Evin Harrah Cosby grew up in a famous American family. Her father, Bill Cosby, became a household name through comedy and TV. Yet her own work took her into a very different field. She built a fashion shop in New York, picked clothes for its racks, and made space for parents who liked to shop with their kids.
That shop, PB & Caviar, tells us a great deal about her tastes and her work. Its playful name joined two worlds: the simple joy of a peanut butter sandwich and the appeal of fine style. Evin wanted both to feel at home in one store.
Her story also includes years spent close to TV fame, the loss of two siblings, and her life as a mother. These parts of her life help show the woman beyond her well-known last name.
Who Is Evin Harrah Cosby?
Evin Harrah Cosby is the youngest child of Bill Cosby and Camille Cosby. She is known for her work in fashion and for helping run the New York boutique PB & Caviar. She has also spoken in her own words about growing up in a famous family and raising her children.
Her parents had five children. Evin Harrah Cosby grew up with her sisters Erika, Erinn, and Ensa, and her brother Ennis. Bill Cosby’s TV career brought great fame to the family. But Evin’s adult career did not center on acting or stand-up comedy. She turned her love of style into a store of her own.
The early shop sold clothes for women and children. It also offered beauty goods and pieces for the home. Later, Evin Harrah Cosby and her business partner moved the store and gave it a new focus.
Growing Up While Her Father Became a TV Star
Life in Evin’s family took place near the world of show business. Her father worked on stage and, later, in television. She grew up seeing the busy side of his work as well as his time at home.
In a personal statement published by the National Newspaper Publishers Association in 2017, Evin Harrah Cosby recalled family trips and a move to New York that helped the family stay near her father during his work. She described a childhood full of time with her parents and siblings.
Her account gives a view of a family that traveled and adjusted its plans around a very public job. For Evin, the family bond was a key part of those years. That later shaped how she spoke about being a parent herself.
Her childhood also placed her close to the people who made television shows. Clothes, sets, and the work done behind the camera were part of that setting. She later chose a job based on style rather than a place on screen.
Fashion Became Her Own Path
Evin Harrah Cosby had an interest in clothing well before she opened a shop. Reports from the years when her store was active identify her as a graduate of New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology. That school has long been linked with work in design, clothing, and the fashion trade.
School was one part of her path. The next step was learning how a store works day to day. Buying clothes for a shop is not the same as picking out clothes for yourself. The buyer needs to think about fit, price, color, the time of year, and the kind of person who may walk through the door.
Evin found a way to bring those choices together at PB & Caviar. Instead of making a store that served only one age group, she first opened one that served women and children. It was a place for people who liked style but also had busy lives.
Her 2008 interview with Fashion Bomb Daily showed that she enjoyed finding clothes for other people. She said her parents had urged her to explore business ownership. Those two interests, fashion and running a business, came together in her new shop.
Inside the First PB & Caviar Store
In August 2008, Evin Harrah Cosby opened PB & Caviar in Manhattan’s Tribeca area. The shop stood at 88 Thomas Street, near West Broadway. It mixed women’s fashion with children’s clothes and other goods that made sense for families.
The first space was about 1,700 square feet. It had room for fashion, beauty goods, home items, and pieces for kids. The mix gave parents a way to browse without feeling that the store was made for adults alone.
The stock included clothes from names such as Anna Sui and Tracy Reese. There were also items by smaller and more niche labels. Children’s clothes from brands such as Diesel and Ben Sherman shared space with the adult styles.
A fashion shop lives or dies by its choices. The clothes must feel fresh, but people also need a reason to come back. By bringing several kinds of goods into one space, Evin gave shoppers more than one reason to stop in.
The shop was not built around one look. A customer might find a dress for an event, a top for a weekend, or a gift for a child. That range was part of its charm.
Why She Called It PB & Caviar
The name was easy to recall because its two halves seemed so different. Peanut butter is a common lunch food. Caviar brings to mind a fine meal or a dressy night out. Put them together and the name feels fun, with a touch of luxury.
Evin Harrah Cosby explained the choice in an early interview. Her young daughter liked peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, while Evin linked caviar with adult taste. The name gave the store a way to speak to both groups.
It also made sense for the clothes. Some items were relaxed and easy to wear. Others were made for nights out or special plans. Both had a place in the same shop.
According to Fashion Bomb Daily’s visit and interview in 2008, the store offered a wide mix of women’s and children’s labels. The report also gave a look at the range of prices. Shoppers could find basic casual items as well as far more costly pieces.
That balance is what made the name feel right. PB & Caviar did not ask a shopper to choose between comfort and polish. It set the two side by side.
A New Store on the Lower East Side
The business changed as time went on. By 2011, Evin Harrah Cosby and co-owner Wai Chan had moved the shop from Tribeca to the Lower East Side. The new address was 151 Ludlow Street.
