Who Is Adam Lippes? The Designer, His Career and Signature Pieces

Adam Lippes is an American fashion designer, born in Buffalo, New York in 1972, who spent seven years at Oscar de la Renta, rising to global creative director, before founding his own label. He launched ADAM in 2004, sold it to Kellwood in 2010, bought the business back in 2012 and relaunched it under his own name. Today Adam Lippes is a New York luxury womenswear house known for fine cashmere, silk and tailoring.

Michelle Obama, Jill Biden and Kamala Harris have all favoured his designs, and his clothes are sold through more than 75 luxury retailers in 20 countries. Here is the full story, from Cornell to Fifth Avenue.

Who is Adam Lippes? The short biography

Adam Lippes was born on 24 December 1972 in Buffalo, New York. He studied psychology at Cornell University, graduating in 1994, and also studied art history and architecture at the American University of Paris. Those two subjects still show in the clothes: the brand names art, architecture and interiors as its main sources of inspiration.

He lives between New York City and the Berkshires. Outside fashion, he is a co-chair at the Whitney Museum and sits on the board of God’s Love We Deliver.

Adam Lippes timeline

The Oscar de la Renta years

Lippes began at Polo Ralph Lauren in 1995 and moved to Oscar de la Renta a year later. He worked with de la Renta from 1996 to 2003 and became the house’s global creative director, which the brand describes as making him one of the youngest creative directors at a leading fashion house. The influence is easy to read in his work today: a respect for occasion dressing and a habit of finishing the inside of a garment as carefully as the outside, which you can see in the 100% silk linings of pieces such as the Tess houndstooth skirt and the Noam pant. If you like his clothes, the Oscar de la Renta edit is the obvious place to compare.

From ADAM to Adam Lippes

In 2004 Lippes launched his first label, ADAM. It started life as ADAM + EVE, a line of cotton basics, and grew into a full collection; many shoppers still search for it as ADAM by Adam Lippes. He joined the CFDA in 2007 and showed his first runway collection at New York Fashion Week the same year.

Kellwood acquired ADAM in August 2010. Lippes bought the business back in 2012 and relaunched it as Adam Lippes, a more grown-up proposition built on luxury fabrics and tailoring rather than basics. In 2015 he was Target’s designer partner for Fall, a one-season collaboration that put his name in front of a much wider audience.

What is Adam Lippes known for?

Lippes is known for what the brand calls the finest American sportswear: clean shapes in very good cloth, with the detail kept quiet. In practice that means Italian fine cashmere knits, bias-cut silk skirts, printed silk crepe de chine and dresses with a polished, grown-up line. The house presents four collections a year: Pre-Spring, Spring Summer, Pre-Fall and Fall Winter.

He also works with other makers. The brand lists collaborations with Scalamandré, Partlow and Z.d.G. The Scalamandré pieces for Fall 2026, the Margaux coat and Rei skirt, are cut from the fabric house’s Le Tigre print in silk velvet. Our guide to Adam Lippes Fall 2026 covers the collection in full.

Adam Lippes signature pieces

Certain shapes come back season after season. The brand flags them in its own product copy as signatures and perennial favourites, and these are the ones to know:

Browse them alongside the rest of the designer knitwear and designer dresses on Coveti. Earlier Adam Lippes styles still sit on Coveti too, among them the Ophelia dress and the Avalon dress in espresso, two styles shoppers still search for by name.

Who wears Adam Lippes?

Michelle Obama, Jill Biden and Kamala Harris have favoured his designs. Melania Trump wore an Adam Lippes navy silk-wool double-breasted coat on Inauguration Day, 20 January 2025. The list cuts across political lines, which says something about the clothes: they read as appropriate in rooms where appropriate matters, without looking cautious.

Off the public stage, the customer is a woman who dresses for dinners, board meetings and weddings and wants cashmere that lasts more than a winter. Our post on whether Adam Lippes is a luxury brand looks at quality in more detail.

Where is Adam Lippes based?

Adam Lippes is a New York house, and the collections are designed in New York. The brand runs three boutiques: New York at 828 Fifth Avenue, Houston in the River Oaks District, and Palm Beach on Via Mizner. Its wholesale partners include Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, Net-a-Porter and Saks Fifth Avenue. For production questions, read where Adam Lippes is made; for shopping, see where to buy Adam Lippes.

Shop the edit

• Marilyn knit, black fine cashmere
• Kaia top, black silk charmeuse
• Stacey dress, navy silk crepe de chine
• Daia coat, ebony double-face cashmere
• Everything from Adam Lippes on Coveti

Frequently asked questions

Who is Adam Lippes?

Adam Lippes is an American fashion designer born in Buffalo, New York on 24 December 1972. He studied at Cornell University, worked at Polo Ralph Lauren and then Oscar de la Renta, where he became global creative director, and launched his first label, ADAM, in 2004. He now runs the New York luxury house Adam Lippes, known for cashmere, silk and tailoring.

Where is Adam Lippes from?

Adam Lippes is from Buffalo, New York, where he was born in 1972. He studied psychology at Cornell University and art history and architecture at the American University of Paris. He now lives between New York City and the Berkshires, and his brand is based in New York, with boutiques on Fifth Avenue, in Houston and in Palm Beach.

Did Adam Lippes work for Oscar de la Renta?

Yes. Adam Lippes joined Oscar de la Renta in 1996, after a year at Polo Ralph Lauren, and worked there until 2003. He became global creative director, which the brand describes as one of the youngest creative directors at a leading fashion house. He left to start his own label, ADAM, in 2004.

What happened to ADAM by Adam Lippes?

ADAM was the label Adam Lippes launched in 2004, beginning as ADAM + EVE, a line of cotton basics. Kellwood acquired ADAM in August 2010. Lippes bought the business back in 2012 and relaunched it as Adam Lippes, a luxury collection built on fine fabrics and tailoring, which is the label sold today.

Who has worn Adam Lippes?

Michelle Obama, Jill Biden and Kamala Harris have all favoured Adam Lippes designs. Melania Trump wore his navy silk-wool double-breasted coat on Inauguration Day, 20 January 2025. Beyond public figures, the label dresses women who want polished cashmere, silk and occasion dresses that look composed rather than loud.

Is Adam Lippes a luxury brand?

Yes. Adam Lippes is a New York luxury womenswear house sold through more than 75 luxury retailers in 20 countries, including Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, Net-a-Porter and Saks Fifth Avenue. The collections use Italian fine cashmere, silk charmeuse and double-face cashmere, and the brand runs boutiques in New York, Houston and Palm Beach.

Read next: Adam Lippes Fall 2026, explained, the Adam Lippes cashmere guide and where to buy Adam Lippes.