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legends
October 31, 2016

Remembering James Galanos, Who Helped Define California Glamour

By Véronique Hyland

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Photo: ALLAN GRANT/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

Designer James Galanos, best known for his long-standing sartorial relationship with Nancy Reagan, died yesterday at age 92. Raised in New Jersey by Greek immigrant parents, Galanos would end up designing for some of the world’s most notable women, and along the way, helping redefine California glamour.

“As a young boy I had no fashion influences around me, but all the while I was dreaming of Paris and New York,” he once told People. While he did stints in both cities early on, the majority of his career would be spent on the West Coast, far from the world’s fashion capitals. By age 20 he was working as a sketcher for Jean Louis, the legendary costume designer behind Gilda and A Star Is Born. In 1952 he started his own line, Galanos Originals, which was quickly picked up by Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus. His chiffon dresses, which came pleated, layered, or embellished, were particularly popular. (Other Galanos signatures: trailing ribbons, and lashings of fur, lots of it. The expensive kind — mink, sable, and lynx.)

His operation was proof that couture-quality work could be done outside Paris. Hollywood royalty lapped it up: Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, and Marlene Dietrich. He outfitted Grace Kelly for her wedding, and Diana Ross, another longtime client, wore his handiwork to the 1985 Academy Awards.

But his best-known relationship was with Nancy Reagan, who said of his dresses, “You can wear one inside out, they are so beautifully made.” Reagan began wearing Galanos as a young actress, and when her husband began his political career, she showed off his gowns to inaugural balls and state dinners. One of her most famous Galanos looks was the one-shoulder lace and silk satin column she wore to the 1981 gubernatorial ball. Along with Adolfo, Galanos would shape her image as a clotheshorse First Lady who, depending on your perspective, was a glittering style icon or an out-of-touch elitist. (Though Reagan admitted that even she had trouble paying his five-figure prices.)

Today’s preoccupation with “democratizing” fashion would have puzzled Galanos. “I’m only interested in designing for a certain type of woman,” he famously said. “Specifically, one that has money.” Unlike many of his contemporaries, he didn’t license his work or create secondary lines. Instead, he designed every piece personally and traveled with carefully self-packed trunks to personally fit his clients. “This is a snob operation and that is what we want,” he told People, referring to himself, as was his habit, outside the first person singular.

In 1998, he left fashion to explore a second career as a photographer — and never looked back. But his designs continue to exert a hold on Hollywood. In recent years, Ashley Olsen and Nicole Kidman have worn vintage Galanos on the red carpet. His designs look just as fresh today as they did back then — proof that quality never goes out of style.

