Blonde, a shameful mess to be avoided

Its fair to say that I didn't come to this film with an open mind, but even with the warnings in place I still gave it a go because as a Marilyn fan since childhood, a new movie about her is still an exciting prospect

However this isn't a film about Marilyn Monroe. I don’t know who this sacrificial lamb is but she meandered from scene to scene in a daze of tears and trauma as almost everyone she met either abused, raped or beat her. No one offered even a hint of humanity to this woman who seemed to have absolutely no agency whatsoever

This film pisses on the #metoo movement. This film is trash. Andrew Dominck should be ashamed. A woman director would never have put its female lead through so much lingering voyeuristic porn and cruelty

I found myself actually skipping whole scenes because seeing little wide eyed Norma Jeane get screwed over again and again frankly got boring as hell! 

It's important to know that BLONDE IS NOT A BIOPIC! It is a fictionalised retelling of Marilyn's story using only minimum fact as a base to build lurid details upon.

Marilyn Monroe's life was anything but easy, with well documented substance abuse brought on from childhood trauma and an undiagnosed mental condition. But as her husband the playwright Arthur Miller once said, "the struggle was valiant, she was a very courageous human being"

SHE WAS NOT A VICTIM. Marilyn had spark! She took on the patriarchal studio system to create her own production company. She stood up for civil rights and stood against McCarthyism. She refused to be typecast into the one dimensional role she was given and studied hard to hone her craft and she did all this in the era of the 1950's where a woman's voice counted for little

Using Marilyn's legacy to make this drivel is a slap in the face to everything she achieved and worked through to get to where she did. She came from nothing and literally became a Hollywood legend!

In all the decades since Marilyn struggled to be taken seriously and be seen as more than just tits and ass, this film underlines that things haven't changed as much as we like to think. She put it best when she said Hollywood was, "a place where they’ll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss and fifty cents for your soul.”

Don't bother watching this film

Reframed: Marilyn Monroe

'Marilyn Monroe is a mirror for people's ideas about sexuality and women's power', states the new four part CNN documentary series 'Reframed: Marilyn Monroe'. 

After watching, I felt this has never been more true. In an age where women's agency and freedoms are talked about and hashtagged in the news and social media there was a strong and evident agenda to reflect Marilyn as a trail blazer and feminist in this retelling.

The programme succeeded in ditching the usual tragic trappings most documentaries focus on when speaking about Marilyn the icon. Gone were the familiar 'beautiful young and dead' undertones to be replaced by representations of a hard working determined artist and star.

It was thrilling to see Marilyn make decisions and achieve against the odds. Wonderful to hear how she became a pioneer in a male led film industry, leaving Hollywood to set up her own production company, learn her craft and take chances.

To further this feeling of empowerment, the programme consisted of only women talking about her career, giving insights, or in Dame Joan Collins case, recollections, of the star. By taking men out of the picture this became a safe space where agency was given back to a woman whose image was established for the consumption of men.

Yet, even in this, Marilyn was given influence, as Bonnie Greer stated;

'We as women are constantly constructed, we construct ourselves, we collude in it, and you have to as a woman negotiate this, even if it's unconscious, every second of your life. Marilyn knew the machinery of womanhood very early'

It seems strange that a documentary so dedicated to lifting Marilyn Monroe up should then make some glaring mistakes that, if taken for fact, give a false impression of her. For instance, Marilyn's marriage to Joe DiMaggio was touted as a publicity stunt which is difficult to believe as they were both incredibly famous successful people at that point in their lives. Both parties met and fell in love years before their marriage and it's hard to see Marilyn being that callous or shallow where love and security were concerned.

Another bone of contention came when a rumoured love affair between a young Marilyn and her photographer Andre De Dienes was stated as truth. Over the years many men who knew her on a professional or even passing manner have claimed to have slept with her, and this for me is just another of those bragging stories that without evidence can only be met with skepticism.

