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Palace Costume
Inside Hollywood's Best Kept Fashion Secret
by Mimi Haddon
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Book Presentation:
Palace Costume is a behind-the-scenes glimpse into Palace Costume & Prop Co., an exclusive Los Angeles film-industry haven of dresses, gowns, garments, accessories, props, and jewelry featured in countless movies for more than fifty years.
Envisioned and curated by owner Melody Barnett, Palace Costume is a 30,000-square-foot treasure trove of over half a million pieces and a beloved and legendary collection exclusively for costumers, stylists, and designers. Barnett's journey in retro clothing is movie-worthy itself. Her first boutique in Los Angeles in the early 1970s attracted the likes of Diana Ross and Joni Mitchell and many other legends from the era. This inspired her to transition the business into a to-the-trade-only rental service enabling her to hold onto and care for these vintage gems. Since then, hundreds of classic films have featured clothing from Palace over the years, including Bonnie and Clyde, Chinatown, and The Godfather, to name just a few.
Interviews by Mimi Haddon with more than a dozen Academy Award–winning costume designers are featured here with corresponding film stills that highlight the clothing and accessories they selected from Palace. Acclaimed designers such as Sandy Powell (Carol, The Aviator, Shakespeare in Love), Ruth E. Carter (Black Panther, Malcolm X, Frankie and Alice), Arianne Phillips (Once upon a Time in Hollywood, A Single Man, W.E.), Shirley Kurata (Everything Everywhere All at Once), and Mary Zophres (La La Land, Babylon, True Grit) and Mark Bridges (Boogie Nights, Licorice Pizza) each share insightful anecdotes about the importance of Palace Costume as their go-to creative resource, especially for historic period films.
Los Angeles–based photographer Mimi Haddon has been artfully photographing the vintage gems at Palace Costume for many years. Over 300 of her stunning, stylized, and saturated images are featured in this visually comprehensive and delightful celebration of this one-of-a-kind archive. This inspirational look-book is sure to delight a wide audience, including vintage-clothing enthusiasts, fashionistas, costume designers, stylists, and cinephiles.
About the Author:
Mimi Haddon is a Los Angeles-based photographer, costume designer, and educator. Her clients include Rodarte, Tierra Whack, The Elder Statesman, L.A. Dance Project, M83, and The New Yorker. She has been documenting the Palace Costume collection for twenty years.
Press Reviews:
"Flipping through these pages offers a taste of what a trip to the vintage emporium is like, where 30,000 square feet is filled—methodically and exactingly—from floor to ceiling, with more than 500,000 items." —Vogue
"Inside the secret, sprawling warehouse that’s home to Hollywood’s best costumes. Palace Costume is closed to the public—but a new photography book takes you inside."—Fast Company
"Palace Costume, a book about the most important costume house in Hollywood" —Design Better podcast
"We’re loving this new book by contributor Mimi Haddon. A colorful spotlight on Hollywood treasure trove Palace Costume—which provides looks and inspiration for many of your fave movies, musicians, fashion shoots, etc.—the book offers a vicarious tour of the collection for those of us who can’t get there IRL." —Zoetrope magazine
"Palace Costume, the vintage fashion wonderland that’s been supplying Hollywood with wardrobes since the 1970s, gives the public a peek inside its archives with this decade-in-the-making photo book." —The Hollywood Reporter
"In this celebratory visual archive, Mimi Haddon features costume designers’ stories about the business alongside stills from movies that have featured its clothes." —The New York Times
"The legend of Palace Costume receives the respect it deserves with a beautiful art book. Over 300 images, by photographer and stylist Mimi Haddon, illustrate this delightful book, and Hollywood’s top costume designers explain what they love about the Palace costumes and props." —The Guardian
See the publisher website: Chronicle Chroma
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