Fred Hayman is an American Revolutionary. By sheer will and his own pocketbook, he radically changed the way the world considered Los Angeles style, how the beauty business operated and magazines smelled, and the potential of retail and branding.
Under the landmark yellow and white striped awnings of Giorgio Beverly Hills, he transformed a sleepy, ordinary main street of an otherwise well-heeled “village” into one of the top platinum shopping attractions among the international jet set. The zip code here is now shorthand for fame, wealth and a singular style, and in large part owing to a four-decade love affair by its most enthusiastic and charming champion.
Out of a single boutique, already on the map for breaking some of the most influential designers of the day in an unorthodox clubby milieu, he and his third wife Gale Hayman brazenly conceived of and went to market with a signature fragrance—an inconceivable feat in 1981 for anyone outside the cultural and style hubs of New York and Paris, let alone the inexperienced owners of an independent shop. Never mind that Giorgio Beverly Hills came out of California. It flaunted its hometown in the brand name and its extravagant launch on Rodeo Drive…
