Lights, Camera, Fashion: The Film Costumes of Edith Head

Chris Howell NewsOn6.com

BARTLESVILLE---Lights! Camera! Fashion!: The Film Costumes of Edith Head opened today at Price Tower Arts Center. The exhibition focuses on the career and designs of famed Hollywood costume designer Edith Head (1897-1981). 

Despite lacking art or costume design experience, Edith Head established herself as one of the leading Hollywood costume designers, remaining at Paramount for 44 years, until she was hired by Universal Pictures in March of 1967, where she remained until her death.

With her blue-tinted sunglasses and Dutch boy hair style, she was one of the most identifiable women in Hollywood.

 "This exhibition is a first in many years to focus on fashion and costume design.  And, since it is the first exhibition in nearly 30 years on the work of Edith Head, we wanted to bring some of her designs to life, said Scott Perkins, Curator of Collections and Exhibitions at Price Tower Arts Center, ‘due to the fact that many of her designs no longer exist, we turned to OSU's design department to recreate the realizations of her work with a contemporary twist.  The 10 students are constructing Miss Head's designs in an all-black color palette allowing us to really understand the architecture of the garments and to look at them through a lens of contemporary fashion design.'

As well as the sketches of her award-winning designs, those attending the exhibition will have the rare opportunity to see six of the eight Oscars awarded to Edith Head.

The exhibition will run through May 16, 2010 at Price Tower Arts Center, located at 510 Dewey Avenue in Bartlesville, OK.