Features | Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh City Paper: Katharine Hepburn — the late actor noted for her independent spirit, patrician features, and much-impersonated Mid-Atlantic accent — was not a typical Hollywood fashion icon. She existed between two Hollywood ideals, too tomboyish to emulate someone like Grace Kelly, who could wear a gown like nobody’s business, and too outspoken to match the seductive mystique of her contemporary Marlene Dietrich, who embraced androgyny and defied gender norms by dressing in both tailored tuxedos and women’s wear.
4 comments:
I’m really excited to hear about this Katharine Hepburn costume exhibit at the Frick art museum. I did not know that there was an exhibit of costumes that were designed for her running through January 12th. Hopefully I will be able to see this exhibit before winter break! Katharine Hepburn had such an incredible career and is a real role model as far as her outspoken and true to herself nature. The exhibit features huge name costume designers such as Edith Head and Walter Plunkett. Apparently, Edith once said “One does not design for Miss Hepburn, one designs with her.” The exhibit features exquisite gowns and robes but also has a section on more everyday clothes that she wore such as slacks instead of skirts. There’s a quote on the wall from Hepburn where she says that men should have to wear skirts if they force women to wear them. I love that she really pushed the envelope with gender norms in fashion.
Costume exhibits are my favorite. I love that this article encourages people to really get up close and examine the details because that's exactly what I do, especially when it's costumes from an onscreen work. Everything always looks so flawless on camera, especially something worn by legendary figures such as Katharine Hepburn. ANd liiiike,, are you telling me that I can ~hypothetically~ reach out and touch a costume that Edith Head designed?? Asking for a friend. In seriousness, it's so amazing to be able to witness costumes from decades ago. It's interesting to see how they age, and how the actress affects the overall design. Those dresses would look waaay different on me than they do on Ms. Hepburn. Every time I go to a costume exhibit, I say that I'm going to bring one of those folding lawn chairs and sit in front of the gowns for hours. This exhibit might just be the one where that joke becomes a reality. There are works by legendary designers that were created for such a legendary actress. Lastly, I love how they incorporated her own personal values into the exhibit to show her life beyond just the characters she's portrayed.
As a lover of Katharine Hepburn, museums, and all things costume history, I am endlessly excited for this exhibition. I love exhibitions like these, that look at a single actor/actress’s career through their costumes. I think it reveals a lot about the history of costume design and the film industry as well as illustrating the important relationship a costume has (or should have) with the actor wearing it. I think that is a concept we do not talk about enough, but actors have a huge influence on a character’s portrayal, and the costume needs to reflect that. And Katharine Hepburn is an amazing example of that. She always brought a very specific and incredible energy to every single one of her characters and there was always a little bit of her in every single costume she wore. I have only ever been to costume exhibitions of singular designers, so I am thrilled to be able to look at costumes through this new lens.
I cannot wait to see this exhibit, and have been looking forward to it for a long time! Katherine Hepburn was such a fierce, independent, determined woman, and from reading her autobiography, you can tell that her attitude towards life reflects the title of the book precisely: I Know Where I'm Going. Always resenting an unabashed sureness of herself, I have to imagine that she dressed in this manner as well. It didn't matter if pants were tabboo, she liked them and she was going to wear them. Part of the reason why so many people are fascinated by Katherine Hepburn, I have to believe, is precisely because she wasn't the demure beauty that others of her time were defined as, according to the beauty norms of the time. However, with that fierceness and striking gaze, there is, without a doubt, a sexiness and stunning beauty about her. I wonder if below it all, however, there was a side that was never sure of anything, and constantly afraid. I'm interested to see if such depth can be gleaned from this exhibit, if being close to that which was closest to her allows the audience to know her better.
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