Fashion designer Poe dead at age 51

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LOS ANGELES, Sept. 13 (UPI) -- Fashion designer Gregory Poe, known best for see-through purses and plastic fish-laden raincoats, has died in Los Angeles at the age of 51, his brother says.

Jeffrey Poe confirmed the noted designer died in his sleep Sept. 1 after being in poor health for years, but no official cause of death was given, the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday.

Poe first gained notice in the fashion world in 1978 when he unveiled an offbeat line of plastic clothing that featured everything from plastic fish to candy wrappers.

Mary Stephens, director of the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising's fashion design department, said Poe's offerings in the 1970s were cutting edge fashion.

"He was very creative, in an avant-garde way," she told the Times.

Poe's brother said during the last few years Poe had turned his attention to designing funerary urns and caskets after learning he was HIV-positive.

The Times said in addition to his brother, Poe is survived by his parents, Edgar and Marion Poe.