Edith Head Research Paper
Edith Claire Posener was born on October 28, 1897, in San Bernardino, California. Growing up in mining towns or on Indian reservations, who would have known she would grow up to be, Edith Head, one of the greatest and most influential costume designers in film history?
She graduated from Los Angeles High School and then majored in romance languages at the University of California at Berkeley. She earned a Master’s degree of Arts in French at Stanford University and went on to become a French teacher. Later, she took a position teaching Spanish at the Hollywood School for Girls but was also interested in design. She decided to study at the Chouinard Art School in Los Angeles. During this time, she met Charles Head, the brother of a classmate, and they married in 1923.
That same year, Head answered an ad for sketch artists at Paramount Studios. She brought in a portfolio of drawings she borrowed from fellow students and was hired by Howard Greer, head of costume design at Paramount. Greer discovered her deception, was amused, and began to teach her to sketch. She moved up the ranks over the years and in 1938, she was named head designer at Paramount Studios. She was the only woman to hold a position on the statue at that time. She remained there for 44 years and in 1967, she signed a long-term contract with Universal Studios.
During her extensive career, she became one of the most recognized designers in the industry. She represents the most Academy Award nominations, 35, and the most wins, 8, by any woman in the category of Costume Design. Head helped define the style of classic Hollywood with her work and dressed movie stars such as Grace Kelly, Cary Grant, Lana Turner, Paul Newman, John Wayne, Steve McQueen, Elizabeth Taylor, Marlene Dietrich, and many more. She referred to her eight Oscars as “my children” and was one of the most celebrated movie designers from the 1930s to the 1970s.
“Accentuate the positive and camouflage the rest,” were words Edith Head lived by. She was known for using a rainbow of colors to set the mood even though she only liked to wear four colors herself: black, white, beige, and brown. Her trademark dark glasses were blue lensed: a trick costume designers used during the Golden Age of Hollywood. She became a recognizable personality with her severe bangs and signature round glasses, eventually even inspiring the character Edna Mode in the Pixar movie The Incredibles.
She takes credit for two designs that became fashion crazes, the sarong she designed for Dorothy Lamour in The Jungle Princess and the toreador pants she made for Audrey Hepburn in Sabrina and Funny Face. Some say her most influential design was the lilac gown she designed for Elizabeth Taylor in A Place in the Sun. She was also known for her practical and simple designs which she authored articles on to teach the average girl to dress like a star. She licensed her name for Vogue pattern designs and gave women advice on how to dress and improve their looks.
Edith Head was undeniably one of the hardest-working talents in costume design. She was intelligent and dedicated to her craft. Those qualities are attributed to her fame in the Hollywood studio system and in the history of fashion.
Bibliography
Henderson, Amy. “Designing Woman: Edith Head in Hollywood.” National Portrait Gallery, 6 July 2010, https://npg.si.edu/blog/designing-woman-edith-head-hollywood.
Sauro, Clare. “Head, Edith.” Bloomsbury Fashion Central - Head, Edith, 2010, https://www.bloomsburyfashioncentral.com/encyclopedia-chapter?docid=b-9781474264716&tocid=b-9781474264716-0008692.
Tangcay, Jazz. “Sandy Powell, Trish Summerville and More on Why Edith Head's Influence Continues to Resonate.” Variety, Variety, 28 Oct. 2020, https://variety.com/2020/artisans/news/edith-head-costumes-audrey-hepburn-bette-davis-1234814584/?sub_action=logged_in.
Ellcessor, Liz, and Jarchow Fellow. “Edith Head Papers, 1934-1965.” Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research, 2008, https://wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu/exhibits/edith-head-papers-1934-1965.
Oscars.org Editor. “Edith Head.” Oscars.org | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, 24 May 2016, https://www.oscars.org/collection-highlights/edith-head.