But, mostly this was a new Marilyn for a new generation. 'Reframed' chose to show her story through the lens of a modern woman helping her to rise above the sexism and stereotypes of her time. While this did present new angles on events in her life giving much earned praise to her achievements and ambitions, the documentary was so fixated on getting the idea of a strong female across that it chose to leave out key points of her story that couldn't be rewritten as a personal triumph or breakthrough.

Crucial moments involving both husband's, Joe DiMaggio and Arthur Miller, were downplayed or left out altogether. When events led to Marilyn's traumatic stay at the Payne Whitney Psychiatric Clinic (where she had been locked in a padded cell by order of her psychiatrist), the documentary only stated that she got out, failing to mention that if she hadn't got a message to DiMaggio,  by then her ex,  he wouldn't have fought for her release as he had.

Likewise, the emotional difficulties that came from her marriage to Miller were only skimmed across never giving the deeper extent of her heartbreak and dismay that led to professional loss and ultimately their divorce.

Though flawed in places, Reframed: Marilyn Monroe, made a genuine effort to shake off many of the preconceptions and stereotypes associated with the star and reminded us that living in the midst of all the attention, myth (some self created) and stardom was a real person with real ambitions and struggles just like any other woman. 

Her struggles took place in an era when women's options were small, and expectations were high, yet somehow she managed to elevate beyond anything we could ever imagine and has become more than a person. Even today, 60 years beyond, Marilyn is an ever evolving idea of womanhood and a true reflection of our desires, efforts and successes as we progress through the ages.

Goodbye Doris

Have you ever seen Calamity Jane? Its the 1953 technicolor musical that follows the story of the wild west heroine with her sharp shootin', rootin' tootin' ways and her secret love for Wild Bill Hicock. 

BUT, basics aside, have you ever REALLY watched Calamity Jane, and by that I mean Doris Day's extraordinary performance? She bolts off the screen like a ray of golden light all energy and purpose. As Calam', Doris fully embodies every ounce of the loud, bragging, arm flailing heroine. She is a powerhouse of acting. It's amazing when you see her move, when you hear her sing!

Doris' honey smooth voice was both soothing and invigorating, it could be lilting and soft or ramped up to full force, but never anything but perfection. 

How bothersome then, that Doris' talents not just for musicals but comedies and dramas too have been overshadowed by her branding as the virginal all American goody two shoes, that has become a kitsch cliche at best and a false caricature at worst.

In reality she wasn't all apple pie. She was a women making her way in a male dominated industry. She was taken advantage of and betrayed by those closest to her (three marriages, one bankruptcy and an ageist Hollywood system) and pigeonholed into money making projects that kept her in a safe two dimensional bracket, that she somehow manged to rise above and shine.

My appreciation for Doris didn't truly begin until my 20's. Before that I'd always assumed she was too blandly wholesome. My god, how wrong I was! Watching Calamity Jane for the second time as an adult I realised I too had massively underrated her. I was grabbed by her vitality and her ability to go full force into a character while never veering into absurdity. She owned every scene she was in, her very physicality projecting her beyond the surface of the screen.

Spending time with her well known later films, those screwball 60's romance comedies she's so well known for, its wonderful to see how she embraces the campness and runs with it. These films cemented the whiter than white stereotype associated with Doris but she made what could have been flimsy character roles into memorable iconic performances that defined an era of golden Hollywood and popular culture to come.

Doris' will always be linked with Wake Me Up before You Go Go

Iconic work by artist Alejandro Mogollo (used with kind permission by the artist) 

Doris Day has been there my entire life, a legend hidden somewhere in California. It was enough to know she still existed; one of the Hollywood greats. I fully respected her decision to retire in the 1980's and focus on her charity work for the Doris Day Animal Foundation, yet when she released her album My Heart, at the age 89 it was exciting to hear her lovely voice once more and know she was still working her magic.

To know that Doris has gone is a great loss. I hope that people look back at her catalogue of work and feel as wowed as I have. I hope she is always remembered for the right reasons, for her undeniable talent and skill as a performer and the charity work that will continue in her name. I hope that right now Doris is having the best time, her glorious mega watt smile lighting up the heavens, because, after all, who can make 'the sun shine brighter than Doris Day'?

