Ernest E Grisham

Skip (Ernest E.) Grisham passed away at the age of seventy-one on Tuesday, April 21,
2020 in Chicago Illinois. He was born on March 31, 1949 in Paducah, Texas to Ernest and
Bobbie Jo Grisham. Skip Lived in Chicago for over 32 years and worked as a Fashion show
producer, director and set designer. He recently served as artistic director of the Driehaus Design
Institute annual fashion show for the past 18 years. He also produced the long-running Rush
University Medical Center’s charity fashion show for 29 years until 2005. The DDI fashion show
competition, which Grisham created with the support of investors, provides students with
scholarships and the proceeds from the event go toward fashion colleges to be used in programs
to benefit students. Grisham’s production credits included the Morrie Mages fashion show at the
Chicago Ski Show in the Eighties, staging a theatrical Las Vegas-level show using models and
dancers to showcase the ski fashion and equipment. He has produced shows for Givenchy, Diane
Von Furstenberg, Cerruti, Tommy Hilfiger, Dennis Basso, and Bill Blass, to name a few. In
addition to runway production, Mr. Grisham had vast experience in staging fashion scenes for
several major retailers in Chicago including Gucci, Marshall Field’s, Prada, Nordstrom, Max
Mara, and Chanel. Grisham, who attended New York University as a theater major and grew up
in Texas before settling in Chicago, was an accomplished artist and former model. He loved
attending art shows and created many fascinating paintings that were placed in great collections.
Grisham is survived by his mother, Bobbie Jo Grisham, and several cousins.