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1 / 27 Photos
James Galanos examines a bolt of fabric, 1954. Photo: ALLAN GRANT/The LIFE Picture Collection/Gett
Playwright Arthur Miller with Marilyn Monroe in 1956. Photo: Bob Haswell/Getty Images
Marilyn Monroe at a press conference for her film The Prince and the Showgirl at the Savoy Hotel in London, 1956. Photo: Express/Getty Images
A woman wearing the designer's wide-shoulder look. Photo: Nina Leen/The LIFE Picture Collection/Gett
Grace Kelly with Prince Rainier III of Monaco on April 17, 1956, at the Princely Palace, one day before their wedding. Photo: Keystone-France/Gamma-K... Grace Kelly with Prince Rainier III of Monaco on April 17, 1956, at the Princely Palace, one day before their wedding. Photo: Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images
Grace Kelly on the day of her wedding to Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, at the Prince's Palace of Monaco, April 18, 1956. Photo: Haywood Magee/Getty ... Grace Kelly on the day of her wedding to Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, at the Prince's Palace of Monaco, April 18, 1956. Photo: Haywood Magee/Getty Images
A model wearing a white satin gown with a jeweled velvet jacket designed by James Galanos, 1959. Photo: Gordon Parks/The LIFE Picture Collection/Gett
Nancy Reagan wearing an evening gown by James Galanos with Governor Ronald W. Reagan. Photo: Charles Bonnay/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty
Nancy Reagan wearing a dress by James Galanos in the California State Capitol, Sacramento, California, 1967.  Photo: Fred Lyon/The LIFE Picture ... Nancy Reagan wearing a dress by James Galanos in the California State Capitol, Sacramento, California, 1967.  Photo: Fred Lyon/The LIFE Picture Collection/Gett
Nancy Reagan wearing a dress by James Galanos in Sacramento, California, 1967. Photo: Fred Lyon/The LIFE Picture Collection/Gett
James Galanos at a Saks Fifth Avenue department store in Chicago, March 1980. Both models wear clothes of his design. Photo: THOMAS S. ENGLAND/The LI... James Galanos at a Saks Fifth Avenue department store in Chicago, March 1980. Both models wear clothes of his design. Photo: THOMAS S. ENGLAND/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty
Paloma Picasso at the CFDA Awards Dinner and Lifetime Achievement Tribute to James Galanos at the New York Public Library in 1985. Photo: Ron Galella... Paloma Picasso at the CFDA Awards Dinner and Lifetime Achievement Tribute to James Galanos at the New York Public Library in 1985. Photo: Ron Galella/WireImage
Nancy Reagan wearing a Galanos evening gown at a gala for the Queen of England at 20th Century Fox Studios. Photo: Diana Walker/Time & Life Pictures/... Nancy Reagan wearing a Galanos evening gown at a gala for the Queen of England at 20th Century Fox Studios. Photo: Diana Walker/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image
James Galanos with Amy Fine Collins at the CFDA Awards in 2002. Photo: Ron Galella/WireImage
Sarah Jessica Parker presents her new fragrance Lovely at Lord and Taylor in New York City in 2005. Photo: Carley Margolis/FilmMagic
Amy Fine Collins at the 2005 CFDA Fashion Awards. Photo: Michael Loccisano/FilmMagic
Céline Dion at the 2007 Academy Awards. Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Katie Holmes with Tom Cruise at the Beckham welcoming party at the Museum of Contemporary Art's Geffen Warehouse in Los Angeles in 2007. Photo: Noel ... Katie Holmes with Tom Cruise at the Beckham welcoming party at the Museum of Contemporary Art's Geffen Warehouse in Los Angeles in 2007. Photo: Noel Vasquez/Getty Images
Ashley Olsen at the "Poiret: King of Fashion" Costume Institute Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2007. Photo: Jamie McCarthy/WireI... Ashley Olsen at the "Poiret: King of Fashion" Costume Institute Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2007. Photo: Jamie McCarthy/WireImage
James Galanos, Nancy Reagan, Diane von Furstenberg, and a guest attend a gala and dinner celebrating the exhibit opening of "Nancy Reagan: A Firs... James Galanos, Nancy Reagan, Diane von Furstenberg, and a guest attend a gala and dinner celebrating the exhibit opening of "Nancy Reagan: A First Lady's Style" at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, in 2007. Photo: Lester Cohen/WireImage
Heidi Klum at the InStyle/Warner Bros. Golden Globes after-party at the Oasis Court at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in 2009. Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty... Heidi Klum at the InStyle/Warner Bros. Golden Globes after-party at the Oasis Court at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in 2009. Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Natalia Vodianova, Shalom Harlow, and Amber Valletta attend "The Model as Muse: Embodying Fashion" Costume Institute Gala at the Metropolita... Natalia Vodianova, Shalom Harlow, and Amber Valletta attend "The Model as Muse: Embodying Fashion" Costume Institute Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2009. Photo: Larry Busacca/Getty Images
Christina Ricci at the Frick Collection in New York City in 2010. Photo: Christopher Peterson/BuzzFoto/FilmMagic
Selma Blair arrives at the 2011 Hollywood Style Awards in Los Angeles. Photo: Jesse Grant/WireImage
Lindsay Lohan at the 2012 White House Correspondents' Association dinner. Photo: NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images
Peri Ellen Berne, Tim Vreeland, James Galanos, Lisa Immordino Vreeland, Fred Hayman, Peggy Moffitt, and Mayor Willie Brien at the Rodeo Drive Walk of ... Peri Ellen Berne, Tim Vreeland, James Galanos, Lisa Immordino Vreeland, Fred Hayman, Peggy Moffitt, and Mayor Willie Brien at the Rodeo Drive Walk of Style induction ceremony and plaque unveiling celebrating the Life of Diana Vreeland in Beverly Hills, California, 2012. Photo: Gabriel Olsen/FilmMagic
Gelila Puck at her surprise birthday dinner at Spago Beverly Hills in 2012. Photo: Alexandra Wyman/WireImage
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