COSTUME DESIGN AT RKO

The old RKO Studio in Hollywood had a fascinating history. It was never very big, but still was ranked among the majors that were called the seven sisters: MGM; Paramount; Warner Brothers; Fox (20th Century-Fox), Universal; and Columbia. But unlike most of the other studios, its leadership never lasted very long, and so it never bore the personality of its head. This left room for some very creative and diverse films such as King Kong, Citizen Kane, Cat People, Love Affair, and the influential Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musicals. Along with these diverse films, RKO distinguished itself with its art direction and its costume design.




Fred Astaire and Ginger Rodgers in Gay Divorcee, costumes by Walter Plunkett.



From its earliest days as a film production Studio, Walter Plunkett designed distinctive costumes

that added the polish and sophistication that made RKO competitive with the other studios. As the studio began making more complex movies in the early 1930s, Plunkett was there to design the appropriate wardrobe to further the plot, help build character, and provide realistic and beautiful clothing for its period movies. But it was the early musicals featuring Fred and Ginger that advanced RKO to the forefront of movie entertainment.

Walter Plunkett designed the costumes for Ginger Rogers' first two movies with Fred Astaire,  Flying Down to Rio and The Gay Divorcee. In these movies he established the look of the modern dance gown. The combination of the art deco sets, beautiful dance gowns, and the then revolutionary technique of filming the pair romantically dancing across across a complete set caused a sensation. Plunkett  also designed the costumes for the chorus girls in these movies.  In the photo above, Plunkett fits a chorus girl costume on Anna Martin in 1930.

In the early 1930s Plunkett was head of the wardrobe department at RKO as well as being its costume designer. Here Plunkett shows a costume sketch to Helen Mack for one of her roles in 1935. As designer and manager, Plunkett was over-worked by the Studio.

The costume sketch had to be translated into muslin patterns from which the appropriate fabric could be cut and sewn. This was the job of the cutter-fitter. Shown above, Marie Cazemages Ree, RKO's Head Cutter-fitter, is cutting the silk fabric for a sleeve. Marie was an expert  dressmaker that had worked with Jean Patou in Paris. She was equally proficient in contemporary and historical costume.

Marie here applies a floral sequin design to a gown. Movie costumes for the leading cast received much attention and were painstakinlgy  crafted.

Fashion designer Bernard Newman was then brought in to RKO to design chic modern gowns for  movies like Roberta. His sleek and sexy gowns were soon being worn by Ginger Rogers in her newest films with Fred Astaire -  Top Hat, Swing Time, and Follow the Fleet. He loved working with shiny materials like sequins, bugle-beads, and lustrous satins, which gave him "the wet look" he preferred. Above Newman poses with French opera diva and star Lily Pons.

Ginger Rogers loved the gowns Bernard Newman designed for her. The gown shown above was worn in RKO's In Person in 1935. The gown was made of turquoise chiffon with hundreds of silver-lined bugle beads hand-sewn to the fabric. The buttons were rhinestones.

Katharine Hepburn began her movie career at RKO. She preferred working with Walter Plunkett, especially for his stylish re-creations of historic costume. Here Hepburn is shown in a Plunkett costume from Mary of Scotland, 1936.  

Edward Stevenson was another talented designer brought in by RKO. He had been the designer for First National but was hired as Bernard Newman's sketch artist. After Newman and Plunkett left, he became the head costume designer. Stevenson is shown above on the right.

Edward Stevenson designed stylish gowns for RKO' leading ladies in the latter 1930s and the 40s. Above Barbara Stanwyck is shown in a Stevenson designed gown from The Mad Miss Manton, 1938. The gown was designed with a mid-section belting technique that de-emphasized Stanwyck's long waist and low rear. Edith Head claimed to have devised this look for Stanwyck, but Stevenson was doing it before her.

Renie Conley also joined RKO as a costume designer in 1936 and stayed until 1949. Renie is pictured above in 1942, and she was pretty enough to be a movie star. Renie (pronounced Renay) had a very long career.She began as a sketch artist at MGM in the mid 1920s and after RKO designed for 20th Century-Fox. She designed Ginger Rogers costumes for Kitty Foyle, at RKO, Ginger's only Academy Award for Best Actress. Renie went on to design costumes for Cleopatra along with Irene Sharaff, starring Elizabeth Taylor. Her last costume designs were for Kathleen Turner in Body Heat in 1981.

RKO's star began to fall in the late 40s, in part caused by then owner Howard Hughes' neglect.

It was the first of the seven sisters to disappear, its place taken over by the Walt Disney Studio.

It has left us a rich legacy of films. And its costumes - the creation of the studio's own stellar designers and wardrobe department.