Fashion Style
Peggy Nestor, has been the Creative Director of the Oleg Cassini brand for many decades, and as such she has inspired creativity and elegance as a mainstay for the Oleg Cassini image and trademark.
Oleg Cassini is known for elegance and glamour dressing some of the most influential and beautiful women of our time, like Marilyn Monroe, Grace Kelly, Kim Basinger, Taylor Swift, and many more luminaries, as well as being appointed the official courier to Jaqueline Kennedy during her years in the White House, a collaboration that inspired a look that changed the world.
Peggy’s choice of taglines to accompany the Oleg Cassini branding have a unique and personal reflection of the design genius of Oleg Cassini: “To be well dressed is a little like being in love”, “Elegance knows only one name", “Cassini, A love affair that never ends” and “The One and Only Oleg Cassini".
TO THE BLOG
To Be Well Dressed
is a Little like Being in Love
- Oleg Cassini
Oleg Cassini is the number one selling designer name in bridal today. The Cassini label conjures elements of grace, beauty and elegance. In both the couture and ready to wear collections the brand's focus is on the bride. As Oleg said "the dress is an envelope for the body". With innovation and timeless style each element is woven to create a magical gown to express the unique beauty of the wearer.
From Icon to the Modern Bride
Peggy Nestor and Oleg Cassini
A Love Affair The Never Ends
-Oleg Cassini
A Passion for Excellence
Peggy Nestor's career in fashion spans decades, working side by side with legendary fashion designer Oleg Cassini.
Instrumental in supporting and promoting Cassini's vision, Peggy's design sense, style and concepts helped to solidify the Oleg Cassini label worldwide.
Peggy worked closely with Oleg, running the Cassini design studio; she coordinated artistic concepts and talent; selected models and show themes; created styles, selected and cordinated designs; garnered publicity and editorial; planned fashion shows, did Press Releases and occasionaly did the verbal presentation of a show for Oleg when he could not make the fashion shows; she went on to create new design concepts and develop new licensing projects and product areas; adding in lifestyle concepts: home furnishings, books and film projects.
Peggy also created the press releases for the Eleanor Lambert CFDA fashion showings, and edited the Oleg fashion columns. Peggy created the business model and fashion concept of the Cassini/Oleg Cassini trademark as a world wide brand.
Along the way, Peggy made the biggest model deal of its time, (in the Guiness Book of World Records) for her client, Margaux Hemingway, Faberge’s Million Dollar ‘Babe’ fragrance.
Peggy also initiated and secured a dress collection license for Emilio Pucci.
Peggy Nestor and Margaux Hemingway at the Million Dollar "Babe" signing with Faberge.
Peggy Nestor backstage Oleg Cassini Bridal show 2018
One of the innovative fashion trend movements that Peggy was involved in was in the area of menswear. Peggy worked with Oleg on many of the concepts of menswear, assisting him in his revolutionary concept of colored shirts for men. The range of colors coupled with various tie choices, were spectacular and enabled the fashion story for men during that time, to explode with popularity.
A memorable award winning advertisement photographed by Dan Wynn showed Oleg in a tie and jacket without a shirt and the tag line read: ‘No shirt was good enough, so I made my own’. This made menswear fashion history.
Oleg Cassini
Coupled with that imagery, Peggy coordinated with the menswear fashion group the wardrobe for the 5 night a week appearance for the host of the Tonight Show, the legendary Johnny Carson. Johnny Carson was ‘dressed by Oleg Cassini’.
In 1968, Peggy produced an evening event for Newsweek Magazine to celebrate the aptly named ‘Peacock Revolution’ highlighting the imagery of the male expression of fashion of the time.This evening, which was memoralized in the fashion pages of Newsweek, set the stage
for the link to a potential worldwide enterprise
From there innumerable projects ensued and continue to this day, visionary, fashion forward and in keeping with the iconic nature of the brand Oleg Cassini.
The World of Oleg Cassini Fashion
Color to the Court. The tennis revolution campaign, featured many stars wearing Cassini in specially designed atheletic wear with exclusive stretch athletic fabrics. Oleg, a respected athelete, and ranked tennis player, paid special attention to the ability of the athelete to work with ease wearing the Cassini designed garments. This project was done in partnership with Munsingwear.
The RFK Tournaments were a major yearly ABC TV, nationally televised event, and many stars from all fields participated and wore the Oleg Cassini designs on television. From Elton John to Bjorn Borg from Senator Ted Kennedy to Billie Jean King; all wore Oleg Cassini sports wear. When Oleg won the tournament, Jackie Kennedy Onassis presented him with the silver cup. Peggy coordinated the fashions with both Ethel Kennedy and Francoise de la Renta.
Peggy coordinated clothing for Jackie, who stated, “Oleg dressed me for the part”, referencing her time as the most fashionable First Lady of the USA.
Color to the Court
Jacqueline Kennedy and Oleg Cassini at RFK Tournament
Jacqueline Kennedy, Howard Cosell presenting Oleg Cassini the Grand Prize for winning RFK Tournament
Jacqueline Kennedy, Ethel Kennedy, Robert Kennedy Jr., Howard Cosell and at RFK Tournament
Ethel Kennedy, Jackie and Oleg
Oleg and Ted Kennedy at RFK Tournament
Jacqueline Kennedy and Oleg Cassini at RFK Tournament
"He Dressed Me For The Part"
-Jacqueline Kennedy
Cassini Parfum
CASSINI by Oleg Cassini is a floral chypre and a top selling fragrance worldwide.
Peggy launched the Cassini by Oleg Cassini fragrance in London exclusivity available at Harrods. This launch made Cassini the Number One selling fragrance in Harrods for that year. Peggy and her team went on to open European and foreign territories worldwide, ultimately securing a major multi market distribution deal with Nina Ricci.
'Cassini' continues to be a best selling fragrance today.
The Competitors Collection
Oleg Cassini at Mortimer's Cassini fragrance launch with Ray Stark and to the right Oleg with Patricia Kennedy Lawford
Born from Oleg's love of sports. Peggy produced and coordinated this project. Concept: A Fit for the fit - Opening launch show was the ABC/GMA fashion show hosted by Frank Gifford with the NY Giants modeling OC, including Phil Sims and Lawrence Taylor. Other Competitors modeling for Oleg Cassini: Ted Turner, Michael Jordan, Mario Andretti, Dodi Fayed, Bob Hope, Rowdy Gaines, Burt Bacharach, Danny Sullivan..etc. Grief/Phoenix Clothing. A ‘fit for the fit’ for menswear.
Ted Turner
Burt Reynolds Loni Anderson
Rowdy Gaines Gold Medalist
Regis Philbin
Bob Hope
Mario Andretti
Michael Jordan
Peggy Nestor has been instrumental for many decades of design in the art of fashion. An illustrious career bringing design to the world with Oleg Cassini and the Cassini brand, connecting art and media, adding innovation and creativity in her collaborations.
She suggested and secured the CFDA Award for Oleg Cassini in 2003 for: Decades of Design in the Art of Fashion, which was presented to Oleg by Diane von Furstenberg, with an homage by Alexander Mcqueen.
Peggy Nestor at event
New York Times Sunday Styles Cover, backstage at Oleg Cassini fashion show
Books:
1000 Days of Magic - 2 editions
Oleg Cassini The Wedding Dress - 3 editions
Stars in Cassini
Oleg / Icon of Style
Over 100 magazine Covers re: Special Occasions
Special Occasion fashion events on line reach: 800, million.
Cover: Sunday Styles New York Times - 2014
Oleg Cassini at "A Thousand Days of Magic" book signing at Lord & Taylors NYC