From Ingrid to Monroe: Fashion of the Hollywood Studio System
Image Courtesy: Fine Art America
Speed. Roll sound. Quiet on set. Camera’s ready. Scene twenty-four, take one. Action! The mood is dark, yet thrillingly romantic. Vast heaps of thick fog flood the airport tarmac. Seen through the misty ambiance- a lone plane, ready for takeoff. Standing in the foreground are Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, wearing matching trench coats and hats. They stand intimately close to each other, staring into each other’s eyes. Bogart grasps Bergman by the chin and utters, “here’s looking at you kid”. A tear bleeds from the eyes of Bergman and the soul of our hearts. “CUT,” screams Michael Curtiz, “that was beautiful, Bogie-Bergman, god those coats make the whole scene. It’s as if the audience connects to the dress”. The results were clear; the audience was manipulated into believing the façade, the scene’s mise-en-scene.
In Hollywood, during the Golden Age, the five major studio systems found themselves churning out film after film as if they were being produced upon an assembly line. Films of this time were often formulaic, specifically marketed, and financially inspired. However, to discuss film artistically, one must admire the beautiful work of Hollywood’s greatest costume designers. From Edith Head, beautifully dressing all of Hitchcock’s blondes, to Adrien Adolph Greenberg, sewing the dreams of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, many often forget that it is the costume designers that make a great film. Think for a moment of James Dean in Rebel Without A Cause. Clearly, the film would be much different without Dean’s famed leather jacket, for it is the clothes that garnish the film's identity. Furthermore, many of Hollywood’s greatest stars became synonymously known for the costumes they bore. Seldom seen is Jimmy Stewart without a suit or Jean Arthur without masculine threads.
In art, people are always apt to find love in those that reflect themselves. If one dressed in French-inspired pieces, then perhaps one would find common ground with Audrey Hepburn or Grace Kelly. It is truly an interesting phenomenon, dissecting the people we chose to celebrate. For example, I often dress in sweaters and button-downs and am a self-proclaimed Woody Allen fan. Allen, much known for dressing intellectually, subconsciously resonates with me as a result. As such, the major Hollywood studios found a way to visually brand their contract players through the clothes that they wore. Massive stars like Cary Grant, Clark Gable, and Rita Hayworth are all meticulously branded in their clothes and personalities to make them more profitable for the studio.
These stars- FLASHBULB- CAMERA- FLASHBULB- wore dresses mandated by the studio to public events- PAPARAZZI- to establish their personal brand. The stars would slowly, flamboyantly- SMASH- walk the red carpet of broken glass- SMASH- presenting their dresses as if they were handing in a resume. Night after night- ONE MORE PHOTO- it was their costumes that made them public figures. It was the photos- FLASHBULB- that reigned in money for the studios. The dress of the stars would establish their identity as either sex-symbols, mothers, tomboys, etc. Every star fathomed their own target audience.
Speed. Roll sound. Quiet on set. Camera’s ready. Scene eight, take one. Action! The mood is exciting, fast paced. Marilyn Monroe, sporting a white dress, leaves a movie theater with Tom Ewell, her neurotically-dressed companion. They stand in idle chat. Suddenly, the exhaust from a speeding subway exhales through a grate under Monroe. Her dress suddenly floats in the air, revealing sensual, lovely legs. The audience screams in lust. The curtain closes. Marilyn Monroe is an icon.
Strike Out,
Writer: Blake Von Tilzer
Boca Raton