Kalman Ruttenstein ’58

Kal Ruttenstein died Dec. 8, 2005, of complications from lymphoma.

Kal came to Princeton from the Nichols School in Buffalo. He was a member of Charter Club, manager of the ice hockey team, and performed in the 1957 Triangle Club production After a Fashion. Kal majored in English, graduated with honors, and went on to earn an MBA from Columbia.

At his death, Kal was Bloomingdale's senior vice president and fashion director. Despite suffering from a 1997 stroke that made walking difficult, he remained the very prominent, even legendary, Bloomingdale's guru, having the last word on trends in fashion and traveling on buying trips to Europe several times a year. A familiar figure at the newest restaurants, he was successful in merging show business with fashion.

His retailing career started at Lord & Taylor, then Saks. He became president of Bonwit Teller before moving to Bloomingdale's in 1977. For his career, he was awarded in 2002 the French Legion d'Honneur in Paris and the Eleanor Lambert Award for Lifetime Achievement in Fashion in New York.

Kal had no immediate survivors. His life was celebrated by Ralph Lauren, Donna Karan, and others at a memorial service in January at Carnegie Hall.

The Class of 1958