From guayabera vendor to top of Miami’s fashion world: George Feldenkreis dies at 89
George Feldenkreis left Cuba for Miami in 1961 with his pregnant wife, their 1-year-old son Oscar and 14-year-old sister Eva, who he helped raise. He carried $700.
The goal? Build a new life in the United States.
Within six years, Feldenkreis founded a company in his adopted U.S. city to import Japanese motorcycle and automotive parts. But it was an apparel company he founded with his older brother Isaac, Supreme International, importing school uniforms that propelled Feldenkreis into a truly Miami story.
The garment that grew his ultimate legacy?
The humble guayabera, the summery national shirt of Cuban and Latin culture — the fabric of the homeland his family left behind.
The comfy piece of clothing that Feldenkreis sold would, 32 years later in 1999, lead to his acquisition of the global Perry Ellis fashion brand and the company’s rebranding as the family-run Perry Ellis International at its Doral headquarters.
Branding Perry Ellis in Miami
Feldenkreis, who died Thursday at 89 in Miami Beach, was born in 1935 Havana to Cuban-Ukrainian-Jewish parents.
He rose to run a clothing empire as CEO of Perry Ellis International, which lured brand ambassadors like Miami Dolphin quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and Florida Panthers right wing Matthew Tkachuck.
The company buoyed him even after he was initially ousted in 2017 when the board eliminated his executive chairman position. A year later, in 2018, his buyout offer bid of $437 million to take the company private was accepted by the board.
Feldenkreis regained a chairman role. His son Oscar Feldenkreis, CEO since 2016, is currently president and CEO. His daughter Fanny Hanono is a director.
MORE: Perry Ellis founder: ‘It was important to keep the business in Miami’
“From his humble beginnings as a Cuban immigrant to his illustrious career, his entrepreneurial spirit and visionary leadership has enabled Perry Ellis International to successfully prosper over the past 58 years and his impact and inspiration on the fashion industry and his global associates and business partners worldwide is indelible,” the company told the Miami Herald Friday in a statement after his death.
Higher education
For nearly three decades, the senior Feldenkreis, who had earned a law degree from the University of Havana and an honorary juris doctorate from Babson College in Massachusetts and an honorary associate of arts and letters from Miami Dade College, was a University of Miami trustee.
At UM, he endowed the George Feldenkreis Program in Judaic Studies. The building that carries his name in the center of the Coral Gables campus is fronted by the Feldenkreis Family Fountain that sprays water day and night where it serves as a centerpiece study area outdoors.
“George Feldenkreis was more than a leader — he was a visionary, a builder, and a guiding force of wisdom and integrity. His relentless pursuit of excellence, deep-rooted generosity, and unwavering commitment to community left an indelible mark on the University of Miami and beyond,” said Manny Kadre, chair of UM’s Board of Trustees.
“Through the George Feldenkreis Program in Judaic Studies, his legacy of learning and cultural enrichment will continue to inspire generations to come,” Kadre said. “His influence extended far beyond his achievements; he led with kindness, inspired with perseverance, and believed deeply in the power of giving back. We will forever honor his memory and the countless lives he touched. Our hearts are with the Feldenkreis family as we share in the profound loss of an extraordinary man.”
Family man
Feldenkreis remained an engaged man at nearly 90, his nephew Ze’ev Feig said.
“He had a tremendous influence on me,” Feig said. “How he took care of my mother. Those values were passed on to my mother and then passed on to me. Whomever he spoke with, the most famous people, he had that human touch. He could talk to anybody. He was always teaching. Even from the last time I saw him he was telling me the history of Fidel Castro and Cuba. He just had a tremendous knowledge.
“One of the last things he told me was how proud he was of the success of his family,” Feig said. “I mean, this was a kid who grew up on top of a brothel. His parents couldn’t come to America from Ukraine. They couldn’t come to America because they didn’t allow Jews in the ‘20s. He started working as a teenager and making money for the family. He grew up poor. He came to America poor. And he provided a lot of jobs and opportunities for thousands and thousands of people.”
Embracing technology
At 80, a decade ago, Feldenkreis told the Miami Herald, “You will never be bored in the apparel business.’
More recently, the octogenarian was embracing artificial intelligence as a tech tool to move Perry Ellis forward.
“We have always made heavy investment in technology,” Feldenkreis said in a PEI corporate video. “Through technology today we have artificial intelligence so you are able to incorporate a lot of new information into your design product.”
Spirituality and philanthropy
Feldenkreis was also a Greater Miami Jewish Federation board member. David Lawrence Jr., the former Miami Herald publisher and a longtime friend of the family, celebrated Feldenkreis’ spiritual side.
“George was a superb business leader, but so much more,” Lawrence said. “He embraced our community and country after fleeing from Cuba so many decades ago. Israel always had a special place in his soul; he was my guide there more than three decades ago.”
Mosaic Miami, a nonprofit dedicated to fostering unity and inclusivity in the community, sent a statement via board member and Executive Director Matthew Anderson: “His unwavering dedication to the arts, culture and the Jewish heritage has left an indelible mark on Miami and beyond.”
The Beacon Council, Miami-Dade’s public-private economic development agency, honored Feldenkreis with its premier prize, the Jay Malina Award, in 2006. Part of the reason: Feldenkreis insisted on keeping the headquarters in the Miami area, with offices in New York, Georgia, South Carolina and Oregon.
On Friday, the Beacon Council called Feldenkreis “a visionary leader and pillar of the South Florida business community. “Throughout his career, George helped shape our region’s business landscape, serving as a tireless champion for economic development, a passionate advocate for Miami’s global growth, and a generous supporter of countless philanthropic and civic initiatives.”
Survivors and services
In addition to his nephew, Feldenkreis’ survivors include his wife Mariita; son Oscar Feldenkreis and daughter Fanny Hanono; eight grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.
“We were truly blessed to have to have him in our lives and are humbled to pay tribute and homage to our beloved father, patriarch and true icon. Siempre en nuestros corazones as he will be forever in our hearts and minds. We proudly celebrate and memorialize his life and legacy,” his children said in a statement.
Services were held at Temple Menorah in Miami Beach on Friday.
This story was originally published February 21, 2025 at 4:19 PM.
