DRESS

JEAN-LOUIS WAS THE DESIGNER FOR MARILYN'S COSTUMES ON HER FINAL AND UNCOMPLETED FILM SOMETHING'S GOT TO GIVE. JEAN-LOUIS GAVE MARILYN A SLEEK AND SOPHISTICATED LOOK THAT WAS AT ONCE CLASSICALLY RESERVED YET ALLURINGLY SEXY. KNOWN FOR THE MAGNIFICENT CABARET GOWNS THAT HE CREATED FOR MARLENE DIETRICH, MARILYN COMMISSIONED A GOWN FOR THE PRESIDENTIAL GALA THAT WOULD EPITOMIZE THE GLAMOUR THAT SHE HAD ESTABLISHED AS A HOLLYWOOD STANDARD. THE METHOD OF USING A TRANSLUCENT FLESH COLORED FABRIC BEADED WITH SPARKLING RHINESTONES WAS THE TECHNIQUE THAT JEAN-LOUIS WOULD USE AS HE HAD DONE FOR DIETRICH. THE DRESS WAS A SIMPLE SHAPE, BUT BACK IN THE DAY BEFORE STRETCH TRANSLUCENT FABRICS, THE CUT OF THE GOWN WAS DESIGNED TO HUG EVERY CURVE IN A MYRIAD OF PANELS. SOME PANELS WERE LAYER SEVERAL TIMES SO AS TO CONCEAL THE NUDE FIGURE. THE FRENCH RHINESTONES, WHICH HAVE A HOLE IN THE MIDDLE TO AVOID THE BULK OF A PRONGED SETTING, WERE THEN CLUSTERED TO ADD FURTHER CONCEALMENT. THE RESULTING GOWN STANDS ALONE AS ONE OF THE MOST DAZZLING COUTURE CREATIONS OF ALL TIME. DECADES LATER IN 1999, THE GOWN WOULD SELL AT AUCTION FOR OVER A MILLION DOLLARS DURING THE SALE OF THE PERSONAL PROPERTY OF MARILYN MONROE AT CHRISTIE'S IN NEW YORK. THE GOWN HAD BY THEN BECOME A NATIONAL TREASURE, NOT ONLY FOR IT'S BEAUTY AND HAVING BEEN WORN BY MARILYN, BUT ALSO FOR THE HISTORICAL EVENT THAT IT RECALLED.

THE DRESS AS IT WAS EXHIBITED IN THE 70'S

THE CHRISTIE'S EXHIBIT DISPLAYED THE GOWN IN AN ILLUMINATED ACRYLIC FORM

UPON MARILYN'S DEMISE IN 1962, THE GOWN, ALONG WITH ALL OF HER PERSONAL PROPERTY, WAS BEQUEATHED TO HER MENTOR AND ACTING COACH, LEE STRASBERG. LATER IN THE 70'S, STRASBERG'S WIDOW, ANA, ALLOWED THE DRESS TO BE EXHIBITED IN A TOURING SHOW OF HOLLYWOOD COSTUMES. ANA STARSBERG IS THE PRESENT OWNER OF MARILYN MONROE'S ESTATE AND BENEFITS FROM ALL ROYALTIES COLLECTED IN THE LICENSING OF MARILYN'S NAME AND IMAGE. A SMALL PERCENTAGE OF THE PROCEEDS OF ALL SALES ARE DONATED TO SEVERAL ORGANIZATIONS SELECTED BY ANA. IN 1999 THE PROPERTY HELD BY THE ESTATE WAS SOLD AT AUCTION DURING AN INTERNATIONALLY TELEVISED EVENT HELD BY CHRISTIE'S. MARILYN'S THINGS WERE SOLD FOR RECORD AMOUNTS. THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE EVENT WAS THE PRESIDENTIAL GALA GOWN. IRONICALLY, MARILYN NEVER KNEW ANA STRASBERG.

CHRISTIE'S EXHIBIT 1999

HAVING COMPLETED THE SCULPTURAL PHASE OF THIS PROJECT, I WAS THEN FACED WITH REPRODUCING THE FAMOUS GOWN. SINCE THE TECHNICAL CHALLENGES OF MAKING THE DRESS SEEMED BEYOND ME, I SOUGHT THE ASSISTANCE OF SEVERAL COSTUMERS. I SETTLED FOR A TEMPORARY GLITTERED GOWN AND TOOK SOME PRELIMINARY TEST PHOTOS UNTIL I COULD RESOLVE THIS MAJOR ELEMENT FOR THE SCULPTURE. THE CREATOR OF THE TEMPORARY GOWN COMMITTED TO RECREATING THE GOWN. SEVERAL MONTHS PASSED AS I AWAITED THE BASE OF THE GOWN TO WHICH I WOULD THEN ADD THE STONES. WHEN THE GOWN FINALLY CAME, I WAS NOT SATISFIED WITH THE RESULTS. IT WAS THEN THAT I BEGAN THE ODYSSEY OF RECREATING THE GOWN MYSELF.

A DETAIL OF THE COMPLETED BASE FOR THE REPLICA GOWN.

REPLICA GOWN

I STUDIED THE CUT OF THE GOWN AND FAITHFULLY RECREATED THE BASE IN A FLESH COLORED TRANSPARENT FABRIC THAT NEARLY MATCHED THE SCULPTURE'S COLORING. THE FABRIC OF MARILYN'S GOWN HAD BEEN DYED TO MATCH THE COLOR OF HER SKIN. USING ARTISTIC LICENSE, I DISPENSED WITH MULTIPLE LAYERS OF FABRIC FOR CONCEALMENT AND CREATED A SHEER SECOND SKIN TO WHICH I ADDED THE GLASS CRYSTAL RHINESTONES. THE RESULTING GOWN SATISFIED MY NEED FOR AN AUTHENTIC LOOKING GOWN.

DETAIL OF THE REPLICA GOWN

Marilyn Monroe crooning “Happy Birthday” to President John F. Kennedy is a classic moment in American collective memory, and at Christie’s auction of her personal affairs, an invitation to the event in Madison Square Garden sold for a cool $115,000 – and then came The Dress into which Marilyn was sewn that night. Sold as the 55th and final lot of the evening's sale, it went under the hammer at a record breaking $1,150,000 to Peter Siegal and Bob Schagrin of Gotta Have It! Collectibles, NYC. There was no official estimate on the dress, although bets had been taken at $1,000,000. After the sale, the new owners said they considered the dress almost a steal. In any case, it holds the record for the highest price ever paid at auction for a single clothing item!