Ted Lapidus was born in 1929 in Paris. His father was a tailor. Lapidus started his fashion house in 1951, and was admitted to La Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture Parisienne in 1963.
Lapidus was the creator of the unisex fashion look, and was the first designer to put military style shoulder straps onto high fashion clothing. Lapidus popularized the military look and safari look in the 1960s. He brought blue jeans into high fashion as well. Lapidus began producing accessories as well in the 1970s.
Lapidus was a favorite of fashion icons such as Brigitte Bardot and the Beatles. His son Oliver Lapidus took over management of the design house in 1989. Ted Lapidus died in 2008.