Fabric of Dreams; Designing My Own Success

Hankins, Anthony Mark, with Markley, Debbie

ISBN 10: 0525943293 / ISBN 13: 9780525943297

Published by Dutton, New York, 1998

About this Item

xvi, 288 pages. Illustrations. Introduction by Bruce Ackerman. Foreword by Mayor Ron Kirk. Bookplate signed by Hankins on half-title page. DJ has slight wear and soiling. Derived from a Kirkus review: A detailed memoir by the young African-American fashion designer responsible for a very successful line of women's wear who in only a few years went from a job in the quality assurance department at J.C. Penny to heading his own clothing company, with annual revenues in excess of $40 million. Hankins, one of seven children raised by an indomitable single mother in Elizabeth, N.J., demonstrated a talent for fashion at an early age--he made a dress for his mother to wear to a wedding when he was seven. His memoir (coauthored by People magazine correspondent Markley) stresses the importance of the teachers in grade and high school who encouraged him, as well as that of the many figures in the fashion industry who helped him along. The story is a good one. Anthony Mark Hankins (born November 10, 1968) is an American fashion designer who founded Anthony Mark Hankins Inc. in 1994. By his mid-twenties he had built his own $40 million business[1] and was named by Newsweek as one of the top 100 people to watch in America. As a student, Anthony Mark Hankins apprenticed with Yves Saint Laurent in Paris (1988-1990). Later, he also apprenticed for Adrienne Vittadini, Willi Smith (1986), Michael Paris, and Homer Layne (1987). During that time it was at an interview with Bob Mackie, an Emmy winning designer for shows like Carol Burnett Show and The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour, which pointed him towards the ready-to-wear mass market. Returning to the United States in 1992, Anthony Mark Hankins began working at JCPenney Corporation as the Quality Assurance Manager. In this role he utilized his skills and eye for fashion to drive his career forward. Within eight weeks he had been promoted to become the first and only in-house designer in the Minority Supplier Development Division at JCPenney's corporate headquarters in Dallas. Anthony left JCPenney in 1994 when he founded Ramone Moya Ltd. which was the umbrella company for the AMH Group and Anthony Mark Hankins Inc. JCPenney agreed to carry his initial line. The first article about the company ran in the July 2, 1994 issue of the Dallas Morning News headlined "Breaking Out of the Pattern" written by Maria Halkias. Once his exclusivity with JCPenney expired he also marketed to Target with his line called "Authentics" and Kmart with "Anjalise." His ready to wear collections were also featured in Nordstrom and Sears. By 1996 he had revenues of $40 million in annual sales. All of Anthony's designs are created in the United States. He has had success selling worldwide in PX stores for the Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES). He was next approached by Black Entertainment Television to do a home-shopping program called BET Shop which had a direct connection to the Home Shopping Network. On March 31, 1996 he had his first appearance on HSN. He is now in his seventeenth year as a designer on the Home Shopping Network for ready-wear-fashions.

Seller Inventory # 74250

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Fabric of Dreams; Designing My Own Success
• Publisher: Dutton, New York
• Publication Date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0525943293
• ISBN 13: 9780525943297
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: First Printing [Stated].
• Condition: Very good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very good
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)

About this title

Synopsis

Reveals the man behind the successful line of clothing available in stores across the country and the life philosophy that led him from Elizabeth, New Jersey, to the couture houses of Paris