Jean louis berthault biography for kids

It gave the illusion that Monroe was nude, except for discretely placed rhinestones covering her head to toe. An impressed Monroe asked Dietrich about it, who told her how the dress's illusion worked, and sent her to Louis to design a similar dress for her Kennedy appearance. The dress was so tight that he actually had to sew it while she was wearing it.

The idea of dresses being a nude color with crystals coating it, stunned audiences. It gave people the illusion that the wearer was nude, except for discretely placed rhinestones covering them head to toe. Departed from Cherbourg, France. Infour years after the death of his second wife, Louis married former client Loretta Young; they remained married until his death in Young was known as the best-dressed actress in America at that time.

Around sixty of his designs appeared in movies, and he was eventually nominated for 13 Academy Awards. It also transcended the eras--it was as popular in the s as it was when it first came out in the s. Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor, in the s in what looks to be a Carnegie suit above and the suit still wowing women in the s At Hattie Carnegie, Jean developed a loyal clientele.

This included royal style icon Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor, who frequently wore his designs. It was Irene Dunne who bought one of his first designs--a blue satin evening gown--and remained a customer the rest of her life. Inshe suggested that Harry put Jean under contract at Columbia as an assistant costume designer. Jean readily accepted the position, especially because it allowed him to work again with his mentor and former Carnegie colleague Travis Banton.

Banton briefly worked at Columbia after his time at 20th Century Fox, and taught Jean the distinct differences between designing for life and designing for film. Jean's first work at Columbia would be for friend Irene Dunne in the appropriately named Together Again The film world would never be the same. He was then given the rare honor of full screen credit for his "Gowns by Jean Louis.

Jean louis berthault biography for kids

Superfluous details never complicated his designs. It's for these reason that his clothes remain so timeless today. During his career, he would help establish the style of several actresses. But it was their next movie, the the now iconic Gildathat turned her into an international superstar. As that character and in Jean's gowns, Rita became known as the "Love Goddess" all over the world.

Her black satin strapless "Put the Blame on Mame" gown, in particular, is widely considered one of the ten best costumes of all time. It is also one of the most influential on fashion designers--you would be hard-pressed to find an awards show red carpet today that doesn't have at least one dress that owes some of its design to Gilda. Jean's next movie with Rita The Lady from Shanghai was another film noir with a stunning wardrobe for the screen siren.

They would go on to do 10 pictures together. After Rita decided to depart from Columbia and then even America so she could marry a princethe seductive Kim Novak stepped up as the studio's new star. Jean was with her from the very beginning, even designing a special wardrobe for her screen test at the request of head Harry Cohn. Bell, Book and Candle and Pal Joeywith Rita are just two of the films that Jean and Kim did together, and her clothes reflect both the sweet and sultry sides of her personality.

Both movies were Oscar nominated for their chic costume design along with ones he did for Judy Holliday, who was another star at Columbia. Louis transformed her into dancer "Billie" Dawn for the Oscar nominated Born Yesterdaya particular triumph as Judy was not naturally glamorous and seemed "completely disinterested" when she was dressed for the costume tests.

Yet onscreen, in Jean's gorgeous clothes, she found the character and "even he was amazed at the changes. There he immediately met another star who he would help define her signature style-- Doris Day. Pillow Talk was the first of their films together along with her three-time co-star Rock Hudson. This marked a turning point for her.