Jay Jaxon was born Eugene Jackson on August 30, 1941, in Queens, New York. The youngest of four, born to Ethel Rena-Jackson and Sidney Jackson. His father, Sidney Jackson, was a truck driver, and his mother, Ethel Rena-Jackson, was a housekeeper.
While in high school, Jaxon moved in with a family that lived nearby, helping them with childcare. There he would join in with the family when they would make clothing.
Jaxon discovered his love of fashion while tailoring a dress for his then-girlfriend. He dropped out of NYU, where he was studying Law, to pursue a career in fashion. After leaving NYU, Jaxon attended the Fashion Institute of Technology, where he enrolled in a costume design course.
After graduating from F.I.T. in 1966, Jaxon started selling his designs at stores like Henri Bendel and Bonwit Teller. His goal was to go to Paris, the fashion capital of the world.
Finally making his way to Paris in 1968, Jaxon spent time working under some heavy hitters like Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Dior, and Jean-Louis Scherrer. While in Paris, design house Jean Louis Scherrer was struggling to stay afloat. Soon the fashion house appointed Jaxon as their head designer, making him the first African American and first American couturier to lead a French couture house.
He later returned to the United States to design staple collections for Jay Jaxon for Benson & Partners, Jou-Jou, Pierre Cardin, Jay Jaxon for Muney, John Kloss, and Jay Jaxon for The New Pliers.
He created costumes for tv shows such as Ally McBeal, Sabrina: The Teenage Witch, and American Dreams. Theatrical costumes for celebrities like Diahann Carroll, Sammy Davis Jr., and Luther Vandross.
Jaxon died in 2006 at the age of 65 due to complications from prostate cancer.
