As I put together the puzzle pieces from the many fashion books I have read, it seems to me that the Salon Directrice role was invented somewhere around the mid to late 1930s when Balenciaga, Chanel, and Dior boutiques were filled to the brim with women clamoring for there couture. Although a salon directrice may have known nothing about creating a fashion image, these women sure knew a lot about dressing to accentuate one’s best features (always useful for a fashion image or celebrity client). They knew how to achieve many things through a lady’s wardrobe via strategy such as, how to impress royalty, how to impress a spouse, or how to “procure” a husband, etc. Many of these concerns were also addressed in the fashion magazines at the time. While fashion editors were creating the fantasy of what to wear to impress for the pages of magazines, salon directrices were actually on the forefront speaking and learning with their customers. Reading Madam Dariaux’s book about her experiences working with women and their wardrobes helped me form more of a background about how to work with my celebrity clients and styling them appropriately for their events.

The last position I have found highly influential as a stylist is the role of a costume designer in films. Costume designers informed most of pop culture about fashion as early as the 1920s. These specialty designers not only conceived of the garments, but also created the icons we know as “Movie Stars.” Costume designers collaborated with film directors and talent to create character appropriate status, emotion, and seduction through the wardrobe.

When it’s possible, I try to create a character through my fashion stories for editorials or for the runway. I have so much respect for the talent of the costume designers who create characters for full length films repeatedly.
The most influential costume designers I have had the pleasure of researching and being obsessed with are Edith Head and Adrian. Edith Head was a creative visionary and won eight Oscars. She won more than any other woman in history. Mrs. Head was rumored to be Alfred Hitchcock’s favorite designer, and also dressed Ginger Rogers, Bette Davis, Barbara Stanwyck, Grace Kelly, Liz Taylor and Audrey Hepburn. To say the least, she was truly a fashion icon.

As for Adrian, he was a fashion star in his own right. He collaborated with Greta Garbo to establish her look. He also created what I consider wardrobe strategies for Jean Harlow (who can forget those silk sheaths?!), Katherine Hepburn (the ultimate gender bending socialite) and Joan Crawford (John Galliano owes this man a lot of Dior show credit!!) Adrian was also the genius behind the Wizard of Oz (hello, ruby slippers) and Cecil B DeMille’s epics. I found this rumored quote from Adrian when I was researching him about why he quit:

“It was because of Garbo that I left M-G-M. In her last picture they wanted to make her a sweater girl, a real American type. I said, ‘When the glamour ends for Garbo, it also ends for me. She has created a type. If you destroy that illusion, you destroy her.’ When Garbo walked out of the studio, glamour went with her, and so did I.”

These three roles have influenced me as a stylist and fashion geek tremendously over the past decade, and will, with any luck, inspire some of you. In this column, I hope to really explore what I do as a stylist, where we get our inspiration, where the business is going, and speak with other fashion icons such as the ones mentioned here.

Recommending Reading:
Stylist by Sarah Mower
D.V. by Diana Vreeland
A Guide to Elegance by Genevieve Antoine Dariaux
Grace by Grace Coddington