Oleg Cassini still relevant, and still designing, at 91
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NEW YORK -- For nearly all his 91 years, fashion designer Oleg Cassini has been on the move.
There's little chance his pace will slow anytime soon.
"I'm doing things the way I've been doing them," Cassini says. His advice: "Be mobile at all times, even if it causes you suffering, or feelings of loneliness. Unless you're willing to do that, you're never going to get the bigger rewards."
During an interview at the mansion that serves as his headquarters, Cassini recounted highlights of what is perhaps history's longest fashion career and a celebrity lifestyle that involved dressing famous women, including Jacqueline Kennedy, one-time fiancee Grace Kelly and Marilyn Monroe.
"Oleg Cassini's name is probably one of the most recognized fashion names globally," says Lavelle Olexa, a senior vice president at Lord & Taylor. "The thing that always makes him so important is that he's always relevant. I think that, too, is the way he lives his life ... he personifies living in the now and looking to tomorrow."
"Why would people be interested in me now? I think I have talent," Cassini says. "I kept it."
Then he adds, "It's my extreme modesty."
Yet for all his successes, Cassini does in fact manage to retain some humility, crediting the glamorous women he counted among his clients and friends. "I would've had to be pretty clumsy not to have done something with it."
Arguably the first "celebrity designer," Cassini pioneered looks through the 1950s and '60s, such as the A-line dress and colored dress shirts for men, that remain popular to this day. He also employed the idea of licensing, extending the Cassini brand to beauty care products, fragrances and even a custom-designed automobile interior in the 1970s.
In the '90s, Cassini launched a partnership with David's Bridal.
Robert Huth, president and CEO of May Department Stores's bridal group, predicts subsidiary David's Bridal could sell upward of 45,000 Cassini dresses this year. The company also plans to expand the line into Europe.
Frank Franklin II, Associated PressFashion designer Oleg Cassini during an interview in his office last week in New York.
Click photo for larger image.
Gregory Bull, Associated PressA vintage design by Oleg Cassini is on display in the windows of Lord & Taylor along Fifth Avenue in New York City, as a workman passes. The store is featuring vintage dresses by the famous designer.
First Published January 27, 2005 12:00 am
