Bill Blass (William Ralph Blass 1922-2002) was an American fashion designer, the recipient of many fashion awards, including seven Coty Awards and the Fashion Institute of Technology's Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999. His school books were filled with sketches of Hollywood-inspired fashions instead of notes. At fifteen, he began sewing and selling evening gowns for $25 each to a New York manufacturer. Blass was the first male to win Mademoiselle's Design for Living award. At Seventeen! He enlisted in the Army in 1943 and was assigned to the 603rd Camouflage Battalion. Its mission was to deceive the German Army into believing the Allies were positioned in fake locations, by using dummy tanks, for example. He served in this unit at several major operations including the Battle of the Bulge. Rarely photographed without a cigarette, Blass was diagnosed in 2000 with oral/tongue cancer which spread to throat cancer.
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