Charles Kleibacker

Charles John Kleibacker (born November 20, 1921 in Cullman $ndash; died January 10, 2010 in Columbus, Ohio) was a fashion designer and museum curator.

Kleibacker's family owned a department store in Cullman. He studied journalism at the University of Notre Dame and returned to Alabama to work in newspapers before moving to New York to attend New York University. As an ad writer for De Pinna, he met cabaret singer Hildegarde and became her tour driver. While working for her he became interested in fashion design. He completed a portfolio of sketches and landed a job as assistant to Antonio del Castillo, head deisgner for Lanvin in Paris in 1954.

In 1957 Kleibacker returned to New York and took a job with Nettie Rosenstein, then in 1960 launched his own collection. Some of his clients included Pat Nixon, Diahann Carroll and Mary Travers.

After retiring, Kleibacker continued to teach aspiring designers at colleges, including a residency at Ohio State University. He began curating exhibitions. He joined the staff of the Columbus Museum of Art as an adjunct curator and assisted in the acquisition of numerous important examples of fashion design.

Kleibacker died in 2010 from pneumonia.

References

• Wilson, Eric (January 7, 2010) "Charles Kleibacker, Fashion Designer, Dies at 88." New York Times