Robert Duffy (businessman)

Robert Duffy
Born (1954-10-14) October 14, 1954 (age 70)
Butler, Pennsylvania, United States
NationalityAmerican
OccupationFashion executive
Known forWork with Marc Jacobs
Spouses
Alex Cespedes
​
​
(m. 2010; div. 2012)​
Connor Dodd
​
(m. 2015)​
Children2

Robert Duffy (born October 14, 1954) is an American businessman. He is the co-founder of the fashion label Marc Jacobs as well as the Marc by Marc Jacobs diffusion line. Both Marc Jacobs and the Marc by Marc Jacobs collections included women's ready-to-wear, men's ready-to-wear, children's ready-to-wear, and accessories for all divisions.[1]

Duffy started the BookMarc store in early 2007.[2] Duffy & Jacobs formed a partnership with LVMH in 1997 and Duffy acted as Design Studio Director for Louis Vuitton from 1998 to 2013.[3]

Early life and career

Duffy was born on October 14, 1954, in Butler, Pennsylvania and spent his early life in Pennsylvania and Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

Robert Duffy started his career at Bergdorf Goodman in their buying office in 1978. In 1983 he founded the company Sketchbook with Ruben Thomas. As a young executive, after viewing Marc Jacobs’ designs during a fashion show at Parsons School of Design, Duffy hired Jacobs as the designer at Sketchbook. In 1984, Duffy renamed the company Marc Jacobs International, and Marc became an equal partner.[4] Interviewed by Vogue about their business model, Duffy said, "I never opened a store where there is fashion. In SoHo (New York), there was nothing but a garage there when we opened. People thought I was crazy... Opening Marc by Marc was very big. Marc's love is the collection line. I always wanted the company to be broad and wanted to reach out to a lot of people. It was difficult to convince people that it was necessary - to be a luxury brand but be all price points. But I knew I could do it and I'm proud we did it" [5]

Duffy had various titles at Marc Jacobs International from 1984 to 2013 including Founder, chairman, Co-chairman, and President. In 1997 Duffy and Jacobs formed a partnership with LVMH. Duffy retained his titles at Marc Jacobs and was named Design Studio Director at Louis Vuitton from 1998 to 2013. LVMH acquired 20% ownership of the Marc Jacobs trademark at the time while Duffy and Jacobs retained 40% each.

In Summer 2013, there were 285 Marc Jacobs retail stores (including Marc by Marc Jacobs & Marc Jacobs Collection, and BookMarc stores) in 80 countries.[6] Duffy opened the first high-end retail stores on Bleecker Street in New York.[7]

In 2013 Robert Duffy stepped back from his day-to-day responsibilities at Marc Jacobs International to raise his young children.[8] Duffy is currently Founder and Deputy Chairman of Marc Jacobs International and remains a substantial stockholder in Marc Jacobs International.[9]

Charities

In 1997 Duffy was diagnosed with metastatic malignant melanoma. Duffy started the "Protect the Skin You're In" cancer research project benefiting the NYU Langone Medical Center. Over the years, he recruited celebrities and models to pose nude for t-shirts to raise money and awareness of malignant melanoma. Celebrities who posed include Miley Cyrus, Eva Mendes, Milla Jovovich, Kate Upton, Victoria Beckham, Heidi Klum, Julian Moore, Hilary Swank, Christy Turlington and Naomi Campbell.[10]

Duffy supports numerous charities including New York University Cancer Center, the Hetrick-Martin Institute/Harvey Milk School, the Human Rights Campaign, amfAR, New York State land trusts & preservation organizations, The Rhinebeck Science Foundation, and the Provincetown Art Association and Museum.[11][12][13][14][15][16][17]

Duffy has received awards from the American Cancer Society, New York University Langone Medical Center, Aid for AIDS, Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Designers Against AIDS, amFAR, the Human Rights Campaign, and the Hetrick-Martin Institute/Harvey Milk School.[11][18][19][20][21]

Personal life

In 2013, Duffy purchased and restored Rhinebeck's Astor Tea House, a 40-acre estate on the Hudson River. This home and his other homes in Paris,[which?] Savannah, Georgia, Cape Cod, and New York's Greenwich Village have been featured in various publications.[22][23][24]

