Dennis Basso has spent more than four decades turning fur and eveningwear into a full lifestyle brand, and people keep searching his name every time New York Fashion Week rolls around. This guide pulls together what’s actually confirmed about his age, his marriage to Michael Cominotto, his business, and the money question everyone asks, while being upfront about which details are still unverified.
Background: Who Is Dennis Basso?
Dennis Basso is an American fashion designer known for luxury fur coats, red-carpet eveningwear, bridal gowns, and a long-running home and apparel line sold on QVC. He built his name by treating fur like a fabric that could drape and take on bold color, setting him apart from older-school furriers in the 1980s. His clients and red-carpet wearers have included Meryl Streep, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Nicole Kidman, Helen Mirren, and the late Elizabeth Taylor, among many other well-known women.
People search for him for a mix of reasons: his twice-a-year runway shows during New York Fashion Week, his decades-long QVC partnership, his marriage to Michael Cominotto, and curiosity about his age, family, and how much he’s actually worth.
Latest Update
As of September 1, 2026, here is what’s currently known. Dennis Basso is scheduled to present his Spring/Summer 2027 collection at New York Fashion Week during the September 11–16, 2026 show calendar, with his slot listed for the opening days of the week. This follows his Fall/Winter 2026 collection, shown in February 2026, which drew on the style of New York social icons like Nan Kempner and C.Z. Guest, and his Spring 2026 collection shown in September 2025. Earlier in 2026 he also hosted a trunk show and dinner in Palm Beach, Florida, alongside Aerin Lauder.
No death, health scare, arrest, or breakup claim about Dennis Basso could be verified through any credible outlet as of this date. If you’ve seen a headline suggesting otherwise, treat it as unconfirmed until a major outlet like WWD or the AP reports it directly.
Full Profile
Family and Early Life
Dennis Basso was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in the Lake Hopatcong area of Roxbury Township, New Jersey, before the family’s ties to New York City shaped much of his adult life. Multiple lower-tier biography sites name his parents as Theresa Basso, described as a homemaker with a strong personal sense of style, and Richard Basso, said to have worked in the produce business. These parental names are not confirmed by any major outlet, so they should be read as commonly repeated but unconfirmed. He is widely described as growing up in a supportive household that later helped fund his first design studio.
Career Path
Basso studied at Roxbury High School in New Jersey, then earned a marketing degree from Catholic University of America before training at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. His first job was with a New York-area fur company, Hy Fishman Furs, managing sales and retail accounts. He was eventually let go after building side business with his own customers, and he used that push to launch his own label, Dennis Basso, in 1983, backed financially by his parents.
From there, the brand expanded steadily: a first freestanding boutique at Aspen’s Little Nell Hotel in 2002, a Madison Avenue flagship in 2003, a larger store in 2014, and a move to an 8,000-square-foot flagship on East 57th Street in late 2023, near Dior, Fendi, and Bergdorf Goodman. He joined the Council of Fashion Designers of America in 2002 and received an honorary doctorate from the Fashion Institute of Technology in 2013. His QVC partnership has run for more than two decades and covers faux fur, ready-to-wear, and home goods. In 2011 he launched an exclusive bridal line with Kleinfeld Bridal, and in 2015 actress Gabrielle Union wore a Dennis Basso gown for her wedding to Dwyane Wade.
Age
Religion
Basso’s religious affiliation has not been publicly discussed or reported by him or by any credible outlet, so it is unconfirmed and should not be assumed from his schooling or background.
Spouse/Partner
Basso is married to Michael Cominotto. The two met roughly 20 to 25 years before their wedding, through mutual friends in The Pines on Fire Island, New York. They married in November 2011 at The Pierre hotel in Manhattan, reportedly the venue’s first same-sex wedding, with around 300 to 400 guests and a surprise performance from singer Neil Sedaka. No children have been confirmed for the couple.
Net Worth
Parents
As noted above, several lower-authority biography sites name his mother as Theresa Basso and his father as Richard Basso, but this has not been confirmed through a major news outlet, official bio, or verified public record, so it remains an unconfirmed detail rather than an established fact.
