Hugh Willoughby was sent to the front during the war and was held prisoner for 2 years. Upon his return, he designed for the Palace in London. In 1920 he arrived in Paris where until the end of 1925 he created costumes for the revues at the Marigny, the Casino de Paris, the Folies Bergère and occasionally for English theatres. In the late 1930s he emigrated to the USA and established his own theatrical costume house in New York.