Who

Fashion designer, reality TV host, and one-man brand, Oldham is the non-threatening gay man middle-aged ladies love to love.

Backstory

Oldham was born in Corpus Christi and spent his childhood on the move—his dad worked for Bell Helicopters—and the family lived in Iran for a spell before returning to Texas when he was a teenager. His interest in fashion developed early: He was taught to sew by his grandmother and took his first job in the industry in the alterations department at the Polo Ralph Lauren boutique in Dallas. He was fired after three months, but he soon turned to designing his own clothes, recruiting his brother Brad to help with the business.

Oldham's first break came when he started dating Tony Longoria, an assistant buyer at Neiman Marcus: The Texas-based department store was the first place to sell Oldham's knitwear. The couple moved to New York in the late '80s and Oldham started a women's shirt collection called Times 7. He later landed backing from the Japanese company Onward Kashiyama to produce a designer line; his quirky, flamboyant collection, which debuted in 1990, earned him rave reviews and a 1991 CFDA award, and he expanded soon after with a eponymous boutique on West 17th Street.

Oldham went from fashion darling to minor TV celeb a few years later when he appeared in "Todd Time" on MTV's House of Style. Several forays into entertainment followed, including a line of clothing based on the movie Batman Forever and cameos on the sitcoms Roseanne and The Nanny. When his clothing line took a downturn in the late '90s, Oldham sold his trademark (and stores) to Jones New York. Since then he's lent his style to a diverse array of projects under the auspices of Todd Oldham Studio.

Of note

Oldham doesn't have any formal design training, but over the past two decades he's turned the deficit into his signature, making his name thanks to his irreverent approach and DIY ethos. His sensibility has kept him plenty busy: In 2002, he started a cheap-but-hip housewares line for Target. In 2004 he partnered with La-Z-Boy, upgrading the brand's image with a collection of products and opening a "Todd Oldham By La-Z-Boy" store on Wooster Street. He's stamped his name of a line of flowers and plants with FTD. He's also shot several music videos and photo campaigns and published a handful of books, including 2005's Handmade Modern.

Then there are the numerous hotel and residence commissions he's been involved with: He worked on Miami's Spire Bar, the Hollywood Kodak Theater (a collaboration with David Rockwell), and a revamp of the Fairfax hotel in Miami. More recently, he became creative director at Old Navy as part of a plan to hip-ify the ailing retail chain.

On screen

Oldham hit cable in 2007 with the Bravo reality show Top Design. The show, which also starred Jonathan Adler, didn't score with critics—New York called it "the televisual equivalent of buying a great Marc Jacobs knockoff from Forever 21 and then having it fall apart in the wash." It didn't seem to score with fans either: Bravo's Lauren Zalaznick declined to renew the show for another season.

Pet cause

A longtime vegetarian and animal rights activist—he's been a PETA member for years—Oldham doesn't use leather or other animal products in his work.

Personal

Oldham lives in Tribeca with his partner Tony Longoria. He spends about half the week at his "hideaway" in eastern Pennsylvania, which features an enormous tree house in the woods behind his home.

No joke

That messy head of hair of his? Oldham says he cuts his hair himself.