Given the popularity of the film à costumes with
1950s French
cinema audiences, it is surprising how little
attention has been
shown to this genre. Costumes were crucial to this
group of films,
which featured exquisite reproductions of historical
fashions. Yet
despite being a major visual component these
fantastic costumes
and the talented personnel responsible for their
design have
received scant recognition. This book aims to
re-dress this
oversight by showcasing the wardrobes of four costume
designers,
namely Georges Annenkov, Rosine Delamare, Marcel
Escoffier, and
Antoine Mayo. Each designer s costume is undressed
through the
identification of and subsequent methodological focus
on their
signature garment and/or design trademark. Thus, the
corset, the
crinoline, and accessories are explored in order to
determine an
ideological pattern from which the analytical fabric
of this book is
then cut. In so doing, the way in which film costume
speaks as an
independent producer of meaning is uncovered. This
research
should find resonance with anyone interested in film
costume,
historical fashion, and 1950s French cinema.
1950s French
cinema audiences, it is surprising how little
attention has been
shown to this genre. Costumes were crucial to this
group of films,
which featured exquisite reproductions of historical
fashions. Yet
despite being a major visual component these
fantastic costumes
and the talented personnel responsible for their
design have
received scant recognition. This book aims to
re-dress this
oversight by showcasing the wardrobes of four costume
designers,
namely Georges Annenkov, Rosine Delamare, Marcel
Escoffier, and
Antoine Mayo. Each designer s costume is undressed
through the
identification of and subsequent methodological focus
on their
signature garment and/or design trademark. Thus, the
corset, the
crinoline, and accessories are explored in order to
determine an
ideological pattern from which the analytical fabric
of this book is
then cut. In so doing, the way in which film costume
speaks as an
independent producer of meaning is uncovered. This
research
should find resonance with anyone interested in film
costume,
historical fashion, and 1950s French cinema.