The Hidden Pin Up #15 - Costume Fitting

Yesterday I met up with the House of Ghetto for the first fitting of the outfit I made for The Hidden Pin Up project. This hemp costume is based on 1940's/50's burlesque styles and is in itself a burlesque of the stereotypical Western ideology of women of colour from that time.

I took influence from girly vintage magazines and Hollywood films of the vintage era to create something immediately recognisable and cliche.

 

I worked directly from my original drawing to make the costume as close to my ideas as possible. It was only after trying the bra top on myself I realised it needed something extra to help keep it in place and stop it from riding about. I based this asymmetric shoulder strap with a flowing back tassel on the costume worn by Marilyn Monroe for her 'Heatwave' number in 'There's No Business Like Show Business'. This is a great example of old Hollywood's version of an 'exotic' non white women, being that it is meant to portray South American sexiness (personally, I have always loved this costume, it is so well designed and put together)...

Here are a few of the other examples of images I used as inspiration for this costume, beginning with Jeni LeGon who was one of the first women I learned about back when I began the Hidden Pin Up. 

LeGon was one of the first women of colour to sing and dance in mainstream Hollywood films. Unfortunately her talents were soon marginalised to unnamed 'native' caricatures like this from the 1936 film 'Swing Is here To Stay'

Evelyn Pitcher's burlesque costume from the 1950's was a strong inspiration. She could have been posing/performing as anything, but she is shown as an exotic savage moving savagely to her 'Devil Dance'.

The White Squaw from 1956 sure knows how to pull off sexy/ savage! I thought this film poster shows the perfect mix of sexy frothy misguided ideas. She might be white but she is appropriating a crude version of non white cultures that were palatable for the Western audience.

 I'm really pleased with how the costume has turned out and after fitting it on gorgeous dancer Lenai, there are only a few minor adjustments needed.

I'm so excited to be working with The House of Ghetto for this project! This all female black vogue house are an artistic force to be reckoned with, and as their house mother and choreographer Darren Pritchard has pointed out, they have no creative boundaries. I'm really excited that this will be their first full on burlesque inspired work and I can't wait to see where this piece goes.

With my burlesque fans almost ready, the next stage is for us to get into the dance studio to begin putting ideas together for the performance.

Burlesque fan with quotes from real life experiences of racial fetishism towards women of colour embroidered into the feathers. To add your own story, get in touch! Comment on this blog or message me on my facebook page

The Hidden Pin Up is an art piece exploring the history of the black Pin Up and the racial fetishes and stereotypes that exist to this day. To find out more about this project read The Hidden Pin Up posts on this blog and follow me on Instagram @gemma_parker_artist

Massive thanks to my mum for her sewing knowledge and letting me use her sewing machine!

The Hidden Pin Up #1 - The Black Pin Up

Following on from my post about the Vogue Ball introducing work I will be doing with Manchester dance troupe The House Of Ghetto I've begun to look into the history of the black pin up which will be the project's starting point.

Obviously, I adore the Pin Up and when speaking of the Pin Up I refer to models, dancers and performers who have all appealed to popular culture through their work and mass produced image. I have even painted pin ups myself in the past. Yet pin ups are almost always shown as white women. It seems the Western world never quite managed to embrace the idea of other races having a sexual identity. The Pin Up's black sibling (and for that matter Hispanic or any other race) is majorly under represented in mainstream popular culture. 

That's not to say that the beloved Pin Up hasn't donned the apparel of other cultures, but she's hardly given those cultures any agency or freedom of expression. She was simply play acting and appropriating cliched ideas.

Despite the lack of portrayal in the Western world, the black female form has long had a power to fascinate the Western audience. Going back as far as the early 19th Century we can find the example of Sara Baartman. 

Born in the Cape Colony (present day South Africa)  Baartman was a Khoikhoi woman who was exhibited as a freak show attraction because of her unusually large buttocks. Her 'performance' drew huge crowds across England (where she was baptised in Manchester Cathedral) and France, where she eventually died at the young age of 29. After her death her skeleton and body cast were put on display at the Natural History Museum in Angers. 

