A is for Adrian
He was the famous Hollywood designer who dressed Greta Garbo, defined Joan Crawford's shoulder-pad look, and who also shod Judy Garland in ruby slippers for The Wizard of Oz.
We've collected a few of the Web's best links for all things Adrian.
Adrian (March 3, 1903 - September 13, 1959) was born Adrian Adolph Greenburg but took the name "Gilbert Adrian" (Gilbert was his father) as his designing career blossomed. His name is synonymous with Hollywood glamor, which, in turned, helped define high American style. He is probably one of the most famous alumni of Parson's School of design in New York city.
After Parson's he became Cecil B. DeMille's head costume designer and made his mark in over 250 films. He left Hollywood to launch his own design house. He died in 1959, the cause of death later ruled a suicide.
Courtesy of the Vintage Fashion Guild, a short list of Adrian labels...
from a 1940s suit
Courtesy of 1950spinup
from a blue wool suit c.1945
Courtesy of Bret Fowler MAIN off 5th
The dress from the third label above, courtesy pinky-a-gogo...
Gowns by Adrian: The MGM Years 1928-1941
If you now absolutely, positively have to have an Adrian right this minute, gaildavid's auctioning an Adrian on Ebay (hurry, auction ends soon).
This one below is unforunately not for sale (fortune favors the owner), but it should be admired, nonetheless...here's a short description, by the owner...
The "bolero" is attached, and the sleeves are VERY slim with zippers at the wrists. Back buttons at the neck plus back metal zipper.
Adrian at the IMDB
Adrian: American Glamour at the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Artistry of Adrian: Hollywood's celebrated Design Innovator at the Kent State University Museum
An article from the Austin Chronicle
"Adrian, who went by only one name, took what he had developed for the movies and integrated it into the fashion of the day. His greatest inspiration was giving Joan Crawford shoulder pads to narrow her hips and improve her appearance on the screen; instantly his signature "inverted pyramid" dress style was born. He rarely strayed from it again, and we're still seeing its revolutionary influence over 60 years later. "If you look at the broad-shouldered, narrow-waisted suit he created for Joan Crawford, we see that today, we saw it in the '80s, and we saw it in the '90s," says Kwok-Gabel."
from an article in The Advocate about the Met's Adrian exhibit
Adrian beaded/sequined crepe evening gown with back streamers, c.1942. Labels: "Adrian Original" and "The French Shops/Filene's/Boston."
Courtesy vintagetextile.com
Adrian custom designed straw hat with gros-grain ribbon trim, c.1940. Label: "Adrian Custom."
Courtesy vintagetextile.com
"It was because of Garbo that I left M-G-M. In her last picture they wanted to make her a sweater girl, a real American type. I said, 'When the glamour ends for Garbo, it also ends for me. She has created a type. If you destroy that illusion, you destroy her.' When Garbo walked out of the studio, glamour went with her, and so did I."
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