Bijan Pakzad
(generally known simply as
Bijan) (born
1944)
[1] is a well-known
Iranian American designer of
menswear and
fragrances.
Born in
Tehran,
Iran, Bijan immigrated to the
United States in
1973. His exclusive
boutique on
Rodeo Drive in
Beverly Hills was established in
1976 and can be visited by "
appointment only". It has been described as "the most expensive store in the world".
[2]
Bijan dresses the worlds most powerful men.
President Bush,
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger,
Tom Cruise,
Thomas Gottschalk,
Sir Anthony Hopkins, President
Vladimir Putin,
Senator John Kerry,
Prime Minister Tony Blair,
Paul Allen,
Jay Leno,
Giorgio Armani,
Usher,
Carlos Slim Helu,
Steve Wynn,
Oscar De La Renta,
Tom Ford, and President
Ronald Reagan have all been dressed by Bijan
Bijan mainly lives in
Beverly Hills,
California but he is also known to own residences in
New York and
Boston as well as
Milan and
Florence,
Italy.
Bijan is known also for his cars, he has a Yellow
Bentley Azure with black interior as well as a Black
Bentley Azure with yellow interior he is also known to have a Black
Mercedes SLR Mclaren with a customized paint scheme, a black Bugatti Veyron, and a Yellow Ferrari 430 which he parks outside his
Rodeo Drive Boutique
Bijan's fragrances for both men and women are known for their distinctive circular glass flacon with an open center and a dividing web. When half full, the fragrance fills two separate chambers, seemingly defying the law of
gravity that liquid seeks its own level. One of these perfume bottles is featured in the permanent exhibit of the
Smithsonian Institution.
In
1988, Bijan for Men won the
Fragrance Foundation's FiFi award for "Most Successful Men’s Fragrance (Exclusive)" while Bijan for Women won the award for "Best Women’s Fragrance Package".
[3] In
1997, Bijan again had success at the
FiFi Awards with the
Michael Jordan Cologne winning awards for "Men's Fragrance Star of the Year Specialty/ Department Stores" and "Best National Advertising Campaign – Men’s".
[4]
Another fragrance from Bijan, DNA, earned Bijan an
Ig Nobel Prize in
1995 for
chemistry. The perfume contained no
deoxyribonucleic acid and came in a triple helix-shaped bottle (as opposed to the
double helix structure of DNA).
[5]. The DNA name was inspired by Bijan's children's initials, Daniela, Nicolas, and Alexandra, not the nucleic acid.
[6]
In
1989 Vanity Fair magazine named Bijan to their "International Best Dressed List".
[7]
in the late 80's Bijan designed a golden colt revolver. The gun had a leather handgrip fashioned for a .38-cal. Colt revolver inlaid in the cylinder was 56 grams of 24-karat gold, the gun was placed in a mink pouch in a Baccarat crystal case embossed with the customer's name. Bijan's own signature is engraved in gold on the shank of the gun. In 2005 one of his two hundred guns ever created sold at
Christie's auction house for over $50,000 USD
Bijan has three children, Daniela Pakzad from his first marriage and
Alexandra Pakzad and
Nicolas Bijan Pakzad from his second marriage to Tracy Murdock. His daughter
Alexandra Pakzad works as a fashion model, and his Daughter Daniela works in the watch department of Bijan designer for men. His son
Nicolas Bijan Pakzad also works for Bijan designer for men.
In 2000 Bijan courted controversy when an
ad featuring a "rotund [nude] model named Bella"
[8] and himself was at first rejected by New York magazines before it was accepted by
Tina Brown's
Talk magazine.
[9]
Bijan perfume is referenced in the
Weezer song "You Gave Your Love to Me Softly."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bijan_(designer)
SOURCES:
well i got to know bijan from parents and family its a reallyy amazing brand and i really love the frangrences specially the new one . but i agree with u i never liked any of the fords fragrnaces anyway and bijan is not a new brand like some people think it is goes way back....
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