I understand it is a far leap to put Baartman in the story of the black Pin Up yet she holds an important place in terms of non white women being seen as more 'exotic', animal-like and sexually primitive by white audiences. She wasn't accepted as a 'normal' woman because of her different physical qualities, she was an oddity and her threat was minimalised by making an example of her. This is something to bear in mind when thinking of how the black woman's image has been represented in popular Western culture through the ages.

Moving forward a century, most people will have heard of Josephine Baker and her 'Danse sauvage' where she thrilled the audiences of the Folies Bergere dancing in her famous banana skirt. Baker embraced the things that made her stand apart from the Western ideal, and unlike the upsetting and unsettling story of Baartman, she was able to freely exploit Western notions of the primitive woman to her own advantage. Often referred to as The Black Pearl,The Bronze Venus and The Creole Goddess, Baker created a colourful parody which gained her money, fame and lasting notoriety. Her legacy was to create a shift in how a black woman could hold the power to her sexuality whilst being objectified.

As technology evolved and took hold of the entertainment industry, performers from the burlesque scene became popular fixtures in Hollywood musicals. One such talent from the chorus line was Jeni LeGon. 

Jeni LeGon (see more @gemma_parker_artist)

Dancing from the age of 16 for the Count Basie Orchestra, LeGon had a distinctive gangly style both acrobatic and comedic. She was soon spotted and whisked to Hollywood to appear in her first film Hooray For Love in 1935. As she credits herself, 'I had moves that were typically men’s moves because they were so technically difficult - flips, splits, cartwheels - I could do it all'. No one else offered the particular package LeGon could and because of this she broke new ground as a black woman singing and dancing in mainstream Hollywood films pre the likes of Lena Horne and Dorothy Dandridge.

You can see her technical ability and sweet girlish style on the screen as she performs alongside Fats Waller and Bill 'Bojangles' Robinson. Yet despite the film's success leading to a contract with MGM, her dancing career on film was short lived. She was so skillful she outshone the white leading ladies and soon MGM couldn't find a project suitable for her. She was pigeonholed into typically black roles such as the grass skirt wearing dancer in Swing Is Here To Stay (1936) or increasing, during the 1940's, as a housemaid. It is sad to think of all that frenetic talent going to waste. 

It's interesting to note the difference in how LeGon was represented as the savage black woman to how Josephine Baker chose to do it. LeGon had no authority over her image in this scene. Unlike Baker her control has been taken away so she becomes a 2 dimensional cartoon, another minimalised black stereotype with no sexual identity and no threat.

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Jeni LeGon had varied success in her career and, as with most true greats, her talents weren't fully appreciated until much later in life. There is a brilliant article where you can read more about her highs and lows HERE . 

While researching the black Pin Up I hope that my brief notes give some context to the power of the images that these women left behind.
Join me next time where I'll be looking into the past at the little known stars of the black burlesque scene through the 1950's and 60's.

Joan Collins Unscripted

  

I went to see the wonderful Dame Joan Collins in her one woman (and one man) show at The Lowry this week. I can happily say I have now seen two of my holy trinity of legendary female icons, that being, Dolly Parton, Joan Collins and Joanna Lumley (only Lumley to go).

Joan Collins has fascinated me for years; as a little girl I was caught off guard by her bitchy sexy character Alexis in Dynasty. If she came on TV I'd find myself drawn to the screen to just look at her. The combination of glossy lipstick, huge earrings and high hair mixed with that cut glass English accent certainly left an imprint in my mind. 

As I got older it was Joan's approach to life that next caught my attention. I admire the way she looks no matter what the occasion. Joan Collins is glamour! Not once do we ever see JC slumming it in joggers and a slouchy top, never without her hair done, and NEVER without her makeup. One interviewer once made the faux pas of asking if she ever forgoes the glamour at the weekend and Joan practically winced, 'NO. I wouldn't want that for myself or for anyone else'. Her standards are high just like her self esteem.

