Viewing Costume Couture Head On with OKCMOA’s Edith Head Exhibit
Edith Head at work. Courtesy of The Paramount Pictures Archive / IMAGE CREDIT: PARAMOUNT PICTURES CORPORATION
When eight-time Academy Award-winning costume designer Edith Head attended fittings with Hollywood’s brightest female stars, she dressed conservatively so they could focus on their reflections, not her. As she once purportedly said, “Audiences should notice the actors, not the clothes.”
However, in Oklahoma City Museum of Art’s newest exclusive exhibit, Edith Head: Hollywood’s Costume Designer,she is taking her rightful place in the spotlight.
Running June 22-Sept. 29, this exhibit, organized by OKCMOA and presented by the Ann Lacy Foundation, will feature 70 costumes from Head’s 50-plus illustrious years in the movie-making business. To date, it’s the largest Edith Head exhibit in the U.S.
But why is there so much fanfare over Head’s career? While she certainly was prolific, with over 400 costume design credits to her name and 35 Academy Award nominations, some theorize that she had something special that many of her contemporaries, such as Howard Greer and Travis Blanton, did not; Greer and Blanton wanted the focus of their designs to be on their personal design style and flourishes.
“Edith Head liked being recognized for her designs, but she was more interested in designing what fits the actor the best and what fits the role the best,” says Catherine Shotick, guest curator for Edith Head: Hollywood’s Costume Designer.
“And so she had this magical power of creating the perfect costume for the film for who was wearing it.”
Challenges Ahead
Costume worn by Grace Kelly as Lisa Fremont in the Paramount Pictures production of Rear Window, 1954.
Designed by Edith Head.
Collection of Motion Picture Costume Design: Larry McQueen
The last Hollywood costume exhibit at OKCMOA was 2010’s Sketch to Screen, also organized by the museum. This exhibit explored Hollywood costuming in various film genres and was
one of the most highly attended in the museum’s history. Unlike Sketch to Screen, which explored costuming across film history, this exhibit will mostly focus on the golden age of Hollywood (1927-1960).
Even if attendees can’t name a single Edith Head film, they’ll be greeted by the costumes worn by the elite of old Hollywood including Audrey Hepburn, Olivia de Havilland and a selection of costumes from two Alfred Hitchcock films Head worked on. Plus, there will be displays of sketches and film stills from the films featured, along with three of her Oscar statuettes.
So, what does it take to put on a never-before-seen exhibit like this? Time to pull it all together — it’s been years in the making — and a lot of work.
Shotick and her team first explored public and private collections from which the museum could source costumes and other materials. The team worked with Paramount Pictures and the private collections of Greg Schreiner and Larry McQueen of The Collection of Motion Picture Costume Design.
Next, Shotick selected costumes and categorized them by major themes, such as gowns, musical performances or historical or period pieces. With those themes in mind, the exhibition designer built a vignette so each section could have its own look and feel.
OKCMOA then called in the services of textile conservator Cara Varnell of the Textile Arts Conservation Studio, who worked on the 2010 Sketch to Screen exhibit. Shotick said the curator for that exhibit strongly recommended Los Angeles-based Varnell for her deep knowledge of textiles and conservation. For Shotick, selecting her was a “no-brainer.”
Costume worn by Olivia de Havilland as Catherine Sloper in the Paramount Pictures production of
The Heiress, 1949. Designed by Edith Head.
Collection of Motion Picture Costume Design: Larry McQueen
“I want my work to last 500 years. Obviously it won’t, but the goal is to help this object last as long as possible,” says Varnell. “I have to understand my materials from the molecules out — and I have to understand how they age and how they will interact with any other materials or substances that I introduce to them.”
Indeed, to work as a conservator, one needs extensive knowledge of not only art history and historic fashion but also organic chemistry. Varnell emphasized that she handles each piece as if it’s the last time, considering the unpredictability of how textiles react to stresses like movement, display and cleaning treatments.
“The challenge of putting up a costume exhibition is that you’d have to put it on a human form. In order to understand it, you have to have it on a human form,” says Varnell, who explained that since Hollywood costumes were all custom-fitted perfectly to the actors who wore them, each dress form has to be individually made to perfectly support the specific costume — otherwise it causes stress and strain on the fibers and ultimately damages the garment.
To complete 70 custom dress forms, Varnell is working with Melinda Kerstein, a frequent collaborator of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, to prepare the individual dress forms and mounts for exhibition. Fellow conservator Claudia Iannuccilli will join Varnell onsite to prepare and install the 70 costumes in their vignettes.
When it is time for the exhibit setup to begin in May, each costume with its perfectly fitted mannequin or dress form will be delivered to OKCMOA. Varnell will fly out to OKC to supervise and set up each of the 70 costumes on display while the rest of the OKCMOA team works on gallery signage and vignettes that will take up the entire third floor of the museum.
“Edith Head liked being recognized for her designs, but she was more interested in designing what fits the actor the best and what fits the role the best.”
Costume worn by Caroll Baker
as Jean Harlow in the Paramount Pictures production of Harlow, 1965.
Designed by Edith Head.
Collection of Motion Picture Costume Design: Larry McQueen
An Ovation for Oklahoma
During the exhibit’s run, OKCMOA will also offer additional ways for museum-goers to interact with it through curated educational and film programming.
While the exhibit itself will have two video viewing areas that will air documentary excerpts and screen tests from films on which Head worked, the film team will also program a slate of curated features for OKCMOA’s Noble Theater, one of two remaining 35mm theaters in Oklahoma. The final list of films has not been released yet due to securing distributor rights, but the 14-week-long film retrospective will take place as matinees on Saturdays during the exhibit’s run.
Another way to get involved with the exhibit is to support the museum through membership. In addition to all the perks the museum offers, members are eligible to attend an exclusive event on June 18. Additionally, all members are invited to attend the members’ preview and kickoff party on June 21, the day before the exhibit opens to the public.
The team behind the exhibit is grateful and excited at the museum community’s outpouring of enthusiasm.
“For me, this exhibition is absolutely a dream come true. I feel like I’m just so fortunate that Oklahoma City, they were excited about it from the beginning,” says Shotick. “From the staff, from the board members, from everyone, just full support for this exhibition — and I think it shows.”
Edith Head. ScreenProd / Photnonstop / Alamy Stock Photo
The glitz and glamor of the silver screen wouldn’t have shone as brightly without the work of Edith Head — and thanks to the team at OKCMOA, for just a few short months, visitors can bask in the limelight, too.
“If it wasn’t for the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, this exhibition would never happen in Oklahoma. The community should be really proud of the museum and that the team and staff worked so hard in order to bring this once-in-a-lifetime exhibition to the city and into the state,” says Shotick. “I think people are going to come from around the world to see this exhibition, because it is that special.”
Edith Head: Hollywood’s Costume Designer runs June 22-Sept. 29 at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. To purchase a ticket to the exhibit or a museum membership, visit okcmoa.com.