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Monday, January 20, 2020

#MaleFashionDesigners #FashionSpotlight Milo Anderson




Constance Bennett gave a young fashion designer Milo Anderson a tip that had stayed with him throughout his three-decade career. "It's not what you put on a costume, it's what you take off that counts." His parents had moved to Los Angeles when Milo was 8 and had worked at Western Costume in high school. Anderson even got to do some designing including for Constance Bennett in "Common Clay." (1930) After graduating, he attended and graduated the University of California. 

Milo set his sights on MGM right away and had a portfolio all ready for Adrian, but the MGM head designer was not encouraging but was not not impressed. He did recommend Milo to 20th Century Fox where Coco Chanel wasn't finished with designing for "The Greeks Had a Word for Them" (1932). Anderson was immediately hired and then designed "The Kid from Spain" (1932) by himself. His mother had to sign the contract for him since he was too young to sign himself. Milo was best known in the 30s for his work in "The Adventures in Robin Hood" (1938) and Captain Blood (1935) and was loaned out to United Artists. He then joined Warner Brothers where he was very often not even credited for his gowns. Milo described his time in the movie studios as "we ran ourselves ragged trying to keep up with the demands of our jobs, but we had the best materials, the best craftsmen and the most glorious women to wear them. It was an unforgettable era."

He left Warner Brothers in favor of joining Robert Muir and Associates as an interior designer and often taught classes at the Sacramento Art Centre on costume design. Milo passed away of emphysema on November 10th, 1984.

Andrea King in "Shadow of a Woman" (1946)

Irene Dunne in "Life with Father" (1947)

Elissa Landi 


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