 

The live show began with Joan clad in a black lacy trouser suit sitting alongside her husband Percy in a simple set that put me in mind of Claridges. Percy MC'd while Joan answered the never halting flow of questions from the audience, 'What was Hollywood like in the 50's?' (Exciting, she went to lots of showbiz parties and her first film there was opposite the legendary Bette Davis), Did you ever meet Marilyn Monroe? (Yes, and it was while chatting that Marilyn gave her the advice to watch out for the Hollywood studio bosses who could drop her at the click of a finger if she didn't make them happy. Joan managed to dodge the casting couch), What was it like working on Dynasty? (Wonderful but hard work, she had to keep her weight below eight and a half stone to fit into the costumes as the camera adds ten pounds). 

By the second half Joan had changed into a champagne gold sequin gown and looked every inch the star she is. The evening was full of delicious tidbits about Joan's lifestyle, friends and packed career interspersed with wonderful film clips and photos. When an audience member asked if there was any rivalry between Joan and her late sister Jackie while growing up, it was asked with such reverence you could feel the theatre give a little collective nod of respect to the author. Joan answered that of course they were competitive but ultimately they were crazy about each other and she misses her sister everyday. 

 I loved hearing about my favourite period of Hollwood history from someone who had lived through it. Paul Newman, Gene Kelly, Joan Crawford... there were so many names dropped I couldn't keep up! Then of course when Joan chatted about her beauty regime, make up and style rules I was all ears. There was even a little window into Joan and Percy's wedding night that involved gaffer tape and a lot of yelling. I wont go into details in case you see the show yourself but it was highly entertaining. The whole evening was a relaxed and fun insight into the life of a much loved living legend and was a wonderful treat I'll never forget!

Playing dress up

 

I was very lucky over Christmas and my recent birthday to receive some excellant books as gifts. Each one was something I'd asked for and tie in really well with my obession with costume, dressing up and artifice. You may remember I visited the Hollywood Costume Exhibition at the V&A last month which was really the peak of excitment for a glamour geek like me!

 

To further fuel my (unofficial) investigation into the theme I now own Dressing Marilyn by Andrew Hansford which covers the history of the relationship between Monroe and one of Hollwood's most iconic designers, William Travilla. Travilla was the genius behind the outfits in two of Marilyn's career landmarks, the pink dress she wore to sing Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend and the white dress which blows up about her waist in The Seven Year Itch, not to mention dozens of other outfits throughout her film career.

An interesting snippet from the book tells how Marilyn was orignally to wear a Travilla designed diamond encrusted bikini to sing Diamonds Are A Girls Best Friend complete with a long tail of diamonds a diamond headress diamond choker and fishnet tights. However the scandal about Marilyn's nude calander shot came out as the film was being made and the studio decided she needed covering up not displaying more flesh! 'Cover her up, we are not selling her body'.

In a matter of hours Travilla came up with the exquisite pink dress of silk satin with it's huge bow and full length gloves which has since become so iconic and copied by many! The only things to survive from the original diamond costume were the choker and bracelets which Marilyn wore with her pink creation for Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend. Can you ever imagine her wearing anything else?

I really reccommend this book if you are interested in the old Hollywood and the fashion of the era. It also gives a different angle on Marilyn's life; one about professionalism and hard work and the clothes and her input into their design speak volumes about the woman and the legacy she has left behind.

My second great book is Kylie Fashion by Kylie Minogue and William Baker. This weighty tome travels the pop princess's career in a journey of haute couture and costume. Beginning with the  humble origins of a large brimmed sun hat with her bubble perm piled through to the first tentative steps with designers on videos such as Hand On Your Heart, right through to her triumphant comeback partly thanks to a pair of minute gold hotpants and a white slashed jumpsuit. 

This is a woman who now thinks nothing of wearing a costume of full feather headdress, making it difficult to walk, heavy plumes and corset so tight it almost prevents her from singing. This was the case during her Showgirl Tour. The corset was so tight she had to be cut out of it every night!

