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Original Penguin by Munsingwear Launches Eyewear under a New License Agreement with Kenmark Group

With nearly 40 years of experience, the Kenmark Group holds a diverse portfolio of brands, from top fashion house designers to iconic American names.

"We are very excited about the opportunity to extend the Original Penguin by Munsingwear brand to eyewear, an area where we believe the Kenmark Group can create new products which will further attract a younger consumer and increase the aspirational lifestyle of the brand," commented Oscar Feldenkreis, President and Chief Operating Officer of Perry Ellis International.

The agreement encompasses ophthalmic frames as well as ophthalmic and non-ophthalmic sunglasses. Product will initially launch Fall 2011 at Vision Expo West in Las Vegas. Shortly thereafter, the Original Penguin by Munsingwear product will be distributed through optical retailers, as well as through 32 Original Penguin stores, around the world.

"We look forward to expanding our current product offering to include Original Penguin by Munsingwear, a truly iconic American brand," commented Don Howard, President and CEO of the Kenmark Group. "Original Penguin will round out our portfolio by addressing a growing and influential segment; the contemporary customer with a vintage sensibility."

About Original Penguin

In 1955, Minneapolis-based Munsingwear - an underwear and military supply company - ironically became the touchstone of suburban sport with the introduction of the first iconic golf shirt to America - an ORIGINAL PENGUIN. Original Penguin by Munsingwear has grown into a complete lifestyle brand creating classic sportswear apparel and accessory collections for men, women and boys who love great style and smart clothing. Currently, Original Penguin has 10 brick-and-mortar locations across the United States and an additional 22 internationally. Visit www.OriginalPenguin.com.

About Perry Ellis International

Perry Ellis International, Inc. is a leading designer, distributor and licensor of a broad line of high quality men's and women's apparel, accessories and fragrances. The Company's collection of dress and casual shirts, golf sportswear, sweaters, dress pants, casual pants and shorts, jeans wear, active wear and men's and women's swimwear is available through all major levels of retail distribution. The Company, through its wholly owned subsidiaries, owns a portfolio of nationally and internationally recognized brands, including: Perry Ellis, Jantzen, Laundry by Shelli Segal^®, C&C California^®, Cubavera, Centro^®, Solero^®, Munsingwear^®, Savane, Original Penguin^® by Munsingwear^®, Grand Slam, Natural Issue^®, Pro Player^®, Havanera Co., Axis^®, Tricots St. Raphael^®, Gotcha, Girl Star^®, MCD^®, John Henry^®, Mondo di Marco, Redsand^®, Manhattan^®, Axist, Farah^® and Rafaella^®. The Company enhances its roster of brands by licensing trademarks from third parties, including: Pierre Cardin for men's sportswear, Nike^® and Jag for swimwear, and Callaway^®, TOP-FLITE^®, PGA TOUR and Champions Tour^® for golf apparel. Additional information on the Company is available at http://www.pery.com.

About Kenmark Group

Kenmark Group, an employee-owned company, designs, markets and distributes eyewear and sunglasses to optical professionals primarily through exclusive licenses, private label and house collections worldwide. The Sunwear Division oversees the design, production and distribution for the retail sunwear category for specialty sunglass stores and top-tier department stores. The Kenmark Group works in collaboration with top fashion designers and iconic brands including: Vera Wang, Jhane Barnes, kensie, Dana Buchman, Lilly Pulitzer and Cynthia Rowley. Branded collections from Kenmark includes: República, Thalia, Timex, Wolverine and house collections. For a complete offering of frames and sun styles, visit www.kenmarkoptical.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

We caution readers that the forward-looking statements (statements which are not historical facts) in this release are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations rather than historical facts and they are indicated by words or phrases such as "anticipate," "could," "may," "might," "potential," "predict," "should," "estimate," "expect," "project," "believe," "plan," "envision," "continue," "intend," "target," "contemplate," or "will" and similar words or phrases or comparable terminology. We have based such forward-looking statements on our current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections. While we believe these expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections are reasonable, such forward-looking statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, many of which are beyond our control. These factors include: general economic conditions, a significant decrease in business from or loss of any of our major customers or programs, anticipated and unanticipated trends and conditions in our industry, including the impact of recent or future retail and wholesale consolidation, the effectiveness of our planned advertising, marketing and promotional campaigns, our ability to contain costs, disruptions in the supply chain, our future capital needs and our ability to obtain financing, our ability to integrate acquired businesses, trademarks, trade names and licenses, our ability to predict consumer preferences and changes in fashion trends and consumer acceptance of both new designs and newly introduced products, the termination or non-renewal of any material license agreements to which we are a party, changes in the costs of raw materials, labor and advertising, our ability to carry out growth strategies including expansion in international and direct to consumer retail markets, the level of consumer spending for apparel and other merchandise, our ability to compete, exposure to foreign currency risk and interest rate risk, possible disruption in commercial activities due to terrorist activity and armed conflict, and other factors set forth in Perry Ellis International's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Investors are cautioned that all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including those risks and uncertainties detailed in Perry Ellis' filings with the SEC. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are valid only as of the date they were made. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect new information or the occurrence of unanticipated events or otherwise.

Perry Ellis International, Inc.
Integrated Corporate Relations
Allison Malkin, 203-682-8225