The glitz and luxury of Hollywood

In 1928, Adrian met Greta Garbo during the filming of the film "The Woman of the Case". Over the next thirteen years, he created the most sophisticated outfits for her. About the dress for the film "The Lady with Camellias", where Garbo played the main role, the famous editor of Vogue magazine Diana Vreeland said: "I was born in Paris, grew up in the world of high fashion, but I have never seen better craftsmanship than in this suit."

But in 1941, while working on the film "Two-Faced Woman", the union of Garbo and Adrian broke up. The studio unexpectedly rejected all the dresses designed by Adrian. It was because of Garbo that he left MGM. In the last picture, the studio managers wanted to present her in the image of a simpleton, a real American. Adrian said, "If glamour is over for Garbo, it's over for me. She created the perfect image. If you destroy this illusion, you destroy it.

The exhibition highlights Adrian's innovative use of textiles. Since his first works in Hollywood, fabric has dominated Adrian's aesthetic.

He used a wide range of techniques: application, gluing, softening, pleating and draping to create dynamic clothing in which such materials are integral elements of design. As Eleanor Lambert, fashion publicist, founder of New York Fashion Week, wrote in 1952, "The fabric is the first sign that the suit is from Adrian."

Throughout his career, Adrian has collaborated with various manufactories. For example, Wesley Simpson Corporation, a fabric manufacturing company, offered Adrian to "revive" his work by creating repetitive drawings and patterns on artificial silk. At that time, the textile industry picked up the growing interest of society in the visual arts. The head of the company, Wesley Simpson, has already worked with illustrations by artists such as Marcel Werthe and Ludwig Bemelmans, and in 1947 he made a fabric with a print of "Broken Stones", the drawing for which was designed by Salvador Dali himself specifically for Adrian's evening dress.

To be continued.

Text and photo: Elena Derzhavets