On 2 May 1987, Karl Davis died of pneumonia at Brookdale Hospital Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY. Davis’s death was due to complications from HIV/AIDS. Along with fellow-designers Perry Ellis, Chester Weinberg, Willi Smith, Tracy Mills and Mark Pennywell, reporter Carol Hymowitz in her "Wall Street Journal" (8 December 1987) article "Designer Deaths: AIDS Is Decimating The Fashion Business . . ." cites ", , , budding talent Karl Davis, who created a line of classic women's clothing . . ." as among the enormous toll of other talents in the fashion business succumbing to an alarming surge in HIV/AIDS-related casualties.