Biography and style of actress Marlene Dietrich

Marlene Dietrich was both a nightmare and a holiday, - recalled her tailors and stylists.

What elegance? To answer this question, it is enough to remember about her, about this irresistible lady of fashion. Yes, yes, it is the mistress. Her desire to dictate fashion did not take into account time and other people's achievements. She loved to challenge, adored a strict style, which she softened with furs. In 1931, the burgomaster of Paris demanded that Marlene Dietrich leave the city immediately, as she dared to appear on the street in a man's suit. Dietrich, with her passion for men's suits, became a model for many women who did not want to be prescribed anything - both in clothes and in how they should live and love.

Her costumes in the movies were often fetish in nature, ranging from tailcoat and top hat to feather boa and veil. And in subsequent years, performing as a singer on the stage, Marlene Dietrichby packing her body in a pallet case, she demonstrated her inimitable gift of charm.

Having starred in 52 films, she has never won an Oscar. When she was asked to present the golden statuette, she asked the tailors who would be dressed in what, and struck everyone outright. Among the fashionable frills and muslin she appeared in a tightly fitted dress, like an arrowhead. She thought of everything - where to get out, what gait to go, what incision to make so that her famous legs looked in the most favorable perspective. Result: she became the epitome of Oscar without having one!

Even in her youth, she amazed everyone with exquisite stockings and gorgeous high-heeled shoes, which were not so easy to get in the Berlin of the twenties. She wore only handmade shoes and never wore sandals: open toes are vulgar, Marlene thought so.

Even then, at seven in the morning, she could appear in a boa, with a monocle and in the furs of a red fox.

- What does it mean to you to be "elegant"?

- "Elegance" is a somewhat worn out word. First of all, it is a way of life. If a person answers this understanding, and besides, he knows how to wear clothes, then everything is all right with him.

She had a philosophical concept of beauty - “I have never considered beauty as my profession, unlike many other actresses. You had to be beautiful to play the roles that I was offered, and I was like that ... Beauty comes from within ... "

She was one of the great actresses for whom Travis Banton's models became a kind of calling card. Marlene Dietrich he dressed from head to toe in lace, beautiful feathers and luxurious furs. Marlene's body, like her accent, had to remain a mystery.

Dresses from Balensjaga were perfect for large outings - short capes, giant flounces, trains and draperies created a frame for the hostess. All the women whose names were on the list of women who dress best every year that appeared then became his clients - Mona von Bismarck, Barbara Houghton, Gloria Guinness, Pauline de Rothschild, Duchess of Windsor, and actresses such as Marlene Dietrich and Ingrid Bergman.

Who do you consider to be great masters?

- Balenciaga, Chanel, Diora.

- And who do you personally like more?

- Balenciaga, without a doubt. One fitting for him is worth five for any other. He is an extraordinary cutter. You know, there is something desperate in all of Balenciaga's great creations. Very Spanish.

Her fittings lasted eight to ten hours, during which she stood motionless, only changing cigarettes in the mouthpiece, and abruptly ordered where to move the glitter. In the end, she once again scrutinized the work of several seamstresses, wrapped her dress in tissue paper and swept away for a new portion of fame.

Marlene knew the power of detail and, even if she grumbled about shoes that were not visible in the frame, she was not lazy to come up with their styles and try on for hours.Gloves for Marlene were made from a cast of hands, and shoes were made only by individual measurements. Marlene could go through a hundred veils so that the light fell perfectly on her cheeks and nose.

And her crazy "naked dress" by Jean Louis! The glitter seemed to be sewn directly onto the skin! In fact, there were three dresses - and Marlene skillfully presented them, inventing a fan on the ramp, which made the thin fabric flutter, the long stairs, along the steps of which she walked, casually dragging luxurious furs. One of the dresses, iridescent, made of black glass beads, she aptly dubbed "eel." The dress was accompanied by a fur coat and a three-meter train, on which the fluff of two thousand swans was used. Marlene's luggage could be forty-four suitcases plus one small box. Are these your jewelry? the reporters asked. - This is my stage costume! Marlene treasured it because the Jean Louis dress worked for the legend.

“I know you have no money,” Marlene once said to her friend. “But, you see, money has nothing to do with good taste.

Elegance - this is a part of you, it comes from within - this is the answer to the above question.

- What do you think about today's fashion?

- A nightmare, just a nightmare! Nobody dresses women now. They are disguised. This is symptomatic of our era. Everything is so shabby.

- So there is no Haute Couture left?

- There are a few old school couturiers who continue to profess a certain idea, which they copy over and over again ad infinitum. There is nothing at the moment. But everything will be back soon.

- Why do you think so?

- Because it is simply necessary! You can't live around yourself with ugly things!

- It's amazing what you say.

- But I am an amazing lady! Don't forget this!