RAFAEL MEN'S PURE SILK (2) BUTTON LUX BLAZER

RAFAEL FULLY LINED (2) BUTTON CLOSURE (3) BUTTON CUFFS NO FLAWS PHOTO: Bill and Millie Kaiserman. Bill Kaiserman is a four-time Coty award-winning designer. Bill Kaiserman (Rafael) was a retail salesman turned hat maker who influenced the fashion world by introducing the leisure aesthetic to the American fashion market in the early 1970s. Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., the self-taught designer started out designing hats, which he sold under the Rafael label. He later added men’s wear — specializing in leather and suede pieces — before venturing into women’s wear in December 1973. In dressing women, he focused on active sportswear looks and suits for city dressing. Kaiserman once said of his designs, “A woman has to be reasonably well-built to wear my clothes as they’re cut to fit the body.” “Amply recognized for his contribution to American fashion, Kaiserman has received several Coty awards and a Hall of Fame citation for his contribution to menswear…. It is ultimately his menswear concept that was Kaiserman’s greatest contribution to fashion. His leisurewear opened up greater boundaries for menswear design as a whole, and his leisure suit became a liberated classic for many men. He chose the name Rafael because he thought it would look better in print than his own; ironically, his name as a designer eclipsed the label he chose to represent his product. In the 1980s, Kaiserman disappeared from the fashion industry, closing Rafael and moving to Italy.”