THE DONFELD DYNAMO

The late costume designer Donfeld was a whirlwind of acitvity during his career. Not only did he design the costumes for some great stars in some terrific movies, but he was a true champion  for  the art of film costume design and its rich heritage. Along with Theadora Van Runkle, he worked during the 1960s, 70s, and 80s at a key transition point between the Golden Age of Hollywood costume design and the modern world of cinema. He was the designer and confidant to such stars as Jane Fonda, Natalie Wood, Ann-Margret, Liza Minnelli, and Jacqueline Bisset, and with Jacqueline he enjoyed a very close relationship. He worked with many other stars including Bette Davis, Catherine Deneuve, Lee Remick, Angelica Huston, Kathleen Turner and Tuesday Weld. He even designed the costumes for two Elvis Presley films: Wild in the Country and Viva Las Vegas, and for several members of the Rat Pack in Robin and the 7 Hoods. He also designed Lynda Carter's Wonder Woman costume in the TV series.

Donfeld was not only a very talented artist but he had a great feel and understanding of the role of the costume designer. He said that the costume designer's craft was, "...to aid in creating character with costumes." And when he was frequently questioned  as to how a film like Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf could ever win a Best Costume Oscar, he replied, "When Martha (Elizabeth Taylor's character) acts like a slob, she looked like a slob." and further, "Irene Sharaff captured the mood and attitude of the players, their society, their environment with her genius touch."

Donfeld costume sketch for Ann-Margret in "Cincinnati Kid," 1965.

Donfeld's costume sketches are unmistakable. They have a characteristic vibrancy - with exaggerated postures and impossibly long arms and legs.


Donfeld costume sketch for Tuesday Weld in "Cincinnati Kid," 1965.


Donfeld was born Donald Lee Feld in 1934. With his panache and height of 6' 5" he never failed to draw attention. He attended the Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles and began his career designing record album covers. He went to Twentieth Century-Fox where he began designing costumes in 1961. His first big hit was Days of Wine and Roses in 1962 with Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick. He went on to design classics such as They Shoot Horses Don't They?, The China Syndrome, and Prizzi's Honor, along with notable films like Cincinnati Kid, The Great Race, The April Fools, Robin and the 7 Hoods, Who is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe and Brainstorm. The costume sketches above for The Cincinnati Kid were redesigned by Donfeld when director Sam Peckinpah was replaced by Norman Jewison. 



Donfeld costume sketch for Angelica Huston in "Prizzi's Honor," 1985.

Donfeld also greatly enjoyed close relationships with his fellow costume designers. Theadora Van Runkle affectionately nicknamed him "Ogre," and he regularly corresponded with Anthony Powell in the U.K. and with Helen Rose in her retirement in Palm Springs. When Fred Hayman, the well known clothier and owner of Giorgio's in Beverly Hills was named "Man of the Year" he asked Donfeld to produce a spectacular fashion show and retrospective of Hollywood Glamour.
Donfeld furiously contacted costume designers and studios to find the iconic costume pieces that had made movie history. As he was to find out, most of them had been lost, destroyed, or scattered to the winds. Undeterred, he asked veteran designers to recreate them. When even this failed to produce enough of the iconic pieces, Donfeld made his own new costume sketches based on the classic designs in the movies - this to have them fabricated anew at Western Costume. He was lucky to borrow the famous Rita Hayworth "Gilda" gown from the Metropolitan Museum of Art - not the original, but rather a copy Diana Vreeland had had made for her own Hollywood Costume exhibition. The 1982 show produced by Donfeld was a smashing success.




Costume sketches by Donfeld made for a series of famous costumes shown in the Fred Hayman/Giorgio's Fashion spectacular in Beverly Hills, 1982.



The Hollywood film community lost a true treasure when Donfeld died in 2007. During his time he embodied Hollywood's past and its future in his long frame. He still casts a very long shadow.