Attended the Art Student's League in Paris before spending twelve years at Bergdorf-Goodman in New York, initially as a window dresser. He eventually worked his way up to chief designer. He then moved to Hollywood, working at RKO from 1934 to 1936, designing gowns for several musicals starring
Fred Astaire and
Ginger Rogers. He returned to Bergdorf-Goodman afterward, but continued working for film occasionally: at Columbia in 1938 and Warner Bros from 1946 to 1947.