Sketch of a 2 women wearing pleated skirts--one below the knee length, team with a blazer, the other ankle length, teamed with a blouse and weskit. This is a cut-out of the advertisement, and the copy reads, Bill Blass loves white sharkskin for frisky pleated skirts.to team with vests, shirts and blazers, or for cruise wear add a cool tank top. The ad also includes this: Ruth Kishline's Country Clothes We are open Friday until 8. 9215 Old Petersburg Rd. Evansville, Ind. William Ralph Bill Blass (June 22, 1922 � June 12, 2002) was an American fashion designer, born in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He was the recipient of many fashion awards, including seven Coty Awards and the Fashion Institute of Technology's Lifetime Achievement Award (1999). . Blass began his New York fashion career in 1945. He was a prot�g� of Baron de Gunzburg. In 1970, after two decades of success in menswear and womenswear, he bought Maurice Rentner Ltd., which he had joined in 1959, and renamed it Bill Blass Limited. Over the next 30 years he expanded his line to include swimwear, furs, luggage, perfume, and chocolate. By 1998, his company had grown to a $700-million-a-year business. Beginning in 1976, and continuing until 1992, Blass lent his talents to the Ford Motor Company for an edition of their Continental Mark series of automobiles. In 1976, he shared model configurations with Emilio Pucci, Hubert de Givenchy, and Cartier. Each year, as goes true fashion, the interior and exterior color combinations would be updated.