Content area
Full Text
ABSTRACT: Edith Head, possibly Hollywood's most iconic costume designer, won a record eight Oscar statuettes for Best Costume Design. Despite her popularity, Head has also sparked controversy; many detractors question her talent as a designer by arguing that her success rested merely on her self-promotional efforts rather than her work inside the wardrobe department. This article explores Head's career vis-a-vis the discourses surrounding her public persona to understand how she constructed her image as Hollywood's most famous costume designer, surviving for over five decades in an industry fraught with constant economic and political turmoil. In doing so, this article will shed light on the activities assigned to her as head of costume during and after the studio era.
KEYWORDS: Edith Head, costume design, Paramount Pictures, contracts, labor
Edith Head may be considered the most famous Hollywood costume designer. Her public persona's widespread popularity led to several cameo appearances in films and miniseries (fig. 1). Head entered the profession when Hollywood designers were rigorously trained in fashion design, a characteristic that turned them into the international exponents of an emergent American fashion scene.1 Head lacked the requisite training, yet she became the only costume designer to survive the film industry's shifts from the silent era well into New Hollywood's consolidation.2 This article analyzes Head's professional trajectory to understand how she constructed her public persona, managed to survive in the industry for over five decades, and perpetuated her image as Hollywood's paramount costume designer.
Previous studies on high-profile personalities such as Head have tended to reproduce media discourses uncritically, often perpetuating the same mythologized stories created for publicity purposes. While media reports are vital to the historical understanding of representation and public opinion at a given time, contrasting these with other sources helps anchor publicity practices while opening them up to a more informed interpretation of the past. The case of Edith Head serves as a perfect example. Frequently regarded as the most prominent costume designer in Hollywood history, Head has divided critical consensus between those who regard her as the most talented representative of the profession and those who question the extent of her actual involvement in the costume design enterprise. Indeed, Edith Head's position may be inextricably linked to the studio system's hierarchies of...