design:retail - May 2019 - 36

Markopoulos
Award 2019

Dan Evans is a talented visionary and kind creative. He
is tireless, generous and driven. He is considered to have
the biggest heart in the visual world. And now, he is the
esteemed recipient of the 23rd Markopoulos Award.
BY JENNY S. REBHOLZ

ith a career spanning decades,
Dan Evans has seen the ups and
downs of the industry, played a
key role in the big showroom era
in New York, advanced the world
of visual display and embraced
the power of technology. He has
worked, and made an impact on,
every side of retail.
Named in honor of the late
Andrew Markopoulos, the Markopoulos Award represents
more than recognition for distinctive career accomplishments.
For its recipients, it is a honor to be acknowledged and respected by their peers, and to join the The Markopoulos Circle.
Members of The Markopoulos Circle are esteemed for their
ability to innovate and inspire, their contributions to the
success of a retailer or company, their ability to nurture and
mentor young talent, and their ongoing contributions and
support of the retail design and visual industries. Evans'
achievements and contributions in each of these areas is more
than exemplary. He is considered an industry champion.

FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS TO VP AT 23
Growing up in the Midwest, Evans credits his humble upbringing for igniting his creative talents and stirring his dreams
of bright lights and bigger things in the enticing city. He was
always sketching, and to his mother's dismay, rearranging
things. His first job as an Arthur Murray dance instructor was
a creative outlet as well.
After spending some time at Indiana University, he embarked on his retail career with an opportunity at Paul Harris

Stores Inc., a national chain of young woman's fashion apparel
stores, headquartered in Indianapolis. Working with an emerging company, he was exposed to all the creative aspects of the
business. Gerald Paul and Earl Harris recognized his potential
and charged him with developing a visual department. He relished the challenge. By the age of 23, Evans was vice president of
visual presentation, store planning and design. During his 11-year
association with the company, he held many creative and senior
management positions, and helped the fashion chain grow from
11 stores to more than 275 stores nationally.
"Gerald Paul believed in my talents at an early age and gave
me carte blanche," Evans says. "I was working with great design
firms, the top talent in the industry. It was an exciting timeframe."
Evans' next career move took him from Indianapolis to
Chicago and New York, and gave him the opportunity to travel
internationally with Hart Schaffner & Marx, helping to revitalize its creative departments and being part of its transition
to a Fortune 500 company. He served as corporate senior vice
president of design, store planning and visual merchandising
for Hartmarx, which owned and operated 44 individual retail
branded companies, with more than 400 retail stores within
the United States and United Kingdom.
"During my time with Hartmarx, I learned so much from
Dick Hamilton. He had an unbelievable taste level that opened
up my retail world," Evans says. "And working with CEO
Harvey Weinberg really developed my knowledge of the business side of creative."
While he was entrenched in the day-to-day of retail design,
he was not immune to the changes impacting the economy
and the industry. Stores were closing all around him. "I didn't
close stores well," Evans jokes. "I was better at opening them."

design:retail - May 2019

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