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?