For
many film fans, the gorgeous costumes and gowns of the stars make up a big part
of the appeal of classic movies. That was true during Hollywood's early days,
too, when audiences flocked to the cinema for a look at life on the greener
side of the hill. Actresses like Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Katharine Hepburn,
and Gene Tierney were expected to look ravishing in gowns created by the most
talented costume designers in the business; the stars' reputations for glamour
were on the line every time they appeared on the screen or strolled across the
red carpet, and a talented designer could make the difference in a performer's
rise from actress to icon. Here is an introduction to a handful of classic
Hollywood's greatest costume designers, along with some suggestions about where
to see their best creations on film.
Adrian
Adrian
Adolph Greenburg (1903-1959) was the gifted designer who created the fantastic
costumes of The Wizard of Oz (1939)
for MGM, but he also styled the gowns for many other memorable classics,
including The Philadelphia Story
(1940), A Woman's Face (1941), and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941). Some of
his best work sprang from his association with Joan Crawford, one of the great
style icons of the period. Although Adrian designed many gorgeous gowns for the
queens of the silver screen, his most enduring creations must be Dorothy's ruby
red slippers, changed from novelist L. Frank Baum's original silver shoes in
order to capitalize on the lavish hues of the Technicolor production.
Oleg Cassini
Born
in Paris, Oleg Cassini Loiewski (1919-2006) was romantically linked to many
Hollywood actresses, but his most important relationship was with the ethereal
Gene Tierney, who was both his wife and his muse as a costume designer. Cassini
created the gowns wore by Tierney in The
Razor's Edge (1946), The Ghost and
Mrs. Muir (1947), and Night and the
City (1950). Although their union ended in divorce (twice), film fans can
still appreciate the beautiful partnership that made Tierney look so lovely in
many of her best pictures. Having dressed both Jackie Kennedy and Grace Kelly,
Cassini remains one of the most renowned designers in the world, and his design
house still turns out haute couture for fashion conscious consumers who long
for their own chance at classic Hollywood style.
Edith Head
No
classic film designer was more prolific or better known than Edith Head
(1897-1981), who won eight Academy Awards over the course of her long career.
Her work included costumes for stars like Barbara Stanwyck in The Lady Eve (1941) and Ball of Fire (1941), Veronica Lake in Sullivan's Travels (1941), Ginger Rogers
in The Major and the Minor (1944),
and Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard
(1950). She created holiday cheer for the outfits worn in White Christmas (1954) and medieval fantasies for The Court Jester (1955). From Westerns
and screwball comedies to period dramas and musicals, Edith Head did it all,
which helps to explain why Edna Mode, the superhero costume designer in Pixar's
The Incredibles (2004), is both
parody of and homage to her legendary status.
Orry-Kelly
Originally
from Australia, Orry George Kelly won three Oscars for his costume designs. His
winning work came with An American in
Paris (1951), Les Girls (1957),
and Some Like It Hot (1959), but he
also designed costumes and gowns for Bette Davis in many of her best pictures,
including Jezebel (1938), Dark Victory (1939), The Old Maid (1939), and Now, Voyager (1941). His career started
in 1932, and by the time of his death in 1964 he had worked on nearly 300
films. Today, his most recognizable work is almost certainly his costuming for
Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca
(1942).
Walter Plunkett
If
you can picture Scarlett O'Hara from Gone
with the Wind (1939), you can picture the work of Walter Plunkett. He was
the costume designer responsible for that famous green curtain dress, as well
as the many other gorgeous period costumes featured in the film. Plunkett's
ability to create memorable and historically accurate period costumes led to
his involvement in many of the more colorful classic films, including both the
1933 and 1949 versions of Little Women,
Stagecoach (1939), Duel in the Sun (1946), and Kiss Me Kate (1953). Aside from Gone with the Wind, however, his most
memorable work came with Singin' in the
Rain (1951), in which he recalled the Hollywood styles of the 1920s for
Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, and Donald O'Connor with the perfect combination
of grace and humor that the film required.
Travilla
William
Travilla (1920-1990) won an Oscar for his work on The Adventures of Don Juan (1948), but he is best remembered as the
designer who dressed Marilyn Monroe in eight films: Monkey Business (1952), Don't
Bother to Knock (1952), Gentlemen
Prefer Blondes (1953), How to Marry a
Millionaire (1953), There's No
Business Like Show Business (1954), River
of No Return (1954), The Seven Year
Itch (1955), and Bus Stop (1956).
His work with Marilyn produced some of the most famous images in Hollywood
history, including the blonde bombshell dressed in white above a ventilation
shaft in The Seven Year Itch (1955).
An earlier version of this article originally appeared on Examiner.com. The author retains all rights to this content.
