A renowned Casanova and professional charmer, Oleg Cassini is a Russian count who is famous for three things: his pencilled moustache, his engagement to Grace Kelly and the official wardrobe he designed for the century’s most elegant first lady, Jacqueline Kennedy.
Cassini trained at Jean Patou in Paris, before moving to New York in 1936, where he was employed by various manufacturers on Seventh Avenue. In 1940 he moved to Los Angeles, where he became a Hollywood costume designer under Edith Head. He also dated a number of starlets, before deciding to settle down with actress Gene Tierney. By 1950, Cassini was back on Seventh Avenue – where his name became synonymous with glamorous sheath dresses, knitted jackets and cocktail dresses. In 1961 Cassini was appointed Jacqueline Kennedy’s official dressmaker and formulated her wardrobe during her White House years – from a wool coat with removable collar of Russian sable to the A-line dress at the Pre-Inaugural Gala, which Cassini described in 1991 as ‘audacious, studied simplicity’.
In 1961 Cassini made a leopardskin fur coat for Jacqueline Kennedy. Almost 40 years later, he attempted to redress the balance with a fake fur collection called ‘Evolutionary Furs’. Cassini told The Sunday Times in 1999, ‘Fashion is not couture anymore. It is show business.’ At 86 years old, Cassini’s pencilled moustache was still intact.
