The HOUSE that BIJAN BUILT

Celebrating the evolution of one of America's first true men's luxury lifestyle brands

- JARED PAUL STERN

The House of Bijan is one of the most illustrious names in men's lifestyle and fashion-practically a byword for luxury itself, thanks to founder Bijan Pakzad who practically invented the concept when he established the brand in the mid-1970s. He was among the very first modern menswear designers to institute a by-appointment-only policy at his boutiques, first in Beverly Hills and later New York, which instantly created an air of exclusivity. And of course it didn't hurt that his wares included what one of his advertisements once heralded as "the costliest men's wear in the world."

Bijan soon expanded into incredibly sybaritic lifestyle items, including a full set of crocodile-trimmed luggage for $65,000. He once even designed a $10,000 Colt .38 caliber automatic pistol made with 24-karat gold parts. His Beverly Hills boutique, opened in 1976 and dubbed "the most expensive store in the world," was furnished with $500,000 worth of antique Persian carpets and a $400,000 Lucite-and-brass staircase. By that point the mere mention of the Bijan name "suggested caviar and yachts," as the New York Times put it, and America's most exclusive men's lifestyle brand was born.