Part 1
I am currently studying millinery at Leeds College of Art. Our new brief is to design a small collection of summer hats and headpieces. Our first job was to select a muse. This will be the starting point for all our ideas and designs.
Initially I had considered some of the gorgeous silent/20s movies stars. Dietrich, Garbo, Louise Brooks. After initial research I felt that they didn't quite fit into my idea of 'summery'. They struck me as more frosty and cold. With their mysterious allure and sultry looks they seemed to me to perfect for inspiration for an autumn/winter collection. Maybe I will re-visit this research for that very reason!
I had visions of them lurking in the shadows, slowly smoking, dressed as spies. Or perhaps swathed in a full length fur coat, like some 'mata hari' type character. Probably wearing little else but multiple strings of pearls and a wry smile!
So just who is 'summery' was my next question. I considered Doris Day, naturally, Debbie Reynolds too sweet. Judy Garland, love her, but not this time. I finally settled on the divine Dame Elizabeth Taylor. Who else. I have to admit she was my first choice, but i thought I should explore a few other ladies.
The next thing I did was to mind map some of the ideas and perceptions I have of Elizabeth Taylor. One large piece of paper, a sharpie and a willing hubby to shout out his ideas and this is what we came up with
When I think of Liz I think of sunflower yellow, pale violet,azure blue, gold , white all shown off against a beautiful suntan. A suntan caught on one of her many honeymoons, perhaps. Honeymoons taken on luxury yachts and deserted exotic beaches.
I think of diamonds, lots and lots of diamonds. I love the of stories of Liz swimming and lounging around the pool in diamond necklaces and tiaras. Just because she felt like it. What a gal!!
Muse -Elizabeth Taylor
b. 27 Feb 1932(London) moved to California in 1939 just before the start of war
Began her career as child actor in 1940s
Schooled on the studio lot, as many child actors of the time were. She had a very controlled and restricted childhood. Every decision is made by her pushy mother and studio bosses.
Under contract to MGM studios for most of the forties
Rarely credited in her earliest films, she makes her breakthrough in 1944 in 'National Velvet'. She becomes a star.
Frees herself from MGMs grip in the fifties when her contract finallyends
She passes through puberty and blossoms into a sex symbol at a very early age
Makes many of her most successful films in the late fifties and early sixties
Wins her first of three academy awards for her role as a prostitute in Butterfield8
In 1961 she begins work on Cleopatra, one of her most famous roles
Equally famous is her love life, she meets one of her many husbands on the set of Cleopatra. Richard Burton.
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