Emil DeJohn may be short in stature, but he is a giant in the fashion world. Emil, 83, designed collections for men, women and children, including stars like Barbra Streisand and Liza Minnelli, in New York City for over 40 years. But in all those years, he would go back and forth to and from New York to his home in Wyncote, near Easton Road, where he has lived for 57 years with his wife of 53 years, Bette Anne. (They met when he was 17 and she was 14.) Amtrak should have made him an honorary CEO.

“When I started working in New York,” he explained, “a monthly train pass cost $28.75. Today it costs $1,500. I loved working in New York, but I didn't want to live there because it is a phony world. It always felt so good to come home.”

According to fashion writer Doreen Creede, “Emil is certainly the kindest man in fashion … It's no mystery why we all love him.” This humble man who never forgot his roots — growing up in a rowhouse at 30th and Tasker Streets in South Philly and attending Bartram High School in Southwest Philly — wound up designing his “American sportswear style” outfits for Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue, Jones New York and Neiman Marcus and for legendary names like Betsey Johnson, Iris Apfel, Donna Karan, Carolina Herrera, Bill Blass and more.

For four decades Emil would also travel every other month to London, Paris, Milan, Florence, Hong Kong, Dusseldorf, etc., to show off his latest designs. “One time I was staying at the Bristol Hotel in Paris,” he recalled, “and I ran into Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in the elevator. Elizabeth said to me, 'You do the most fabulous designs.' What a thrill that was.”

Today Emil no longer rotates back and forth from New York, but he does not like to use the word “retired.” He insists, “I prefer to say I want to work until I go to heaven.”

Emil showed impressive talent as a small child, attending classes at age 7 at Fleisher Art Memorial and ceramics class at 10, where all the other students were over 35. In junior high school Emil started sketching garments.

After attending the Museum School (now the University of the Arts), Emil compiled a portfolio to take to New York. A teacher he had admired, though, told him, "Forget it. You don't even have a chance." Emil admitted, “I went home crying.”

For 11 months, though, Emil walked out on the ledge, pinwheeling from showroom to showroom in New York City showing his portfolio. And he was rejected by every single one. “I was falling apart,” he said.

Finally, Emil went to Henri Bendel, a luxury store on Fifth Avenue known for its women's accessories. (The store closed in September of 2018 after 123 years in business.) Unannounced, Emil walked into the seventh floor office of Bendel's president, Gerri Stutz, and showed her his portfolio.

“I told her I would work for free,” said Emil. “She looked at my work and said, 'I love it! I will get you work.' A head editor told me they would pay me $25 a sketch for 12 sketches. I was 20 years old at the time. So they paid me $300, which was a fortune to me at the time. She called Bill Blass and Anne Klein, who sponsored me and another young designer at a luncheon at The Plaza."

However, on the day of the show, to which every New York boldface designer was invited, there was 17 inches of snow. Out of 300 invitees, about 20 showed up. Two of the 20, however, were editors from Glamour and Mademoiselle. Both asked Emil to sketch for their magazines.

A third guest, Sherry Cole, was the daughter of Arthur Cole, owner of Mr. Mort, a major women's dress company at the time, which Emil wound up working for. He went on to design for other major firms. He had his own department at Bergdorf Goodman, where he designed for over 30 years and where his designs usually flew off the shelves. He has won a house full of awards, including “Outstanding Philadelphia young Man of the Year” by the Philadelphia Junior Chamber of Commerce, the Crystal Award of Excellence from the city of Philadelphia and the “Angel Award” from jewelry designer David Yurman for his humanitarian efforts on behalf of students.

"I always wanted my designs to look refined, pure and ladylike but never boring," said Emil. "I wanted the clothes to look like they were worth a lot more than they sold for."

Starting in 1976 Emil started teaching design. He was head of the fashion design programs at Moore College of Art & Design, director of career development at Drexel University and a faculty member at the Art Institute of Philadelphia, where he was teaching until the pandemic hit. Several of his students have gone on to work for such luminaries as Oscar de la Renta, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdales and Diane von Furstenberg.

The DeJohns have two children: Lisa, 57, who runs the office for a law firm, and Christian, 52, who has authored five military-themed books. His nephew, Ray DeJohn, was the production manager for the Local for 10 years until recently.

Len Lear can be reached at lenlear@chestnuthilllocal.com