Hollywoodesque

"I also meet fellow designers: Dorothy Shue who had started as a puppeteer in the movie industry, Aileen Zublin, who had made a name for herself as a fashion designer in Switzerland, and Kay Carter, who, like Dorothy, also came from the movies, having worked under the legendary fashion designer Adrian, whose glamorous work had been made famous in films like 1939's The Women." Carol Spencer The first time I opened Dressing Barbie I took a random page and the first I read was that. She had me already! Everything in the book is gold and for me is "The Book" but... Adrian?! He was one of the most incredible Hollywood costume designers of all the times. Long story short: Dorothy Ruby Slippers... Adrian, Greta Garbo in Anna Karenina...Adrian again. According to my research seems that Kay Carter worked as a designer for MGM when Adrian was the head of the costume department and later under Irene Lentz's lead. The Metro costume department produced over 40 movies per year, many people is needed to do that and, although the designer in chief designed the costumes for the big movies with big stars other designers were needed for all the rest. Irene may had given Kay more and more responsibility. If we go to imdb we can see the movies for which Kay Carter designed costumes, some with Irene others only supervised by her. Among others are Twice Blessed, She Went to the Races with Ava Gardner and Our Wines Have Tender Grapes, all in 1945. No other title at her name is found after 1945 but she presumably kept working for Irene who eventually founded her own company Irene Inc. In fact the last collection of Irene Inc was designed by Kay in 1963, a year after Irene's suicide. But Kay Carter not only did work for Hollywood and Mattel. She had her own fashion label too whose vintage dresses are still preciated and she designed swimsuits for Caltex, a brand specialized in fibers to improve the comfort of swimsuits. Could Enchanted Evening be one of those Hollywoodesque dresses for Barbie designed by Kay Carter? I bet yes. The line of the dress shouted Hollywood all over it from the white fur stole to the line that remember us iconic dresses of the 50s like the Antonio Castillo design Lisa Fonsagrives wears in the Christmas Vogue edition of 1950 or the one in which Grace Kelly took the Oscar in 1955 designed by Edith Head. "Indeed Kay was an expert in drama when it came to doll fashions; with the flick of her wrist, she could literally twirl a piece of tafetta into a beautiful doll-size gown." C. Spencer