Patrick Cox (born March 19, 1963) is a Canadian-British fashion designer and an eponymous fashion label specializing in the creation of shoes, leather goods and accessories. Cox is most noted for the use of unusual materials and a mixture of avant-garde and traditional styles.
Cox was born in Edmonton, Alberta, to a ballerina Canadian mother and linguist English father. Cox was educated locally, except for periods when his father's work led the family to postings in Nigeria, Chad and Cameroon. Cox's signature silhouette was a loafer with a chunky heel, reminiscent of the 1970s disco platforms worn inside Studio 54. Cox has credited his initial interest in moccasins to fellow designer Richard James whom had asked Cox to design him a modern loafer to accessorise one of his early 1990s fashion shows.
In 1994, Cox opened his first Parisian store on the right bank, followed in 1995 by a second store in London on Sloane Street, a new store on New York's Madison Avenue and a second store in Paris on the left bank.
The Hong Kong duty free company King Power Group took a controlling interest in the Patrick Cox company in 2006. Cox left the eponymous firm the following year and the entire business, except for a few continuing Japanese licenses was closed in 2008.
In September 2010, Cox opened 'Cox Cookies & Cake', a pâtisserie in London's Soho district, with Eric Lanlard to whom he was introduced by Elizabeth Hurley. In keeping with the area's history of seedy business, the décor was black and neon while the staff wore studded leather aprons. Delicacies included titty and bum cupcakes along with his mother Maureen's recipe for traditional Canadian Nanaimo bars. After two successful years trading Cox decided to close the business to return to shoe design.
In 2011, Cox was approached to design for the Italian shoe giant Geox.
References
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