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Creating the Illusion
A Fashionable History of Hollywood Costume Designers
by Jay Jorgensen and Donald L. Scoggins
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Book Presentation:
Marilyn Monroe made history by standing over a subway grating in a white pleated halter dress designed by William Travilla. Hubert de Givenchy immortalized the Little Black Dress with a single opening scene in Breakfast at Tiffany's. A red nylon jacket signaled to audiences that James Dean was a Rebel Without a Cause. For more than a century, costume designers have left indelible impressions on moviegoers' minds, yet until now, so little has been known about the designers themselves and their work to compliment and enrich stories through fashion. Creating the Illusion presents the history of fashion on film, showcasing not only classic moments from film favourites, but a host of untold stories about the creative talent working behind the scenes to dress the stars from the silent era to the present day. Among the book's sixty-five designer profiles are Clare West, Howard Greer, Adrian, Walter Plunkett, Travis Banton, Irene, Edith Head, Cecil Beaton, Bob Mackie, Theodora Van Runkle, and Colleen Atwood. The designers' stories are set against the backdrop of Hollywood: how they collaborated with great movie stars and filmmakers; how they maneuvered within the studio system; and how they came to design clothing that remains iconic decades after its first appearance. The array of films discussed and showcased through photos spans more than one hundred years, from draping Rudolph Valentino in exotic "sheik" dress to the legendary costuming of Gone with the Wind, Alfred Hitchcock thrillers, Bonnie and Clyde, Reservoir Dogs, and beyond. This gloriously illustrated volume includes candid photos of the designers at work, portraits and wardrobe tests of stars in costume, and designer sketches. Drawing from archival material and dozens of new interviews with Oscar-winning designers, author Jay Jorgensen offers a highly informative, lavish, and entertaining history of Hollywood costume design.
About the authors:
Jay Jorgensen is a film and fashion historian and collector. He is the author of Edith Head: The Fifty-Year Career of Hollywood's Greatest Costume Designer. Jorgensen is also a photographer whose work has been showcased in magazines such as People and TV Guide. He lives in Palm Springs, California.Turner Classic Movies is the definitive resource for the greatest movies of all time. We entertain and enlighten to show how the entire spectrum of classic movies, movie history, and movie-making touches us all and influences how we think and live today.
Press Reviews:
The behind-the-seams artistry of Hollywood costumers is ready for its close-up in this opulent coffee-table book."
--O Magazine
One of the most stunning coffee table books to have come around in years (and coming from a coffee table book collector, that's saying a lot) so I would definitely recommend it to both classic and modern film fans or perhaps even to people who dig costume and fashion design."
Stardust
See the publisher website: Running Press
> From the same authors:
Edith Head (2010)
The Fifty-Year Career of Hollywood's Greatest Costume Designer
Subject: Others persons > Edith Head
> On a related topic:
Dressed (2007)
A Century of Hollywood Costume Design
Costume Design in the Movies (1991)
An Illustrated Guide to the Work of 157 Great Designers
George Hurrell's Hollywood (2013)
Glamour Portraits 1925-1992
Styling the Stars (2014)
Lost Treasures from the Twentieth Century Fox Archive
by Angela Cartwright and Tom McLaren
Subject: Studio > 20th Century Fox
Designing Hollywood (2023)
Studio Wardrobe in the Golden Age
Shoe Reels (2021)
The History and Philosophy of Footwear in Film
Dir. Elizabeth Ezra and Catherine Wheatley
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