Canadiana: Danny Noble Shirtwaist Dress

I picked up this dress at the Value Village because I thought it was cute. I didn’t recognize the name Danny Noble, but a little time spent in an internet research rabbit hole revealed that Noble was (like Erdem) a Canadian born boy who moved to England, studied fashion, started up a small label (and was at one time married to Hot Gossip‘s Arlene Phillips), and was whisked away to the US by Albert Nipon.

Noble started up his own label (backed by Nipon) in the 1980s, and for a few years was ranked alongside designers like Claude Montana and Adrienne Vittadini as one of the bright lights of contemporary fashion. In 1984, Noble received a nomination for the coveted Coty Award for womenswear alongside Adrienne Vittadini and Stephen Sprouse (Vittadini won).

Noble’s base of operations was Philadelphia. Probably because that was Nipon’s home. The label did not survive the late eighties recession. In 2000, Noble launched a collection of loungewear and in 2005, his produced a line for the Home Shopping Network. Today he remains in Philly, teaching at Philadelphia University.