuda, a member of the Japanese Diet*Jeff Matsuda, animator for Jackie Chan Adventures and The Batman*Jujiro Matsuda, founder of Mazda*Mari Matsuda, American law school professor...

 in 1990-1991. He moved to the United States in 1994.

Paul Compitus has designed for major brands such as Ecko

Ecko

Eckō unltd. is a brand of urban lifestyle clothing founded by fashion designer Marc Ecko, that has been popular since the late 1990s, and moved into the mainstream urban culture in the early 2000s. It is most often associated with hip-hop people. The style is based on graffiti art.The creation of...

 Red, Matsuda

Matsuda

is a Japanese family name.-People with the family name:*Iwao Matsuda, a member of the Japanese Diet*Jeff Matsuda, animator for Jackie Chan Adventures and The Batman*Jujiro Matsuda, founder of Mazda*Mari Matsuda, American law school professor...

, Rugby by Ralph Lauren

Ralph Lauren

Ralph Lauren is an American fashion designer and business executive; best known for his Polo Ralph Lauren clothing brand.-Early life:...

, Charivari

Charivari

Charivari is the term for a French folk custom in which the community gave a noisy, discordant mock serenade, also pounding on pots and pans, at the home of newlyweds. The loud, public ritual evolved to a form of social coercion, for instance, to force an as-yet-unmarried couple to wed...

, Nautica, Rocawear

Rocawear

Created in 1999 by Roc-A-Fella Records co-founders Damon Dash and Jay Z,Rocawear has annual sales of $700 million. Rocawear expanded its brand through licensing pacts to develop lines for children and juniors; socks and sandals; leather, suede, and fur outerwear; handbags and belts; lounge wear;...

 and Asada, as well as Whispering Smith and King. He was a lecturer at Kingston University

Kingston University

Kingston University is a public research university located in Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, United Kingdom. It was originally founded in 1899 as Kingston Technical Institute, a polytechnic, and became a university in 1992....

, where he mentored several winners of the Levi's Young Designers Competition. He also lectured at the Fashion Institute of Technology

Fashion Institute of Technology

The Fashion Institute of Technology, generally known as FIT, is a State University of New York college of art, business, design, and technology connected to the fashion industry, with an urban campus located on West 27th Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues in the Chelsea neighborhood of...

 in New York City.

Since his marriage to animal behaviorist Katherine Gross Compitus in 2007, Paul Compitus has become more involved in promoting animal rights and responsible pet ownership.

Magazine References

"Russell's Letter" - One World (1997),
Fashion Spectrum,
Trend People (Italian, 1997),
Neo (2005, Spanish),
Detour (1997),
Harper's Bazar En Espanol,
The Face Magazine (June 1997),
Interview (April 1997),
Surface (1997),
Soma,
Sweater,
Sportswear International,
Blackbook (Autumn 1997),
Raygun (November 1997),
Urb,
Details (1998),
Paper (1997),
Creme & Sugar (No.3)

External links

• http://www.newsweek.com/id/96145 Newsweek interview with Paul Compitus