EXHIBIT 99.1

For Immediate Release
- ---------------------


Contact:  For St. John Knits:
          Roger G. Ruppert
          (949) 863-1171
          or
          Michael Freitag/Jason Lynch
          Kekst and Company
          (212) 521-4800
 
                          PETER BUONOCORE NAMED CEO OF
                             AMEN WARDY HOME STORES


     IRVINE, California (February 10, 1999) - Retail industry veteran Peter
     Buonocore has been appointed chief executive officer of Amen Wardy Home
     Stores, it was announced Wednesday.  Amen Wardy Home is a majority-owned
     subsidiary of St. John Knits, Inc. (NYSE:SJK).

     Buonocore has worked in the retail industry for more than 15 years, holding
     senior positions at such leading retailers as Lord & Taylor, Ann Taylor
     Inc. and Guess? Inc.  His appointment was approved Tuesday by the Executive
     Committee of the Board of Amen Wardy Home and is effective immediately.  He
     succeeds David C. Frankel who, as previously announced, has become
     president of Calvin Klein Menswear.

     Prior to joining Amen Wardy Home, Buonocore was vice president, retail
     operations and finance, of Guess?, the Los Angeles-based apparel and
     retailing company.  He has also served as vice president of marketing
     operations for Ann Taylor and divisional vice president, staffing and
     expense management, for Lord & Taylor, a division of the May Department
     Store Co.

     He has a bachelor of science degree in accounting from the University of
     Connecticut and a master of business administration degree in finance from
     Columbia University Business School.

     Bob Gray, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of St. John Knits and a
     member of the Amen Wardy Home Board and Executive Committee, said: "I am
     very pleased that Peter Buonocore has joined Amen Wardy Home as its chief
     executive.  He is an accomplished retailer with considerable experience in
     operations, finance and marketing.  I am confident he will play a very
     constructive role in the company's future."