In Remembrance: Oleg Cassini

     Oleg Cassini, the world-renowned fashion designer who designed film wardrobes for wife Gene Tierney, has passed away on March 17, 2006 in Long Island, New York. He was 92.

     Born April 11, 1913 in Sevastopol, Russia in what is now the Ukraine to the Countess Marguerite Cassini, daughter of a Russian ambassador to the United States, and Alexander Loiewski, a Russian diplomat, the family fled Russia when the Czarist government was overthrown in 1917, eventually settling in Florence, Italy. After studying art, Cassini opened a small clothing boutique catering to the European aristocracy and American debutantes. Moving to New York in 1936, Cassini worked his way into East Coast society eventually getting into a short marriage with cough syrup heiress Merry Fahrney. In 1940 Cassini headed to Los Angeles, where he met and soon wed actress Gene Tierney.

     Shortly after he married Tierney, Cassini became her wardrobe designer for several of her films starting with The Shanghai Gesture (1941) at United Artists and than at Twentieth Century Fox for such films as The Razor’s Edge (1946), The Ghost And Mrs. Muir (1947), Whirlpool (1949), Where The Sidewalk Ends (1950) and On The Riviera (1951). His career at Fox was briefly interrupted when he enlisted in the Army during World War II, serving stateside. Cassini also worked on the non-Tierney films Tales Of Manhattan (1942) and Born To Speed (1947) while at Fox.

     Cassini and Tierney divorced in 1947, though they remained close friends, even to the point of remarrying briefly before divorcing again in 1952.

     Although he would only design for a few more films - most notably Dean Martin’s The Ambushers (1967) - Cassini would go onto create a name for himself that would transcend just the fashion world. At the request of the newly elected President John F. Kennedy, he designed over 300 outfits for First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, including the pillbox hat she would popularize. Cassini was responsible for introducing brightly colored shirts for men and the short-lived Nehru jacket. He recognized the power of his name and licensed it out to approximately 50 products including lines of sunglasses, watches and children’s clothes. He also appeared as a frequent guest on the television talk shows The Tonight Show and The Mike Douglas Show.