Exhibition Reviews: The Costume Designer: Edith Head and Hollywood

This exhibition, curated by Tansy Curtin, was both a homage and a reflection on the most famous costume designer in Hollywood history, Edith Head (1897–1981). The exhibition also explored the position of the costume designer in the well-oiled machine that was Hollywood during the studio period. The show brought together more than 70 garments along with 35 sketches from a number of collections (Randall Thropp representing the Paramount Pictures Archive; Larry McQueen of the Collection of Motion Picture Costume Design, Los Angeles; Nicholas Inglis; and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Los Angeles collections). Edith Head was the longest serving costume designer in Hollywood history and the most decorated, having worked for 50 years during which time she was nominated for 28 Academy Awards for Best Costume and won eight. The exhibition displayed only a fraction of the designer’s work over her long career