Adrian, God of Glamour

by Cláudio Alves

Born Adrian Adolph Greenberg, the designer best known as Adrian was one of the most influential costumers in Hollywood history. After working in his family business of millinery, Adrian went on to study costume design in New York and Paris and later found work dressing the starlets of Broadway. His talents soon took him to Hollywood, where he found a home from the mid-1920s to the 1940s, designing the costumes for many an MGM classic. Throughout his tenure in Tinsel Town, Adrian perfected the on and offscreen looks of such great divas as Greta Garbo, Norma Shearer, Myrna Loy, Jean Harlow, Vivien Leigh, Ingrid Bergman, Lana Turner, Judy Garland, Hedy Lamarr, and others. Among them, his most essential collaborator and muse was the one and only Joan Crawford…

For Joan, Adrian conceived of a silhouette with broad padded shoulders and narrow skirts, accidentally helping to typify the preferred style of womenswear during the 1940s. Schiaparelli may be traditionally credited with the padded shoulder look of the era, but it was Adrian which put it on the silver screen and made it immortal. Other iconic designs of his include the Ruby Red Slippers that Judy Garland wore as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, probably the most famous pair of shoes in cinema history.

This month, some of the designer's best and most famous pictures were made available for streaming on the Criterion Channel as part of a George Cukor collection. Among the collaborations between the two genius filmmakers, The Women shines bright as one of Adrian's sterling achievements. Not only did he get to dress all the top actresses of MGM in opulent finery, but there's a Technicolor interlude that stops the black and white film right on its tracks. It's a resplendent fashion show sequence that shocks and delights in equal measure, a prelude to Adrian's future, and much prosperous career as a fashion designer once he mostly abandoned the movie business.

Unfortunately, that abandonment of Hollywood for the fashion world came before there was a Best Costume Design category in 1948. One wonders how many little golden men Adrian might have won if the category had existed during his heyday. Perhaps he'd have even more wins than Edith Head, the current recordist of the Costume Design Oscar with eight victories. In any case, he deserves all the plaudits in the world, for his work helped define the impossible glamour of Old Hollywood, its dreamy perfection, and dazzling spectacle.

Considering all that, here are some highlights from Adrian's filmography that are currently available to stream or rent online. Take a look at these beauties:

CHICAGO (1927)

Available to stream on the MUBI Amazon Channel. You can also rent it from Amazon.

THE LAST OF MRS. CHENNEY (1929)

Available to rent from Amazon.

WILD ORCHIDS (1929)

Available to rent from Youtube, Google Player, Apple iTunes, and VUDU.

MADAM SATAN (1930)

Available to rent from Amazon, Youtube, Google Player, Apple iTunes, and VUDU.

ROMANCE (1930)

Available to rent from Youtube, Google Player, Apple iTunes, and VUDU.

MATA HARI (1931)

Available to rent from Youtube, Google Player, Apple iTunes, FandangoNOW, and VUDU.

GRAND HOTEL (1932)

Available to rent from Amazon, Youtube, Google Player, Apple iTunes, and others.

BLONDIE OF THE FOLLIES (1932)

Available to stream on the Criterion Channel. You can also rent it from Youtube, Google Play, Apple iTunes, and VUDU.

DINNER AT EIGHT (1933)

Available to stream on the Criterion Channel. You can also rent it from Amazon, Youtube, Google Play, Apple iTunes, and others.

DANCING LADY (1933)

Available to rent from Amazon, Youtube, Google Player, Apple iTunes, and others.

QUEEN CHRISTINA (1933)

Available to rent from Amazon, Youtube, Google Player, Apple iTunes, and others.

SADIE MCKEE (1934)

Available to rent from Amazon, Apple iTunes, FandangoNOW, and VUDU.

RIPTIDE (1934)

Available to rent from Amazon, Youtube, Google Player, and Apple iTunes.

ANNA KARENINA (1935)

Available to rent from Amazon, Youtube, Google Player, Apple iTunes, and others.

