Todd Oldham
Encyclopedia
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
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Oldham launched his first clothing line in 1989 and won the Council of Fashion Designer
Council of Fashion Designers of America
The Council of Fashion Designers of America, Inc. is a not-for-profit trade association of over 350 of America’s foremost fashion and accessory designers. As of 2009, Diane von Fürstenberg is the group's President and Steven Kolb is the Executive Director...
Perry Ellis Award for New Fashion Talent in 1991. In 1998, Oldham moved to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
with his business partner, Tony Longoria. Oldham served as creative consultant to Escada
Escada
Escada is an international luxury fashion group in women's designer clothing. The company has a presence in about 60 different countries. Its main sales markets are North America, western and eastern Europe and Asia. It filed bankruptcy in August 2009, and was acquired by Megha Mittal, in November...
in the late 1990s. He launched a perfume line in 1995 and designed a clothing line for Target
Target Corporation
Target Corporation, doing business as Target, is an American retailing company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the second-largest discount retailer in the United States, behind Walmart. The company is ranked at number 33 on the Fortune 500 and is a component of the Standard & Poor's...
(2002–2003). In 1995, he produced a clothing line associated with the Warner Brothers film Batman Forever
Batman Forever
Batman Forever is a 1995 American superhero film directed by Joel Schumacher and produced by Tim Burton. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, the film is a sequel to Batman Returns , with Val Kilmer replacing Michael Keaton as Batman...
. Oldham designed furniture and home accessories for La-Z-Boy
La-Z-Boy
La-Z-Boy Incorporated is a furniture manufacturer based in Monroe, Michigan, USA which makes home furniture, including upholstered recliners, sofas, stationary chairs, and sleeper sofas...
furniture (2003–2007) and served as creative director for Old Navy
Old Navy
Old Navy is an American clothing brand as well as a chain of stores owned by Gap, Inc., with corporate operations in San Francisco and San Bruno, California. It is one of the first major corporations to house headquarters in the new Mission Bay district of San Francisco.Gap, Inc. was run by...
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Oldham designed The Hotel of South Beach in 1999. He is currently designing the annex to the hotel. Oldham has become widely known to American TV audiences through his many television appearances, most notably as host of "Todd Time" on MTV's House of Style
House of Style
House of Style is an MTV show that premiered January 1, 1989, focusing on America's growing fascination with the "supermodel" craze. The show focused on fashion, lives of models, the modeling industry, and controversial topics such as eating disorders....
in the 1990s. He hosted Fashionably Loud on MTV in 1999 and recently served as mentor to contestants on Bravo's Top Design
Top Design
Top Design is an American reality television series. Interior designers compete to win cash and receive a spot in New York's Designer showcases....
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Oldham is also actively involved in book publishing. He has produced a number of books on various aspects of style for Ammo Books as part of the Place Space series. Books in the series include photos and essays on filmmaker John Waters
John Waters (filmmaker)
John Samuel Waters, Jr. is an American filmmaker, actor, stand-up comedian, writer, journalist, visual artist, and art collector, who rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films...
, the artist compound in upstate New York owned by Joe Holtzman (the founder of Nest magazine
Nest (magazine)
Nest: A Quarterly of Interiors was a magazine published from 1997 to 2004, for a total run of 26 issues. The first issue was Fall 1997, and the second issue was Fall 1998...
), and the Rhode Island School of Design
Rhode Island School of Design
Rhode Island School of Design is a fine arts and design college located in Providence, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1877. Located at the base of College Hill, the RISD campus is contiguous with the Brown University campus. The two institutions share social, academic, and community resources and...
’s off-campus housing and Bedrock City
Bedrock City
Bedrock City is a campground and theme park in Custer, South Dakota in the Black Hills which features buildings and characters inspired by The Flintstones television series. The facility was created by a pair of Custer concrete makers.-Summary:...
. Oldham has also created Hand Made Modern, Without Boundaries, and various other titles. In June 2007, Oldham released a monograph of artist Charley Harper
Charley Harper
Charley Harper was a Cincinnati-based American Modernist artist. He was best known for his highly stylized wildlife prints, posters and book illustrations....
’s work titled An Illustrated Life.
Early life
Oldham was born Jacky Todd Oldham in Corpus Christi, TexasCorpus Christi, Texas
Corpus Christi is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas. The county seat of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patricio counties. The MSA population in 2008 was 416,376. The population was 305,215 at the 2010 census making it the...
, in 1961 to Jack and Linda Oldham. He has two sisters and one brother. At age 15, he designed his first dress when he stitched together some pillowcases. His father was a computer programmer and the family moved around due to his father’s job, including a four-year stint in Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
when Oldham was 12. He moved to Dallas, Texas, after graduating high school. His first job was in the alterations department at the Polo Ralph Lauren
Polo Ralph Lauren
Ralph Lauren Corporation is a luxury clothing and goods company of the American fashion designer Ralph Lauren. Ralph Lauren specializes in high-end casual/semi-formal wear for men and women, as well as accessories, fragrances, home and housewares...
. He borrowed $100 from his parents, bought 41 yards of white cotton jersey, dyed it and put together a tiny collection that he sold to Neiman Marcus
Neiman Marcus
Neiman Marcus, formerly Neiman-Marcus, is a luxury specialty retail department store operated by the Neiman Marcus Group in the United States. The company is headquartered in the One Marcus Square building in Downtown Dallas, Texas, and competes with other department stores such as Saks Fifth...
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Philanthropy
Oldham is on the advisory board of the Amazon Conservation TeamAmazon Conservation Team
The Amazon Conservation Team is a non-profit organization that works in partnership with indigenous people of tropical America in conserving the biodiversity of the Amazon Rainforest as well as the culture and land of its indigenous people....
(ACT), to work in partnership with indigenous people in conserving biodiversity, health and culture in Central America. He is also on the board of Aperture, a nonprofit foundation dedicated to promoting photography. Oldham has also been involved with Habitat for Humanity, Bailey House, the oldest supportive housing program for persons with HIV and AIDS in the United States, and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is an American animal rights organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president. A non-profit corporation with 300 employees and two million members and supporters, it claims to be the largest animal rights...
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