Veteran Sales Rep Charlie Rose Dies at 88
Legendary apparel industry veteran Charles “Charlie” Rose passed away Feb. 26 of natural causes. He was 88.
Rose, whose career in apparel spanned more than 60 years, was one of the industry’s most charismatic names.
Long before Rose made a name for himself as the sales representative who helped put 1960s fashion designer Rudy Gernreich on the local fashion map, he was making a name for himself in his native New York.
Following stints as a student at the Staunton Military Academy in Staunton, Va., and several universities he attended on football scholarships, Rose, a life long athlete, enlisted in the army at the onset of the Second World War.
Many of his friends and family were shipped overseas for duty, but Rose served as military police assigned to patrol the “Great White Way,” New York City’s Broadway Theater District.
“That is so perfect for Charlie” said his wife of 31 years, Colleen Rose. “He was always such a playboy, so handsome; he looked a lot like Burt Lancaster.”
After the war, Rose started representing several local manufacturers, but it was after a vacation in California that he decided to move here permanently.
“He just fell in love with the place,” said his wife, a former model who met Rose when he was working out of a local showroom. The two married in 1970.
Charles Rose & Associates of California represented a range of high-profile designer labels for three decades beginning in the 1960s with Pucci Knits, Oscar de la Renta Boutique and Gernreich, who made fashion history with his infamous topless bathing suit, the monokini.
“He was the biggest promoter,” said Colleen. “He really helped California fashion get noticed at a time when it was not such a big market for apparel.”
Rose continued to ride his motorcycle to his offices in the California Mart—”always in shorts, ratty old tennis shoes, a tan and no helmet,” even up until the ripe age of 80, added Colleen.
“He was so much fun,” she said. “He was always laughing, joking, always trying to put a smile on everyone’s face...I think that’s what he’d like to be remembered for—a fun-loving, great friend to all who knew him.”
Charlie Rose is survived by his wife Colleen, nephews, Jack and Scott and niece, Patty.
A memorial service is planned for Saturday, March 10 at 3 p.m. at the Chatsworth Lake Manor Community Church. For more information, call (818) 224-8013. —Andrea Bermudez