THE GREAT ZIEGFELD (1936)

Available to rent from Youtube, Google Player, Apple iTunes, VUDU and others.

CAMILLE (1936)

Available to stream on Pluto TV. You can also rent it from Amazon, Youtube, Google Play, Apple iTunes, and others.

THE BRIDE WORE RED (1937)

Available to rent from Amazon.

BROADWAY MELODY OF 1938 (1937)

Available to rent from Amazon, Youtube, Google Player, Apple iTunes, and others.

MARIE ANTOINETTE (1938)

Available to stream on fuboTV and TCM. You can also rent it from Amazon, Youtube, Google Player, VUDU, and others.

IDIOT'S DELIGHT (1939)

Available to stream on DirecTV. You can also rent it from Apple iTunes, VUDU, Youtube, and Google Player.

THE WOMEN (1939)

Available to stream on DirecTV. You can also rent it from Amazon, Youtube, Google Player, and others.

THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939)

Available to stream on fuboTV, TNT, and Sling TV. You can also rent it from Amazon, Youtube, Google Playe, Apple iTunes, and others.

WATERLOO BRIDGE (1940)

Available to rent from Amazon and Apple iTunes.

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE (1940)

Available to rent from Amazon, Youtube, Google Player, Apple iTunes, and VUDU.

THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (1940)

Available to stream on DirecTV. You can also rent it from Amazon, Youtube, Google Player, VUDU, and others.

ZIEGFELD GIRL (1941)

Available to rent from Amazon, Apple iTunes, Youtube, Google Player, and others.

If the Best Costume Design category had existed since the beginning of the Oscars in 1927, how many awards do you think Adrian would have won? Also, what's your favorite film Adrian dressed?

Comments

[James]

1927 It (Travis Banton)
1928 The Mysterious Lady
1929 The Taming of the Shrew
1930 Morocco (Travis Banton)
1931 Frankenstein
1932 Tarzan, The Ape Man
1933 DINNER AT EIGHT (Adrian)
1934 The Scarlet Empress (Travis Banton)
1935 The Devil is a Woman (Travis Banton)
1936 CAMILLE (Adrian)
1937 Angel (Travis Banton)
1938 The Adventures of Robin Hood
1939 Gone WIth the Wind
1940 THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (Adrian)
1941 The Little Foxes
1942 Now, Voyager
1943 The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
1944 Laura
1945 Mildred Pierce
1946 Gilda
1947 The Ghost and Mrs. Muir

While I would award Adrian three Oscars for the determined time period, I would give five to costume designer Travis Banton, primarily for his collaborations with Marlene Dietrich and Josef von Sternberg.

Banton became established as a premiere designer after Mary Pickford selected his design for her wedding dress to Douglas Fairbanks. Sadly, Banton suffered rampant alcoholism and was driven out of his position at Paramount in the late '40s at the conniving of his assistant Edith Head.

[Cafg]

He's my winner for Romeo and Juliet (36), Camille (37) and Marie Antoinette (1938), with a least 10 nominations.

[markgordonuk]

In the classic words of Maria Elena "Ge-ni-us"

[ScottC]

Favorite film he dressed - probably Rope. Favorite for his work - The Women.

[Bgk]

Gorgeous photos and I agree Adrian was a genius. I would add Norma Shearer's wardrobe in A Free Soul, especially the white dress that hugged her body so tight that for years people gossiped that she couldn't have worn anything underneath it because it was so tight.

[Jaragon]

Adrian defined classic Hollywood glamour

[Claran]

"Sadly, Banton suffered rampant alcoholism and was driven out of his position at Paramount in the late '40s at the conniving of his assistant Edith Head"

Head is one shady lady! She took sole credit for the win for Sabrina when Hubert de Givenchy designs all the iconic gowns Audrey wore in the film!!

Adrian is also the rare, if only Hollywood male costume designer who actually marries, to the famous Janet Gaynor