C. Suppon, 40; Coty Winner for Fashions

Charles Suppon, a designer who won a 1978 Coty Award for his women’s fashions and who also was co-author of the book for the Broadway musical “Legs Diamond,” died Tuesday of a brain tumor. He was 40.

Suppon had retired from the fashion industry several years ago to work as an associate of Peter Allen, whom he had met when he designed costumes for the Australian-born entertainer’s Broadway show, “Up in One.”

He contributed to Allen’s one-man appearances at Radio City Music Hall and Carnegie Hall and to his national tours, and conceptualized the book for “Legs Diamond,” an Allen musical that came late to Broadway after several delays. The play, co-written with Harvey Fierstein and loosely based on the career of the gangster of the same name, was received unfavorably and failed earlier this year.

Suppon, a Collinsville, Ill., native, studied fashion in Chicago and later came to New York to work as an assistant to Calvin Klein.

In 1977, Suppon created his own fashion label for women. The following year he won the Coty, fashion’s equivalent of the Oscar.