Born Antonio Canovas del Castillo del Rey into a noble family in Madrid, Spain. He studied at the Colegio del Pilar in Madrid, at the University of Madrid and at El Sacro Monte in Granada. He left Spain for France in 1936, at the onset of the Spanish Civil War. Trained as a fashion designer working with Robert Piguet and Paquin at their Paris couture salons. He joined Elizabeth Arden in 1942 as head of her couture department in New York. In 1950, Castillo joined Jeanne Lanvin, working as chief designer at the Lanvin Paris salon for thirteen years. From 1964 to 1969, he ran his own Paris couture house, Castillo. Castillo (like Balenciaga) greatly admired his Spanish heritage, and many of his designs reflect the dignity and grace of Spain. He was nominated for Broadway's 1959 Tony® Award as Best Costume Designer for Goldilocks. His feature film design credits include Cocteau's LA BELLE ET LA BÊTE / BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (1948), Ingrid Bergman's costumes for THE YELLOW ROLLS-ROYCE (1964), and his Award-winning costumes for Franklin J. Schaffner's NICHOLAS AND ALEXANDRA (1971).  Costume Design 1971: NICHOLAS AND ALEXANDRA (w. Yvonne Blake) 1 nomination, 1 Award