The Effects of Cinema Costumes on Fashion -Based onEdith Head's Work-

영화예술에 나타난 의상이 유행에 미친영향 - Edith Head의 영화 의상을 중심으로 -

  • Published : 1997.02.01

Abstract

Cinema costume can stimulate the public to synchronize with and replicate what they see in the movies. Especially when the public thinks the stars in the movies . Especially when the public thinks the stars in the movies are beautiful or dramatic the styles of cinema costumes powerfully affect them. Thus cinema costume designers quickey become fashion designers. Edith Head who strongly believed cinema costumes to be an effective means of portraying the Character's personality and psychological make-up was an innovative designer whose costumes manifested this belief. She enhanced the character's individual image and distinction for the public through her artistic design in costumes. She adapted a realistic approach but her costumes invariably produced aesthetic ef-fects. Since the Academy Awards added the category of costume design she led the field with 35 nominations and eight oscars during 33 years of her productive work. Edith head was a dominant figure in costume design; her creations were highly renowned as an art form while they gained popularity. The purpose of this study was to reveal the ef-fects of Edith Head's cinema costume designs on fashion. This study was also to emphasize the powerful influence on ashion of cinema costume and cinema costume designers in general. The study was done through literature movies for which she created costumes fashion magazines and Edith Head's original sketches. The influence of Edith Head's costume de-sign on fashion is as follows: 1. She introduced and lead the casual fashion in the 1950's combining simplicity and sophistication. 2. She altered uniforms and reconstructed public clothing for multiple functions. 3. She rearranged high school prom dresses through the movie 'A Place in the Sun" to en-hance characteristic of each gender and the Dandy Look of the 1930's into men's apparel in the 1970's through the movie "The Sting" 4. She expanded the traditional style in the 1940's and became a leader in ecological style. 5. She adapted glitter from astronaut's ap-parel into public clothing. 6. She resturctured Sabrina Pants in the 1960's to accentuate the individuals strength by overcoming one's weakness without minimi-zing it's aesthetic appeal and reintroduced the pants in the 1990's. 7. She introduced elegant negligees to gen-eral public and maintained it in the public do-main. As it is revealed Edith Head's costume de-sign not only impacted the field of fashion dur-ing her time but also is presently influencing modern fashion throughout the world as it is witnessed by repeated reintroduction of her fashion styles. Reviewing her cinema costumes it is concluded that cinema costumes it is concluded that cinema costumes powerfully af-fect the public through a visual channel more than any other routes. Cinema costumes can become the origin of fashion by stimulating the public to synchronize with and replicate what they see in the movies. Since cinema costumes can launch fashion trend it requires further research. Based on what is revealed in this study. it would be beneficial to examine how cinema costumes affect people socially and culturally and how they could provide resources for re-search in fashion trends. It is also the writers opinion that there should be more designers such as Edith head who could lead the field of costume design into the twenty-first century.

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