It's fair to say Kylie's style decisions have been part of her success. Working with top fashion houses and also up and coming designers fresh from fashion school. Not only has she helped to put new names on the map she has been a malable creative energy shaped and reshaped by fashion pushing ever onwards.

My final books of decadent design are Pin Up Girls of World War Two and Glamorous Movie Stars of the 1950's by Tom Tierney, both of which are books of paper dolls. I cannot express how beautiful Tierney's drawings are. He makes his creations look so effortless! On one page you may be treated to Audrey Hepburn in her beatnik blacks the next is an exquisite reproduction of her iconic red dress from Funny face made to measure Audrey's sylph like frame. It's like having a personal wardrobe for each famous star featured between the pages and each illusration is instantly recognisable. I have poured over the drawings remembering classic films and moments brought beautifully to life thanks to Toms eye for detail.

All these books have one very strong thing in common; they each show how profound costume and appearance can be. They show how something we may take for granted can leave a lasting impression and how the way we present ourselves can change our destiny and create our future. It can define and develop us as people and make us into something more.

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While we are on the subject of books I simply had to also share this gem! Although not strictly related to the theme, it does cover old Hollywood. I had to mention Bette and Joan, The Divine Feud by Shaun Considine.

 

This is a book that you can't put down. Cleverly written and never shy to lay down the facts I feel I now know our dear Bette Davis and Joan Crawford like old friends. From their early years as actress and dancer, the book covers every step of their eventful careers and their star crossed relationship. For two women who swore they had NOTHING in common the similarities in their lives are striking. Both leading ladies with HUGE egos and ravenous sex drives, bitchiness does not cut it when describing the battle between them for supremacy as the ultimate Movie Queen. Long live them both.

Hollywood Costume at the V&A

So what do you do on a cold and snowy dark January to make the most of your birthday week? Take a trip to London to see some of the most iconic and fabulous costumes from the last 100 years of cinema, that's what!

Last Sunday I caught the Hollywood Costume exhibition at the V&A before it roles the final credits and raises the lights. This amazing showcase of costumes is only on for another week or so (it finishes on the 27th Jan) and is well worth the effort if you can get around to seeing it.

The power of dressing up and artifice has always been a love of mine and something I investigate in my art work, so the opportunity to see these costumes on a grand scale and delve deeper into how and why they work was too good to miss.

 Ginger Rogers mink trimmed dress takes centre stage

 

I've been longing to see this exhibition since I first found out about it. One thing which really caught my eye was the fact that Scarlett O Hara's famous green dress was going to be there. As a huge fan of Gone With The Wind, or GWTW for us super geeks, I couldn't think of anything more wonderful than to see something from the film up close and personal.

With tickets sold out on the web, it was no surprise that we had to queue before we got in and the actual show itself was packed out! After having our tickets torn we were greeted by a huge cinema screen showing well loved movie characters, instantly recognizable because of their clothes, seamlessly edited together as they twirled, walked and swung their way across the screen. To our right was an old cinema style billboard announcing 'Hollywood Costume, starring: Spider-man  Captain Jack Sparrow Scarlett O Hara' and many more!

Turning the corner into a huge and black space we were greeted immediately by the object of my desire, Scarlett's green dress of velvet made from her mother's portières (that's curtains to you and me). It was as if Scarlett O Hara stood there herself! I was in heaven! 

That dress has had me enraptured for the past 20 odd years of my life. It symbolises everything I loved about Scarlett; her initiative, bravery, scheming and zeal! And there it was, just a foot away, looking as if it had just stepped from the screen, every bit as perfect as it was 74 years ago. Unbelievable. But a true testament to the power of the costume and it's design.

'The costume designer must know 'who' a character is before they can design their costume. No matter the era that the story takes place, the audience is asked to believe that the people in the movie are real and that they had a life prior to the start of the movie. We join our cast of characters at one moment in their life. Everything about them must resonate true, including their clothes'

We saw how Indiana Jones' costume was built from ideas and period details, his WW2 leather pilot jacket, bikers waxed trousers and army shirt all evoking adventure and action, while his fedora and shoes spoke of a more practical quiet nature his intellectual side. Everything right down to the angle of the hat brim was customised to create the individual, and instantly recognisable character.

