Gowns by Adrian : The MGM Years 1928-1941 [Hardcover]

Howard Gutner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2001

From the moment he arrived at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Gilbert Adrian established himself as a Hollywood fashion force. Believing that costume can mirror a character's mood, he transformed his leading ladies into icons of style. Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, Jean Harlow and many others relied on Adrian to help them interpret their roles and make them glamorous. This illustrated volume, the result of 10 years' research, including celebrity interviews and access to MGM files, traces Adrian's career at the studio and his influence on American fashion. It features photographs from classic films such as "Grand Hotel", "Queen Christina", "The Women" and "The Philadelphia Story", as well as costume sketches and a step-by-step rendering of a dress for Garbo.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The famous 1930s Hollywood couturier Adrian is handled with kid-gloves in Howard Gutner's Gowns by Adrian: The MGM Years 1928-1941, the first book on the designer. Ever the perfectionist, "he treated the costumes of a chorus girl or extra with the same care, taste, and wit that he lavished on Garbo's crinolines in Camille," says Gutner. Replete with images Eva von Berne in petit point lace; Madge Evans in fluted ruffles at the neck, a peplum at the hips and a bouffant skirt; Joan Crawford in white silk crepe and black bugle beads; and plenty of costumes that never made it to the final cut and the ins and outs of both the fashion and the movie industries, this handsome book will please fashionistas and film folk.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Any longtime Hollywood fan would readily agree that nothing succeeded like excess--especially in the movies of the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. And much of that success, claims researcher-editor Gunter, was due not only to the skills of such stars as Norma Shearer and Joan Crawford but also to the genius of one little-known costume designer--Gilbert Adrian, or simply Adrian, as L.A. dubbed him. The book starts with Adrian's predilection for the arts--born of talented parents and educated at Parsons--and, from there, almost instantaneous stardom when he joined MGM in 1924. Stars mentioned and movies cited will be familiar to almost anyone, including Katharine Hepburn in The Philadelphia Story, Greta Garbo as Mata Hari, and the wacky and wonderful Wizard of Oz. Best yet are the photographs, mainly in black and white, that showcase memorable "still" moments and the elusive process of artistic creation. Filmography appended. Barbara Jacobs
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams; First edition (October 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810908980
• ISBN-13: 978-0810908987
• Product Dimensions: 12.1 x 9.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,340,152 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars NOT JUST A COFFEE TABLE BOOK, December 26, 2001

By 

MOVIE MAVEN (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gowns by Adrian : The MGM Years 1928-1941 (Hardcover)

Let me state unequivocally that I know next to nothing about fashion, whether it be for the street or the stage. So when I was given "Gowns By Adrian" as a gift, I thought I'd flip through it casually and never look at it again. On the contrary, this is a book to treasure not just for its abundance of photographs (both black & white and color) but, more importantly, for its generously detailed description of MGM, the Hollywood studio system, itself, and how a man of genius, taste, dedication, discipline and talent fit into that system.

Howard Gutner's research must have taken him years and years, never mind the compiling and editing of that research. And it is all worth it. "Gowns By Adrian" takes us from Gilbert Adrian's first days at MGM, in 1928, when he replaced no less an artist that Erte, to 1941 when Adrian left MGM to open his own shop.

During those years, the designer created clothes for some of the most famous movies ever released and most of the famous movie stars who appeared in them: Norma Shearer as 'Marie Antoinette' and 'Juliet,' Joan Crawford as 'Flaemmchen' in "Grand Hotel," Jean Harlow as 'Kitty' in "Dinner At Eight," Katherine Hepburn as 'Tracy Lord' in "The Philadelphia Story" and Greta Garbo in everything she did for MGM from 1929 until she left in 1941 from "Anna Christie" to "Ninotchka" to "Two Faced Woman" and "Anna Karenina." Adrian's legacy to fashion for the average woman? A dress he designed for Joan Crawford in "Letty Lynton" was "knocked off" and sold 500,000 copies nation-wide. What makes this statement even more unusual is the fact that not that many people actually saw the film: "Letty Lynton" was pulled from theatres only a few months after its release because its writers were accused of plagerism.

The photographs included in this magnificently produced book are not limited to production stills. There are sketches, casual snapshops and the inevitable publicity pictures. My personal favorite is one of Adrian, himself, visiting the set of "Camille" in order to give Garbo a birthday gift. The designer stands with his back to the camera with his hands behind his back like a shy schoolboy while the great star in one of her beautiful costumes opens a jewelry box with obvious delight.

Gutner makes it very clear from his first example to his last that Adrian was not just a terrific dress designer. Here was a man who understood what the character as written on paper needed to be translated into visual terms for the screen. Take a look at "The Women" and you'll see everyone of those 135 characters defined, not only by the director and the actresses, but by Adrian's clothes.

One of the last paragraphs in the book tells the whole story: "My mother always told me," Robin Adrian says, "that when my father left Metro, the studio had to hire five different designers to replace him." HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for both fashion and movie lovers !!!!!!!, October 17, 2001

By 

Annick "Librarian Diva" (Bronx, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gowns by Adrian : The MGM Years 1928-1941 (Hardcover)

I own this book and I love it!
It showcases the one element that both the world of fashion and movies have to offer...glamour! I also love the fact that the magnificent, beautiful Norma Shearer is on the cover. An actress and star whose importance has been ignored for too long, and who deserves to be as well known as her contemporaries, such as Joan Crawford.
This book also has great and rare photos of the stars and the designer himself. It also offers great behind the scenes anecdotes, the chapter on the movie "The Women" is worth the price of the book alone.
For anyone who is interested in either fashion or movie history, here is a book to satisfy both these interests.
Highly recommended!!!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars There will never be another Adrian!, January 3, 2002

By 

Jennifer E. Williams (Fort Worth, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gowns by Adrian : The MGM Years 1928-1941 (Hardcover)

Adrian was more than just a fashion designer, he was a rare artistic and creative genius. In only thirteen years at MGM, he designed the costumes for nearly 200 films...many of them classics today! He also had a hand in cultivating images for many of the movie stars of that era, such as Joan Crawford and Norma Shearer. His ultimate genius pictures are "The Women" where the costumes are just as big of stars as the actresses in the film and "Marie Antoinette", the elegance and grandeur of which have rarely been repeated! This book is filled with beautiful photographs of Adrians sketches and gowns. There are some beautiful color photographs of some of the opulent gowns from "Marie Antoinette" that are just gorgeous. Excellent purchase for any film or fashion fan!!!