R.I.P.

Elite Fashion Designer James Galanos Dies at 92

Dressed Nancy Reagan.

James Galanos, the man behind Nancy Reagan’s iconic ballgowns, died Sunday at the age of 92. His death was confirmed by family friends and fellow designers. Galanos earned a stunning number of accolades, including a lifetime achievement award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America, several Coty Awards, and a plaque on Seventh Avenue’s Fashion Walk of Fame in New York. He designed the dresses worn by the former first lady for at least four inaugurations. “Ronnie liked Jimmy’s clothes very much,” Reagan said in a 2007 Vanity Fair interview. “Wearing Jimmy meant never going overboard or to extremes. Jimmy really set the standard.” Galanos had a unique vision and a determination to dress only luxurious women, rather than expand his clientele. “I’m only interested in designing for a certain type of woman,” Galanos once said. “Specifically, one that has money.”