By this point my eyes were on stalks; we'd seen period costumes from Dangerous Liaisons (exquisite) Marie Antoinette (not as good as you'd imagine) and the various incarnations of Elizabeth the First over the years (including dresses worn by the great Bette Davis!). It was interesting to see how each generation through the decades chose to re-imagine the past, each costume so very different but taking something of the details we understand in our present to evoke a time and person.

But there was so much more to come; Had you ever realised that Jessica Rabbit had to have a costume test? That those blue things from Avatar had every item of clothing made for real? We saw how animated characters had to undergo exactly the same planning as living actors in order to capture their personality and story. Incidentally, Mrs Rabbit's dress was based on Rita Hayworth's slinky number from Gilda, one of the most sexy characters from the forties to hit the silver screen!

The third gallery was probably the most awe inspiring. Imagine a room filled with the greatest and most famous movie stars from the past 100 years....now REALLY imagine it!

Can you see Nicole Kidman chatting to Ginger Rogers while Judy Garland sings a torch song to Brad Pitt, it is so crowded the air is virtually buzzing with star quality! Marilyn Monroe sips her champagne and Charlie Chaplin tells a few jokes. People make room as Natalie Portman pirouettes across the floor Marlene Dietrich takes it all in her stride, whilst being beautifully lit from above of course.

This is the jewel in the exhibition's crown, each costume was familiar, and each character they portrayed was linked with Hollywood glitterati. They spoke of bygone eras and real stories mixed with our fantasies.

Walking around the show I could name practically every film and character, but seeing the costumes up close also took me closer to the wearer, the real person within them or not within them as the case may be. Above each outfit was a small projection screen displaying the actor's face in a slow motion clip from the relevant film, it was a wonderful way of representing them and putting the costume in context. 

 

I was fascinated to see how small the likes of Joan Crawford and Claudette Colbert were in real life (each costume in the exhibition being fitted to a life size mannequin of the wearer). Even the voluptuous Marilyn Monroe was tiny waisted. I was very excited to see her 'nude' gown from Some Like it Hot and her infamous white dress from The Seven year Itch. Having visited the Getty exhibition of her outfits and costumes last year I was keen to add yet more of her clothing to my list. I have watched every film she's made and committed each dress to memory! To see them as real tangible items adds a new dimension to their mythical status.

It's true these might have only been clothes once worn by someone in a film, but every garment in the Hollywood Costume exhibition represented a personal memory or point in time for us the visitors. They not only brought to mind the fabulous films and stories we have grown up with or become fans of (films which represent whole universes of cult and culture) but they also symbolise the legends of the actors who wore them and allow us to imagine for a moment being in the presence of Hollywood royalty, which I suppose we were, the costumes being stars in their own right.

Top moments of the Hollywood Costume exhibition:

-Finding out who Harry Winston is, after years of hearing Marilyn sing about him in Diamonds Are A Girls Best Friend, 

 'Talk to me Harry Winston, tell me all about it!'

Turns out Harry Winston is only one of the oldest jewellers in the USA, and the FIRST to hire jewels to stars on the red carpet. The House of Harry Winston caters to all the rich and famous and has done for the past 70 years! Harry Winston is the lead sponsor of the Hollywood Costume exhibition.

-Taking a look at a showgirl costume from Broadway Melody of 1929 and thinking that the outfit has probably outlived the young girl who once high kicked in it.

-Seeing Ginger Rogers gown for 1944 film lady in the Dark. It was encrusted with beads and sequins but also had a mink trimmed train which set the studio back a cool $35000! And we're talking old money here!

-Learning that Darth Vader's costume is a mixture of biker leathers, a nazi helmet and a monks cloak found in the medieval department!

-Being able to view Marlene Dietrich's famous top hat and tails which she daringly wore to kiss her female co-star in 1930 film Morocco, pre Hays code