Jessica McClintock

Jessica McClintock

Founder, CEO and President of an eponymous company, Jessica Gagnon McClintock is a US based fashion designer and entrepreneur.

She was born in 1930 in Frenchville and was raised in Presque Isle. After finishing off from Presque Isle High School, she joined Boston University at the age of 20. In 1963, she achieved a degree in Bachelor of Arts from San Jose State University. She married a student from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

After the death of her husband in an accident, Jessica arrived in California with her son, named Scott, in 1969 and although earlier Jessica aspired to become a teacher, in 1970 she bought a part of the Gunne Sax Clothing Company for five thousand dollars. Two years later, the co-owner offered Jessica to purchase the entire company by paying the same amount of money once again. Eventually, the name of the company changed to Jessica McClintock Inc. It sells an array of fashion and miscellaneous items, including bridal wear, eyeglasses, furniture, perfume, home decoration, accessories and clothing. It was a unpretentious investment plan that eventually led to a leading design and fashion house.

Jessica utilized the skills she learnt from her much-loved grandmother who worked as a seamstress. With this inspiration, she led her company in the best possible way, generating innovative and creative designs. Jessica expanded the single line company into a multifaceted outlet where buyers could enjoy various choices from designer, bridal, junior, children’s wear and missy clothing styles.

The primary focus of Jessica McClintock designs was ‘romance’. Her company deals with not only national dealers but even wholesale businesses in other parts of the world are too selling McClintock’s designs in Middle East, Asia, Europe and North America.

Jessica won several acknowledgements and awards over the course of her business career for producing designs with romanticism. She has received Tommy Award, California Excellence Award, Retail Choice Award by Bridal Information Resource, and California Designer of the Year Award. Since 1994, she has been consistently included in the list of top fifty Women Business Owners. Moreover, San Francisco’s Academy of Arts College granted her a Humane Letters Doctorate. In addition to this, she was presented with awards for lifetime achievement. For her philanthropic efforts, the American Cancer Society gave Jessica the Excalibur Award.

Other than the universal designs the company produces, that attract people from around the globe, the prices are affordable and allow customers of various social strata to experience the comfort and romance delivered through Jessica’s designs. Her prom dresses start from hundred dollars.

Jessica’s grandmother not only taught her how to stitch clothes for dolls and herself, but the old lady was also an inspiration for Jessica’s first best-selling perfume.

Jessica is a workaholic in an organized manner, she wakes up at six in the morning and completes work by seven at evening. Jessica credits her mother for this habit of discipline and work ethic. In an interview conducted in 1989, the designer called her mother, Verna Hedrich,  as the most hard-working person she has ever met.

Jack Hedrich, Jessica’s brother, is the vice presidents of her company and her cousin, Bruce Hutchins is in charge of the McClintock boutiques. Furthermore, Jessica Hutchins, her granddaughter is responsible for the bridal wear range.

Jessica McClintock is without a doubt, a self-made designer who has continually worked hard to establish her company and herself. Using business expertise, creativity and technology, McClintock welcomes all the challenges of the upcoming years.