Height
Reliable height information for Dennis Basso could not be confirmed. A small number of low-authority sites list a height, but the figures found conflict with each other and are not backed by any credible source, so this detail is marked unconfirmed.
Education
Basso attended Roxbury High School in New Jersey, then studied marketing at Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. He later trained in textiles and design at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, which also awarded him an honorary doctorate in 2013.
Hometown/State of Origin
He was born in Washington, D.C., and was raised in the Lake Hopatcong area of Roxbury Township, New Jersey, before building his career and adult life in New York City, which he now considers his professional home base.
Official Social Media
Basso’s personal, verified-style designer account is @dennisbasso on Instagram, with a separate brand-run account, @dennisbassonyc, covering runway and collection news.
📅 Key date to remember: Dennis Basso’s Spring/Summer 2027 runway presentation is expected during New York Fashion Week, September 11–16, 2026.
Quick Facts Table
| Full Name | Dennis Basso |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Fashion designer (fur, eveningwear, bridal, home goods) |
| Born | February 25, 1954 or 1955 (sources conflict — unconfirmed) |
| Birthplace | Washington, D.C. |
| Raised In | Roxbury Township (Lake Hopatcong), New Jersey |
| Education | Catholic University of America; Fashion Institute of Technology |
| Spouse | Michael Cominotto (married November 2011) |
| Children | None confirmed |
| Net Worth | Unconfirmed; estimates range roughly $5M–$30M |
| Company Founded | 1983 |
| Official Instagram | @dennisbasso |
Reader Questions (FAQ)
How old is Dennis Basso?
Sources conflict on his exact birth year, with some listing 1954 and others 1955, both on February 25. That would put him at either 71 or 72 as of September 2026, and this detail is unconfirmed until one authoritative source settles it.
Is Dennis Basso married, and who is his husband?
Yes, Dennis Basso is married to Michael Cominotto. The couple wed in November 2011 at The Pierre hotel in New York City after being together for roughly two decades beforehand.
What is Dennis Basso’s net worth?
There is no confirmed, official net worth figure for Dennis Basso from a major financial source. Various aggregator sites estimate a range from about $5 million to $30 million, but none of these numbers are independently verified.
Does Dennis Basso have children?
No children have been publicly confirmed for Dennis Basso, either with his husband Michael Cominotto or from any earlier relationship.
What is Dennis Basso known for?
He is best known for his luxury fur coats and eveningwear, along with a long-running QVC line and bridal designs made exclusively for Kleinfeld Bridal. He founded his label in 1983 and has shown collections at New York Fashion Week for decades.
Where is Dennis Basso from?
He was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in the Lake Hopatcong area of Roxbury Township, New Jersey, before establishing his career and home base in New York City.
Is Dennis Basso still designing in 2026?
Yes. He showed a Fall/Winter 2026 collection at New York Fashion Week in February 2026 and is scheduled to present a Spring/Summer 2027 collection during the September 11–16, 2026 show calendar.
Wrap-Up
Dennis Basso’s story is a case of steady, decades-long brand-building rather than one big breakout moment. He turned a firing from a fur company in the early 1980s into his own label, then kept widening it — eveningwear, bridal, home goods, a QVC line lasting over twenty years — without stepping away from the fur and glamour identity he started with.
What’s harder to pin down are the personal numbers people search for most: his exact birth year, net worth, and details about his parents and height. None of these have a single, clearly sourced answer, and that’s worth saying plainly rather than picking whichever number sounds most convincing. His marriage to Michael Cominotto, by contrast, is well documented and consistently reported.
For anyone tracking him into fall 2026, watch his upcoming Spring/Summer 2027 runway show at New York Fashion Week in mid-September. That’s the confirmed, dated event on the calendar right now — everything else circulating about him should be checked against a credible source before it’s treated as fact.
About David Thomson
Hi, I’m David Thomson, founder of FocusBio. I created FocusBio to provide clear, reliable, and easy-to-read biographies of public figures, musicians, politicians, and actors.
My goal is to keep profiles accurate, updated, and based on credible sources while avoiding unnecessary filler and unverified claims.
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