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Edith Head

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A winner of eight Academy Awards for Costume Design, Edith Head helped define the style of classic Hollywood with her striking work at Paramount and Universal. Some of the movie stars she dressed included Grace Kelly, Cary Grant, Lana Turner, Paul Newman, John Wayne, Steve McQueen, Elizabeth Taylor, Marlene Dietrich and many more. She also became a recognizable personality in her own right thanks to her distinctive personal style including her signature glasses and forthright personality, which inspired the character of Edna Mode in The Incredibles. Surprisingly, she only liked to wear four colors herself: black, white, beige and brown.

Featuring highlights from the Margaret Herrick Library and the Academy Film Archive.

 

Posing with her eight Academy Award statuettes, Edith Head still holds a record in the Costume Design category.
Edith Head
from the Making of Notorious
Notorious
Edith Head's First Oscar
A Costume Design by Edith Head
Samson and Delilah
The Costume Designer
Short of stature, actress Gloria Swanson gave Edith Head some valuable advice when they made this 1950 film: “I always think, dress and carry myself tall.”
Sunset Blvd.
Seen here at work, Edith Head was the first woman to become a studio’s head designer and drew inspiration from both North and South American art traditions.
In the Workroom
A Costume Design by Edith Head
A Place in the Sun
Roman Holiday
A Costume Design by Edith Head
Lucy Gallant
Edith Head’s costume designs for this 1956 epic involved dressing scores of stars and extras, including those seen in this costume drawing.
The Ten Commandments
Cecil B. DeMille and Edith Head
Cecil B. DeMille
Edith Head created memorable dresses for Grace Kelly in two Alfred Hitchcock films: REAR WINDOW (1954) and this 1955 caper on the Riviera, with Head referred to as “my happiest assignment and most elegant wardrobe.”
To Catch a Thief
Kim Novak wears one of the most famous black dresses in film history, an Edith Head design for Alfred Hitchcock’s classic 1958 thriller. The film posed an unusual challenge since Head had to dress Novak as two different characters.
Vertigo
The Oscar winners enjoy a visit
Edith Head Pays a Visit
to Costume Designer Edith Head
A Note from Grace Kelly
This Edith Head outfit was designed for Marlene Dietrich in Billy Wilder’s 1957 mystery adapted from a play by Agatha Christie. Head claimed the actress “holds the endurance record for standing eight hours and ten minutes for a single fitting.”
Witness for the Prosecution
A Script for Edith Head's Radio Program
Fashionscope
For the 1968 Academy Awards
Edith Head's Oscar Instructions
A Costume Design by Edith Head
Love Has Many Faces
Lana's Million Dollar Wardrobe
Person to Person
Designing clothes for movement is always a challenge, especially when it’s a musical. Here Edith Head inspects Shirley MacLaine’s dance-ready outfit for the 1969 Bob Fosse film.
Sweet Charity
For her work on this 1969 Alfred Hitchcock film, Edith Head embarked on travel to research a globe-trotting array of costumes.
Topaz
Edith Head and the Oscars
Edith Head on the Set
Airport
The Sting
A Costume Design by Edith Head
Family Plot
Costume Breakdowns for Edith Head
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid

More Collection Highlights

Stevens Family Collection

Giant

George Stevens and Son
Hepburn and Stevens
George Stevens Jr., speaking at the Academy

Richard Donner

title

Superman Poster
title
Omen poster

Rick Baker

American Werewolf

Schlock
King Kong
An American Werewolf in London

The French Connection

French connection

action
cast list
chase

FLFA Posters

FLFA

La Strada - Italy
The Nights Of Cabiria
My Uncle

The Silence of the Lambs

Silence of the Lambs Makeup Touch up

Jonathan Demme and Jodie Foster
Jodie Foster and others in THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, 1991.
Silence of the Lambs Set Pictures

Mary Pickford

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Publicity portrait
Business card
Mary Pickford

Miracle on 34th Street

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Edmund Gwenn
George Seaton and Valentine Davies
Early draft as This Is the Time

Titanic

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70th Oscars
Casting of roles of Jack and Rose
Hollywood Reporter story