Oleg Cassini
(1913 - 2006)
Oleg Cassini was born Oleg Loiewski in Paris, France on April 11, 1913. Cassini graduated in 1934 from the Academia Belle Arte in Florence. He started working for his mother at “Maison de Couture;” and it was there that Cassini began his career as a fashion designer.
In 1935 Cassini opened his own Maison de Couture in Rome and worked as a sketch artist for Patou, Paris.
Cassini moved to New York in 1936. He worked for couturier Jo Copeland, and in 1937 he worked for William Bass; and for James Rotherberg, Inc. from 1938-1939. Cassini became an American citizen in 1942. In 1940, Cassini went to Hollywood, where his impressive portfolio of sketches gets him a job as an assistant to the famous costume designer Edith Head. In 1950, Cassini returned to New York and opened his own business; Oleg Cassini Inc.
During the 1950s, Cassini was known for his glamorous, ready-to-wear sheath dresses, knitted suits, jackets and cocktail dresses. He also designed extensively for musicals and television. In 1963, Oleg Cassini launched a ready-to-wear menswear collection. His collection contained colored shirts which he matched with three-piece-suits, breaking the standars of men’s fashion. In 1995, Cassini wrote a book One Thousand Days of Magic, which narrated his experiences dressing the First Lady during his White House years.
At the age of ninety years old, Cassini was still working and running his vast empire, exporting to over 20 countries through many licensing agreements. During his life as a fashion designer he was recognized with various awards including five first prizes, Mostra della Moda, Turin, 1934; Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts, International College of Fine Arts, International College of Fine Arts, Miami, in1989; American Society of Perfumers Living Legend Award in 2001. In 2001 the Metropolitan Museum of Art mounted an exhibition called “Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years.” It featured many of Cassini’s most famous designs created for the First Lady.
After a seventy year career Cassini will be remembered for creating a cutting-edge stylish official wardrobe for First Lady, Jacqueline Kennedy in the early 1960s. Oleg Cassini died on March 17, 2006, in Manhasset, New York.
