FEATHERED AND DRESSED

Through the millennia the display of feathers was reserved for male warriors, chieftains, kings, and emperors. This connection is based on the male bird being endowed with colorful plumage, and the need to put on displays and dances to impress the female of the species. Then in the mid-18th century, feathered hats for women became the rage, with varying styles popular through the 1920s. Now women were wearing the feathers. But the feathered garment bears no resemblance to a feathered hat, lest they are designed as a pair. Certainly a fur coat or trim shares a certain "wildness" with a feathered garment. And maybe the feathers are just as soft.  But no wild look of models wearing fur are  as wildly seductive  as the look of Marlene Dietrich wearing coq feathers in the picture below from Shanghai Express. Those feathers help create that look. After re-watching Marlene Dietrich in Shanghai Express on TCM I was inspired to return this blog post I had called "Plumage in Costume," from last year. It is slightly rewritten here.

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Travis Banton designed this costume for Marlene Dietrich to wear in Shanghai Express in 1932. Marlene's stunning art deco black and white handbag and gloves are by Hermes.





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Marlene wears feathers on her negligee aboard the Shanghai Express.

The tremendous textural variety of feathers and their light reflectivity has been a great resource for costume design. Their heyday was during the days of black and white cinematography - great for the use of nearly-black coq feathers or white ostrich and marabou feathers - but not as good for capturing the iridescent qualities of colored feathers. Nonetheless, these five wonderful and glamorous images of the use of feathers in costume are marvelous to behold. There may have been hundreds of peacock feathers on Theda Bara in Cleopatra, and hundreds on Hedy Lamarr in Samson and Delilah, but these costumes seemed to serve purposes of astonishment. But then the record in the latter category must go to Adrian. His 500 white ostrich plumes worn by Virginia Bruce in The Great Ziegfeld of1936, forming a train that culminated in seven Ziegfeld Girls, is a sight that just has to be seen in the movie.

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The beautiful Louise Brooks, "Lulu" as she was known, was photographed here for The Canary Murder Case in 1929. Lulu did several silent films for Paramount, and then left the States to work in Germany for awhile. Her black, short-banged bob was copied (and is still copied) by everyone, and her beauty was intoxicating. The feathers covering her breasts are particularly delicate. Here dressed in feathers she seems to be Venus rising from an eagle's nest. This lovely costume was designed by Travis Banton. Lulu was too original to fit in Hollywood. Later in life she wrote a wonderful book, "Lulu in Hollywood."

Adrian was inspired by and ultimately outdid the great showman Florenz Ziegfeld in costumes such as the one above from The Great Ziegfeld, 1936. This costume is named Silver Pheasant, and is worn by Clarissa Sherry in the film. It is made from dozens of pheasant tails, each one silvered and studded with sequins. The wings have a spread of 10 feet. Hand-ground crystals hang from the flaring bodice and the showgirl wears silver lame tights. Feathers Gone Wild he might have called this costume.

The contrast provided by the ostrich plumes on Jean Harlow's sleeves  with the silver bugle -beads that forms this nightgown provide an intoxicating blend of textures. And of course Jean Harlow's beautiful figure provides the perfect mannequin. Adrian designed the outfit for Dinner at Eight in 1933. These contrasts work on several levels: feather warmth vs glass-beaded coolness; volume vs sleekness; and sheen vs opacity. And the use of bugle beads and their weight made this garment cling to her body, especially in a long-trained example such as this one.

As Adrian wanted, the look of the gown is especially provocative as  she moves. This costume could not have been comfortable to wear as a nightgown. But this image is as striking now as it was when created 78 years ago - when the modern look of glamour was being created by the Hollywood costume designers.