Duffy married Alex Cespedes, a native of Paraguay working in real estate, in Provincetown, Massachusetts on April 20, 2010.[25][26] In August 2011 they adopted a baby girl named Victoria,[27] before divorcing a year later.[28] On June 20, 2015, he married Connor Dodd at his farm in Rhinebeck.[29][30] By January 2016 Duffy was in the process of adopting a second child, Caldwell.[31]

References

  1. ^ 1)“Marc Jacobs” Glamour.
  2. ^ Pithers, Ellie (November 7, 2012). "Robert Duffy moves into books". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  3. ^ "Robert Duffy is part of the BoF 500". The Business of Fashion. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
  4. ^ "Fashion's Better Halves." The Wall Street Journal. August 25, 2011.
  5. ^ "Marc Jacobs: Setting Up Shop." Vogue. April 20, 2009.
  6. ^ Mistry, Meenal (August 25, 2011). "Fashion's Better Halves". Wall Street Journal Magazine.
  7. ^ Bellafante, Ginia (December 4, 2001). "In the Far West Village, a Bleecker Street Makeover (Published 2001)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
  8. ^ 3)Francesca Sterlacci, Joanne Arbuckle. Historical Dictionary of the Fashion Industry, 2E. Rowman & Littlefield. 2017 pp. 245-6.
  9. ^ Adams, Erika (March 23, 2015). "Marc Jacobs's Longtime Business Partner Robert Duffy Has Stepped Down". Racked. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
  10. ^ Janette, Misha (January 12, 2011). "Robert Duffy charms Tokyo". Tokyo Weekender. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  11. ^ a b "Fashion Designer Marc Jacobs Launches Melanoma T-Shirt Campaign".
  12. ^ Fashionista. "Saint Marc: Marc Jacobs and Robert Duffy Fund Provincetown Playground Restoration". Fashionista. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
  13. ^ “amfAR Inspiration Gala in New York 2012” Vogue.de Retrieved September 12, 2017. http://www.vogue.de/people-kultur/people-news/charity-event-amfar-inspiration-gala-in-new-york-2012 Archived April 20, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ "Gala 2017 - Rhinebeck Science Foundation". www.rhinebecksciencefoundation.org.
  15. ^ "From the Director of Provincetown Art Association and Museum - Provincetown Art Association and Museum". January 7, 2014.
  16. ^ Karimzadeh, Marc (October 9, 2014). "Robert Duffy to Receive Honor in Provincetown".
  17. ^ "Preserving a Legacy, Building a Future - Provincetown Magazine".
  18. ^ "amfAR :: In The Spotlight :: Robert Duffy and Marc Jacobs International :: The Foundation for AIDS Research :: HIV / AIDS Research". www.amfar.org. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  19. ^ "amfAR :: In The Spotlight :: Robert Duffy and Marc Jacobs International :: The Foundation for AIDS Research :: HIV / AIDS Research". amfar.org.
  20. ^ "Out 100:Style-Makers of the Year." Out. (December 2005)
  21. ^ "HETRICK-MARTIN HOSTS ANNUAL AWARDS". gaycitynews.nyc.
  22. ^ Wells, Gully (September 9, 2016). "Step Inside The New York Estate The Astors Once Called Home". ELLE Decor. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
  23. ^ Colman, David (October 2012). "Look Inside Robert Duffy's Historic Manhattan Townhouse". Architectural Digest. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  24. ^ "Georgia State of Mind: Robert Duffy's Savannah Retreat". DuJour. October 1, 2012. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  25. ^ Foley, Bridget (April 14, 2010). "Marc Jacobs President to Marry: Here Come the Grooms". WWD. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  26. ^ Milligan, Laura (April 15, 2010). "A Jacobs Wedding". British Vogue. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  27. ^ Knutsen, Elise (November 9, 2011). "Robert Duffy and Husband Alex Cespedes are Fathers!". Observer. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  28. ^ Pithers, Ellie (November 7, 2012). "Robert Duffy moves into books - Telegraph". fashion.telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  29. ^ Gould, Jennifer (April 22, 2016). "Robert Duffy's Greenwich Village pad goes on sale for $17M". New York Post. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  30. ^ Foley, Bridget (June 23, 2015). "Bridget Foley's Diary: A Wedding in Rhinebeck". WWD. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  31. ^ Foley, Bridget (January 31, 2016). "Robert Duffy to Be a Dad Again". WWD. Retrieved August 27, 2020.