This version of PB & Caviar had a tighter focus. Women’s dresses and other fashion items took center stage. The early mix of adult and children’s clothing gave way to a store aimed at women looking for a full range of outfits.
The new space featured dresses, shoes, and smaller items. The stock changed often, with new clothes brought in every two weeks. That gave repeat visitors a chance to see fresh pieces on later trips.
According to Time Out’s guide to the shop, the Lower East Side location stocked brands such as Torn by Ronny Kobo, Sauce, and Butter by Nadia. Its focus was on clothes that could suit many kinds of plans, from a normal day out to a dressy night.
Moving a store can mean starting over with a new crowd. The Lower East Side had its own mix of small shops, cafes, and city life. Evin’s new location placed PB & Caviar in that busy setting.
Time Out now marks this location as closed. The shop’s years in Tribeca and on Ludlow Street remain a clear part of Evin Harrah Cosby’s work in New York fashion.
What Made Her Retail Work Stand Out
Many people know Evin Harrah Cosby through her father’s name. But her time in retail involved far more than being part of a famous family.
She chose a type of business where the small choices matter. A dress may look great on a rack but be hard to wear. A store may have lovely clothes but still feel cold to people who come in with young kids. Her first shop tried to solve both problems at once.
The early plan linked adult style with the needs of family life. When the store moved, its plan changed too. The new focus on women’s wear shows how a shop can grow as its owner learns what works for the space and its shoppers.
PB & Caviar also had a clear identity. Its name, mix of brands, and city locations made it easy to tell apart from a chain store. The goal was a more personal place to browse and find something new.
That mix of taste and business is the main theme of her fashion career. She took an interest she had held for years and gave it a place in the city.
Her Parents, Brother, and Sisters
Evin is the daughter of Bill and Camille Cosby. Her father’s long career made the family known across the United States. Camille has also been part of the family’s public life for many years.
Evin Harrah Cosby’s siblings are Erika, Erinn, Ennis, and Ensa. The family faced a deep loss in January 1997 when Ennis was killed in Los Angeles. His death drew national news coverage and left the family grieving.
Another loss came in 2018 when Ensa died. These events are part of the family’s history, but they do not define every part of Evin’s life. Her work, her role as a mother, and her own views are also key parts of her story.
As an adult, Evin Harrah Cosby has spoken about the support she values from her friends and family. In 2017, she described herself as a single mother of two children who worked in fashion design. She wrote about how much the people close to her meant to her and her kids.
How Motherhood Fits Into Her Story
Being a mother was not separate from Evin’s plans for her first shop. In fact, one of her children helped inspire its name. The early mix of women’s and children’s clothes also made the store feel like a place where family life was welcome.
Her words in 2017 gave another view of that part of her life. She described raising two children while working and relying on the care of her friends and loved ones.
Those words also show why the story of PB & Caviar is about more than clothes. Its first design drew from daily life. A child’s favorite food turned into the name of a store. The needs of parents helped shape what was sold inside.
There is a simple link between her home life and her work. She wanted a shop that felt at ease with both. That idea was clear in the first Tribeca location.
Her Public Words During a Hard Time for the Family
In 2017, Evin Harrah Cosby spoke out to defend her father as he faced sexual assault allegations. Her statement shared her memories of his role in the family and challenged the way she believed he had been treated in the press.
Her statement was a personal defense, not a ruling on the allegations or the legal cases. It showed how she chose to speak about her father during a period of intense news coverage.
That public statement also gave readers rare insight into Evin’s own life. Along with memories of her childhood, she spoke about her career in fashion and the demands of raising her children.
Her words made clear that she saw herself in several roles at once: a daughter, a mother, and a working woman. Each role shaped her view of the events around her.
Evin Harrah Cosby Cosby’s Life Beyond the Boutique
PB & Caviar is the best-known business tied to Evin’s name. Its first opening in 2008 and later move in 2011 give us a clear look at several years of her career. Her own 2017 statement showed that she still described fashion design as her work at that time.
The store’s story also shows how a small business can change. It began with goods for women and children, then moved to a new part of Manhattan with a more focused range. Its years in the city remain a real chapter in New York’s independent retail scene.
For readers who first hear her name through Bill Cosby, the shop offers a fuller picture. She grew up close to fame, but she made her own choices about work and style. Those choices led to a business built around customers, clothes, and the feel of a neighborhood shop.
Evin Harrah Cosby is more than a name in a famous family. She is a fashion entrepreneur whose store blended personal taste with the needs of real shoppers. Her path from a family tied to TV to a New York boutique gives her a story of her own.
For another story about a creative woman with a life in design, read our feature on Victoria Chlebowski and her work in design and theater.
