Biography
Omar Kiam, also credited as Alexander Kiam, was an American costume designer and fashion designer. Born Alexander Kiam on 19 July 1894 in Monterrey, Mexico, to Texan parents, he adopted the name Omar while at school in Poughkeepsie, New York. After studying in Paris, he opened a studio in New York and designed costumes for Broadway productions including Dinner at Eight and Reunion in Vienna.
In 1933 Kiam moved to Hollywood, where he headed the costume departments at Sam Goldwyn Productions and United Artists until 1939. He designed for films including Les Misérables (1935), Call of the Wild (1935), Dodsworth (1936), These Three (1936), Dead End (1937), A Star Is Born (1937), Stella Dallas (1937), The Hurricane (1937) and Wuthering Heights (1939). He later returned to New York and became head designer for the Ben Reig label, receiving the Neiman Marcus Fashion Award in 1941 and the Coty Award in 1946.
