Born in Joplin, Missouri in 1903, Bernard Newman joined the wave of American fashion designers going to Paris. Newman also studied at the Art Student's League. He climbed up the ranks at Bergdorf Goodman from window dresser to head designer, dressing Kay Francis in "an oyster gray linen dress [...] Open necked, with buttons to the waist, the garment had wide bands of Irish lace on the skirt." (Kear, Rossman. Kay Francis: A Passionate Life and Career) In 1933, he joined RKO Pictures. There he dressed Katharine Hepburn and Jean Arthur, but especially Ginger Rogers in new synthetic materials to accentuate her dancing. Newman's best known contribution is Rogers's ostrich-feathered gown during "Cheek to Cheek" in "Top Hat" (1935).
No comments:
Post a Comment