Who

The man behind the eponymous fashion line that rose to dazzling prominence in the '90s, Rodriguez sold a controlling interest in his company to Liz Claiborne in 2007.

Backstory

Rodriguez's Cuban parents hoped their son would become a doctor or lawyer, but much to their disappointment, he headed off to study fashion at Parsons instead. After graduating in 1985, he took a job as Donna Karan's assistant at Anne Klein; he later became an assistant womenswear designer at Calvin Klein, where he became close to Carolyn Bessette, who worked in the company's PR department. When Bessette got engaged to John F. Kennedy Jr. a few years later, she asked Rodriguez to design the wedding gown. His creation—a simple, sexy white silk column—ended up garnering him the sort of publicity most designers can only fantasize about. By the time the dress was splashed in magazines all over the world, Rodriguez had moved to Paris to take the job of creative director of Cerutti. He later decamped to Milan to start a label of his own in partnership with Aeffe (the company run by the Ferretti family) as well as to head up Spanish fashion and accessories label Loewe.

But Rodriguez soon decided to focus his full attention on his eponymous clothing line and resigned from Loewe to return to New York. His clothes made their way to the racks at Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus, and he earned the CFDA award for best womenswear designer an unprecedented two years in a row in 2002 and 2003. But while he was basking in the glow of fawning fashion editors and adoring celebrity fans, things were decidedly bumpier on the financial front. The difficulty keeping afloat led him to sell a 50% stake in his company to Liz Claiborne in 2007.

Of note

Although Narciso has been in business in for nearly a decade and his sexy, minimalist creations have never lacked for famous fans—Sarah Jessica Parker, Hilary Swank, Jessica Seinfeld, and Claire Danes are all longtime devotees—he never pursued the aggressive path of expansion (a la Marc Jacobs or Michael Kors) that people assumed he would. That's largely why his relationship with Aeffe soured; Rodriguez says he'd wanted to branch out into accessories and expand his retail presence but that Massimo Ferretti, who had veto power over his strategic plans, wanted to follow a more modest track. By 2007, a cash-starved Rodriguez faced the prospect of bankruptcy and turned to a handful of friends for help including Anna Wintour, Donna Karan, Jessica Sklar Seinfeld, and Ralph Lauren. Thanks to the efforts of investment banker Gail Zauder, who'd helped Karan sell her company a few years earlier, Rodriguez ended up cutting a deal with Liz Claiborne to sell a 50% stake for $12 million. The fashion behemoth had plans to beef up the brand by launching a line of accessories and swimwear as well as by opening new stores worldwide, but again Rodriguez reportedly can't agree with his partners on the best way forward, and the relationship looks likely to dissolve.

Personal

The gay designer is single. He lives with two terriers and a Chihuahua in a Chelsea penthouse on West 23rd Street. Fellow fashion-man Joe Zee is a neighbor.

True story

For years Narciso's Cuban-born father, a retired longshoreman, was a fixture in the front row at all his shows, where he could be found mingling with fashionista editors and celebs.