Jean Louis was known for creating glamorous gowns for some of Hollywoods most sensuous leading ladies. Marilyn Monroe, Rita Hayworth, Doris Day, Lana Turner, Joan Crawford, Marlene Dietrich, Mary Tyler Moore and Julie Andrews were all immaculately costumed by Jean Louis.His brilliant clothes were known for the luxurious materials, simple and elegant cut, virtuosity of workmanship, and a modern uncluttered silhouette, which make his clothes as wearable today as they were fifty years ago.Jean Louis was born in Paris in 1907. In the late 1930s, after graduating from the Ecole Decoratifs in Paris, he visited New York and spent a great deal of time in his hotel room sketching dresses. The day before returning to Paris a friend suggested that he show his work to a few prestigious 7th Avenue clothing design firms. Powerful Hattie Carnegie Inc. became Jean Louis introduction to the fashion world. He quickly gained recognition and began a lifetime of dressing the stars of Hollywood and New York society.After designing privately for loyal client Joan Cohn, the wife of Columbia Pictures Chief Harry Cohn, Jean Louis was invited to Hollywood to design costumes for motion pictures.In 1943, he left the profitable New York fashion business and was named Chief Designer at Columbia Pictures.Later, he moved on to designing costumes at Universal Pictures and then as an independent freelance costume designer. He eventually founded his own fashion and costume design atelier.Jean Louis lived in Santa Barbara with his wife of 30 years, Maggie, until her death in 1987. Soon after he married his companion and close friend Loretta Young. Jean Louis had designed gowns and costumes for the stunning Loretta Young throughout her long career, including the gowns worn for her famous staircase entrances on her television show.

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