Omar Kiam Explained

Omar Kiam
Birth Name:Alexander Kiam
Birth Date:July 19, 1894
Birth Place:Monterrey, Mexico.
Death Place:New York City, U.S.
Nationality:American
Awards:Neiman Marcus Fashion Award, 1941; Coty Award, 1946
Occupation:Costume designer; fashion designer

Alexander "Omar" Kiam (1894 – 1954) was an American fashion designer and costume designer.

Early life

Born Alexander Kiam in Monterrey, Mexico, to Texan parents.[1] Kiam picked up the nickname "Omar" at Riverview Preparatory School in Poughkeepsie, New York.[2] He later went to the Poughkeepsie Military Academy in New York.[3] His first job as a designer was producing caps for babies for a department store in Houston.[3] Kiam chose to retain his nickname professionally, as he appreciated the link to Omar Khayyám.[4]

Costume design

Following a stint in Paris as a student, Kiam returned to the United States and opened his studio in New York City, where he produced work for Broadway theatre.[3] Among the theatre productions he costumed were Dinner at Eight, the Robert E. Sherwood play Reunion in Vienna, and the Edward Sheldon and Margaret Ayer Barnes play Dishonored Lady.[5] In 1933 he moved to Hollywood, where he headed the film costume design departments for Sam Goldwyn Productions and United Artists.[3] [5] Before leaving Hollywood in 1939, Kiam also worked for independent producers David O. Selznick and Hal Roach.[3] He also worked with 20th Century Pictures.[6]

One of Kiam's most notable films was the 1937 film A Star is Born, for which he dressed Janet Gaynor.[2] He collaborated with Irene on Algiers.[5]

Filmography

Omar Kiam costumed the following films:[5] [7]

Fashion design

Although primarily known as a costume designer Kiam had also run a wholesale fashion design business supplying clothing to shops across the United States before he moved to Hollywood.[8]

After leaving Hollywood, in 1941 Kiam became head designer for the Ben Reig fashion label, a company founded in 1929. Also designing costume jewelry for them from 1948, he worked there until his death in 1954.[9]

Kiam won the Neiman Marcus Fashion Award in 1941, and in 1946, won the Coty Award jointly with Vincent Monte-Sano and Clare Potter.[2] During the early 1950s Liz Claiborne worked for Kiam.[10]

Kiam died 28 March 1954 at the Ritz Tower Hotel in New York City, after struggling with a sickness that lasted seven months.[11] [12]

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Clipped From The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. 1946-07-19. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. 2020-03-28. 9.
  2. News: Mara . Margaret . Omar Kiam, Former MGM Designer, gets Fashion Award . . 13 March 2015 . The Brooklyn Daily Eagle . 19 July 1946 . 9.
  3. Book: Bailey . Margaret J. . Those glorious glamour years : Classic Hollywood costume design of the 1930s . 1988 . Columbus . London . 9780862878832 . 18071243.
  4. Book: Room . Adrian . Dictionary of Pseudonyms: 13,000 Assumed Names and Their Origins. . 2010 . McFarland & Co., Publishers . Jefferson . 9780786457632 . 261 . 5th .
  5. Book: Leese . Elizabeth . Costume design in the movies an illustrated guide to the work of 157 great designers . 1991 . Dover Publications . New York . 9780486134291 . 66 .
  6. Web site: Omar Kiam - Biography . 2024-03-11 . IMDb . en-US.
  7. Web site: Staff writer. Omar Kiam Filmography . https://web.archive.org/web/20120715163236/http://explore.bfi.org.uk/4ce2ba8bc1b7c . dead . 15 July 2012 . BFI . British Film Institute . 13 March 2015.
  8. News: Staff writer . Omar Kiam to Design Garbs for Film Stars . 13 March 2015 . The Waco News-Tribune . Associated Press . . 31 March 1934.
  9. Web site: Staff writer . Ben Reig . Vintage Fashion Guild Label Resource . 13 March 2015.
  10. News: Woo . Elaine . Liz Claiborne, 78; clothes designer for career women built vast fashion empire . 13 March 2015 . Los Angeles Times . 28 June 2007.
  11. News: Staff writer. Dress Designer Dies . 13 March 2015. The Evening Independent. Associated Press . Newspapers.com. 30 March 1954.
  12. Web site: OMAR KIAM: NOTED FOR DRESS DESIGNS; Fashion Creator Is Dead at 60--Had Made Clothes for Many Hollywood Stars. March 30, 1954. The New York Times. 27. en. 2020-03-28.