30 Facts About James Galanos

James Galanos was an American fashion designer and couturier.

James Galanos was born on September 20,1924, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the only son of Greek-born parents.

James Galanos grew up a shy boy and learned to work hard from an early age.

James Galanos attended two semesters at Traphagen, the first spent in general design studies and the second in draping and construction.

In 1944, James Galanos got a position as a general assistant at the New York East 49th Street emporium of Hattie Carnegie, the incubator of such talents as Jean Louis, Pauline Trigere, and Norman Norell.

In 1948, James Galanos decided to return to the US and accepted a job with Davidow, a dress-making firm in New York.

In 1952, James Galanos opened his own company, Galanos Originals, which was immediately ordered by Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus in Beverly Hills.

Many designers worked with chiffon, but James Galanos was a true master of the genre.

James Galanos went on to design costumes for other Russell's movies, most notably the film version of Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad in 1967.

James Galanos gathered some of the most talented craftsmen available in his workrooms; many were trained in Europe or in the costume studios of Hollywood, for whom he continued to design from time to time.

James Galanos had heard about Galanos through relatives and soon started working with him in his Los Angeles studio.

James Galanos's business was more comparable to a couture house than a ready-to-wear manufacturer; there was a great amount of hand work in each garment, and all of his famous beadwork and embroidery was done by his staff.

James Galanos always chose fabrics and trimmings personally during trips to Europe and Asia.

James Galanos often lined his dresses with silks that other designers used for dresses themselves, and he was always a firm believer in the importance of hidden details.

James Galanos used mainly mink, sable, lynx, and broadtail and handled the furs imaginatively as if they were fabric.

James Galanos often designed for Peter Dion, the furrier who made sure that the quality of the pelts and the workmanship supported the innovative design.

James Galanos showed his coats over stretch tights and bodysuits with satin surfaces.

James Galanos had a special feeling for broadtail, the tissue-thin fur with a sleek, elegant surface.

James Galanos wore dresses created by Galanos to Ronald Reagan's first inaugural ball as governor of California in 1967, and again in 1971 and 1981.

Mr James Galanos was the center of attention: Almost every woman in the room was wearing one of his designs.

In 1998, James Galanos retired after a career spanning nearly five decades.

James Galanos was the youngest designer to win the Coty Fashion Award in 1954.

James Galanos was a winner in 1956 and he was inducted into the Coty Hall of Fame in 1959.

James Galanos was named to the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 1982.

James Galanos received the prestigious Council of Fashion Designers of America Lifetime Achievement Award in 1985.

The difference, then and now, is that James Galanos' clothes were ready-to-wear; the French Haute Couture made custom clothes.

In 2018, two years after his passing, the university honored James Galanos by naming a new exhibition within their fashion department after him.

James Galanos was the uncle of fine jewelry designer Diana Vincent, of Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania.

James Galanos retired in 1998 and lived in Palm Springs, California, and West Hollywood.

James Galanos died on October 30,2016, at his home in West Hollywood, at the age of 92.