Exactly one hundred years ago, on June 1, 1926, Norma Jeane Mortenson was born in Los Angeles. She chose the name under which she would live on as a sex symbol, model, actress and singer herself on her thirtieth birthday. Marilyn Monroe proclaimed herself an icon. However, she needed William Travilla for her wardrobe. What part did the costume designer play in the Monroe ‘brand’?
Natural talent
William Travilla (1920–1990), like Monroe, grew up in Los Angeles, but without orphanages and foster families. “Billy” showed so much talent at the age of eight that he was accepted into the renowned private school Chouinard School of Art. As a teenager, he made extra money by selling sketches of showgirls at burlesque clubs for $3 each. Their bodies and the way they moved fascinated him.
After his studies and a period of long travel, he devoted himself to his talent. In 1949 he won his only Oscar for Best Costume Design. Together with two colleagues, he designed the historical men’s fashion for the Spanish romance ‘The Adventures of Don Juan’.
However, his true calling lay in sculpting the female figure, preferably with theatrical costumes. By dressing actresses like Sonja Henie, Ann Sheridan and Jean Peters, his name made the rounds in the hills of Beverly Hills. From then on he was just ‘Travilla’. Monroe became his main muse.
Travilla loved the glamor of the clothing itself, but less the scene. He was also a doer. As a student, he helped his father work in his tire workshop. He preferred to escape the Hollywood environment, sometimes for months. He sought refuge in cultures unknown to him, such as a tribe in Africa or South America. This sobriety is reflected in the solid construction of his costumes.
In 1957, Travilla left the film studios to set up his own fashion house, again under the name ‘Travilla’. He moved to television in the late 1970s, during the heyday of American drama series. After his death in 1990, business partners continued to run the now popular clothing line. The brand was sold in luxury department stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue until 2002.
Travilla meets Monroe
In 1950, when Monroe was still a relatively unknown actress, she borrowed Travilla’s dressing room. At the time he was under contract with Twentieth Century Fox. This fleeting encounter blossomed into one of the most fruitful creative alliances in Hollywood. Monroe became a good friend and briefly even a lover. She sent him a nude calendar signed with the words: “Billy, dear, please dress me forever. I love you, Marilyn.”
Eight films
Monroe and Travilla worked together on eight consecutive feature films: ‘Don’t Bother to Knock’ (1952, black cocktail dress); ‘Monkey Business’ (1952, silk midi dress); ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’ (1953, the iconic gold halter dress and pink satin dress); ‘How to Marry a Millionaire’ (1953, lace and satin evening gowns); ‘River of No Return’ (1954, red showgirl dress); ‘There’s No Business Like Show Business’ (1954, sheer and champagne dresses); ‘The Seven Year Itch’ (1955, the world-famous white, high-flowing ‘subway dress’) and ‘Bus Stop’ (1956, green and black showgirl bustier dress).
Beneath seemingly simple dresses, Travilla constructed structures using corsets, boning, padding, and metal wire to accentuate Monroe’s hourglass figure. He avoided explicit nudity because it takes away the tension. He found illusion more effective. He was right about that.
Internally, Monroe wasn’t superficial either. The roles as blondes and dolls were mainly imposed on her by Twentieth Century Fox. Even her sensual voice was feigned, a technique to hide her stutter. Travilla knew the confident woman behind the public ‘Bombshell’ persona. With his thoughtful, suggestive designs, he made a quiet contribution to her star status.
Dresses that made history
Travilla’s most famous creation is the white ‘subway dress’ from the famous night scene in ‘The Seven Year Itch’. It blows up over a ventilation shaft, immortalizing Monroe’s public image. For the fabric he chose ivory white acetate crepe. Although he preferred natural fabrics such as silk, a synthetic component was necessary to maintain the structure of the sunburst pleats. To achieve this, Travilla did not rely on local seamstresses. Instead, he sent the material to the Antonini sisters in Rome. They applied the folds by hand. The dress was auctioned in 2011 for $4.6 million.
Two years earlier, Travilla had already shown how well he worked under pressure with the pink evening dress in ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’ (1953). For the number ‘Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend’ he originally designed a barely covering fishnet bodysuit. The studio boss thought the idea was excellent until Monroe’s nude photos surfaced, with all the consequences. Travilla was given 48 hours to find a more covering alternative. In record time he sewed a strapless silk dress in ‘Shocking Pink’, which was reinforced with felt on the inside. The large bow on the back is not just attached. It is attached to the upper part of the bodice with an elaborate pleat.
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