One thing that stands out most to me when I watch studio era films are the costume designs. There were many influential designers from this period, some more popular then others. Fashion artist such as Edith Head and Adrian are very well known, but after watching 1938's Holiday and Bringing Up Baby I discovered a designer I hadn't yet discovered. The name next to the gowns billing? Columbia Studio's Robert Kalloch.
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| Designs for Holiday & Bringing Up Baby |
Robert Kalloch was born in 1893 in New York City. He got his start designing gowns for New York's high-profile socialites and dancers for Lucille Ltd. He got his break in Hollywood in the early 1930's when he was hired by Harry Cohn to help improve the low-budget reputation of Columbia Pictures.
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| Designs for Mrs Miniver & His Girl Friday |
Robert Kalloch was one of the biggest trendsetters in Hollywood during the 1930's and 1940's. Stars such as Fay Wray and Greer Garson were lucky enough to have their sophisticated wardrobes designed by Kollach.
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| Irene Dunne and Robert Kollach with designs from The Awful Truth |
Simply credited with 'Gowns by Kalloch', many memorable films of that period were touched by this leader of fashion. Films such as His Girl Friday (1940), For Me and My Gal (1942), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) and The Awful Truth (1937) are just a few of the iconic films he worked on. His designs can even be seen uncredited in 1934's It Happened One Night and Twentieth Century.
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| Wedding gown from It Happened One Night |
Kalloch also gets credit for helping shape the style of Look Magazine's "Best Dressed Girl In Hollywood" of 1940, Rita Hayworth. He was the first to specially design a wardrobe for Rita as her fame was rising. He worked with Rita on such films as The Lone Wolf Spy Hunt (1939), Angels Over Broadway (1940), The Lady In Question (1940), You'll Never Get Rich (1941) and Only Angels Have Wings (1939).
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| Designs for Angels Over Broadway, You'll Never Get Rich, & Lone Wolf Spy Hunt |
As you can see Robert Kalloch stayed quite busy in his short time in Hollywood.
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| Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney in designs from Babes On Broadway |