Jean Louis (born Jean Louis Berthault; October 5, 1907 – April 20, 1997) was a French-American costume designer. He won an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for '' The Solid Gold Cadillac'' (1956).

Life and career

Before coming to Hollywood, he worked in New York for fashion entrepreneur Hattie Carnegie, where the clientele included Joan Cohn, the wife of

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

studio chief

Harry Cohn Harry Cohn (July 23, 1891 – February 27, 1958) was a co-founder, president, and production director of Columbia Pictures Corporation. Life and career Cohn was born to a working-class Jewish family in New York City. His father, Joseph Cohn, w ...

. He worked as head designer for

from 1944 to 1960. His most famous works include

Rita Hayworth Rita Hayworth (born Margarita Carmen Cansino; October 17, 1918May 14, 1987) was an American actress, dancer and producer. She achieved fame during the 1940s as one of the era's top stars, appearing in 61 films over 37 years. The press coined th ...

's black satin strapless dress from '' Gilda'' (1946),

Marlene Dietrich Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...

's celebrated beaded souffle stagewear for her

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dinin ...

world tours, as well as the sheer, sparkling gown that

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...

wore when she sang "

Happy Birthday, Mr. President "Happy Birthday, Mr. President" is a song sung by actress and singer Marilyn Monroe on May 19, 1962, for President John F. Kennedy at a gala held at Madison Square Garden for his 45th birthday, 10 days before the actual date (May 29). The eve ...

" to John F. Kennedy in 1962. The dress was so tight that he is believed to have actually sewn it while Monroe was wearing it. The idea of a dress being a nude color, with crystals coating it, stunned audiences. It gave the illusion that Monroe was nude, except for discretely placed rhinestones covering her head to toe. Louis had originally designed a version of the dress for

, who wore it in her concert shows. An impressed Monroe asked Dietrich about it, who told her how the dress's illusion worked, and sent her to Louis to design a similar dress for her Kennedy appearance. While Dietrich had been seen wearing her version before Monroe, the press coverage surrounding Monroe's appearance at Madison Square Garden in her style of gown swept the globe. This robe became—besides the white one from "The Seven Year Itch"—Marilyn Monroe's most famous robe, selling at auction in 2016 for 4.8 million dollars. In 1993, four years after the death of his second wife, Louis married former client Loretta Young; they remained married until his death in 1997. He had designed Young's wardrobe for her TV program '' The Loretta Young Show'' (1953–61), an anthology show noted for Young's show-opening and closing scenes that had viewers tuning in especially to view her high-fashion outfit for that week. Young was known as the best-dressed actress in America at that time. For over forty years, Louis designed clothes for almost every star in Hollywood. Around sixty of his designs appeared in movies, and he was eventually nominated for 13 Academy Awards. Some of his clients included Ginger Rogers, Irene Dunne, Lana Turner,

Vivien Leigh Vivien Leigh ( ; 5 November 1913 – 8 July 1967; born Vivian Mary Hartley), styled as Lady Olivier after 1947, was a British actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress twice, for her definitive performances as Scarlett O'Hara in '' Go ...

Joan Crawford Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, ncertain year from 1904 to 1908was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion pict ...

Julie Andrews Dame Julie Andrews (born Julia Elizabeth Wells; 1 October 1935) is an English actress, singer, and author. She has garnered numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy F ...

Katharine Hepburn Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress in film, stage, and television. Her career as a Hollywood leading lady spanned over 60 years. She was known for her headstrong independence, spirited perso ...

, and

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...

. Some of his film credits included, '' A Star Is Born'', ''

Ship of Fools The ship of fools is an allegory, originating from Book VI of Plato's ''Republic'', about a ship with a dysfunctional crew. The allegory is intended to represent the problems of governance prevailing in a political system not based on expert kn ...

'', '' From Here to Eternity'', ''

Thoroughly Modern Millie ''Thoroughly Modern Millie'' is a 1967 American musical- romantic comedy film directed by George Roy Hill and starring Julie Andrews. The screenplay, by Richard Morris based on the 1956 British musical ''Chrysanthemum'', follows a naïve yo ...

'', and he won an Oscar for his designs in '' The Solid Gold Cadillac'' in 1956. In 1937, a year after Louis immigrated to the United States, he designed the

Carnegie suit Carnegie may refer to: People *Carnegie (surname), including a list of people with the name *Clan Carnegie, a lowland Scottish clan Institutions Named for Andrew Carnegie * Carnegie Building (Troy, New York), on the campus of Rensselaer Polyte ...

, a suit that became an icon in the fashion world. The Carnegie suit was one of the first fashions to become very well-liked as an American name design, and its fitted blazer and long pencil skirt was worn by several actresses and society women at the time. The

Duchess of Windsor Wallis, Duchess of Windsor (born Bessie Wallis Warfield, later Simpson; June 19, 1896 – April 24, 1986), was an American socialite and wife of the former King Edward VIII. Their intention to marry and her status as a divorcée caused a ...

became one of his most famous clients, as well as the First Lady

Nancy Reagan Nancy Davis Reagan (; born Anne Frances Robbins; July 6, 1921 – March 6, 2016) was an American film actress and First Lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989. She was the second wife of president Ronald Reagan. Reagan was born in Ne ...

in the 1980s.

Academy Award nominations

* 1950 – Film: '' Born Yesterday'' * 1952 – Film: ''

Affair in Trinidad ''Affair in Trinidad'' is a 1952 American film noir directed by Vincent Sherman and starring Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford. It was produced by Hayworth's Beckworth Corporation and released by Columbia Pictures. It is notable as Hayworth's "comebac ...

'' * 1953 – Film: '' From Here to Eternity'' * 1954 – Film: ''

It Should Happen to You ''It Should Happen to You'' is a 1954 American romantic comedy film starring Judy Holliday, Peter Lawford and Jack Lemmon; it was Lemmon's first major film appearance. The film was directed by George Cukor, and partly filmed on location in New Y ...

'' * 1954 – Film: '' A Star Is Born'' * 1955 – Film: ''

Queen Bee A queen bee is typically an adult, mated female ( gyne) that lives in a colony or hive of honey bees. With fully developed reproductive organs, the queen is usually the mother of most, if not all, of the bees in the beehive. Queens are developed ...

'' * 1956 – Film: '' The Solid Gold Cadillac''; Won * 1957 – Film: '' Pal Joey'' * 1958 – Film: '' Bell, Book and Candle'' * 1961 – Film: ''

Judgment at Nuremberg ''Judgment at Nuremberg'' is a 1961 American epic courtroom drama film directed and produced by Stanley Kramer, written by Abby Mann and starring Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark, Maximilian Schell, Werner Klemperer, Marlene D ...

'' * 1961 – Film: '' Back Street'' * 1965 – Film: ''

'' * 1966 – Film: '' Gambit'' * 1967 – Film: ''

Actresses designed for

Marlene Dietrich on the set of The Montecarlo Story (1956)

in ''

Tonight and Every Night ''Tonight and Every Night'' is a 1945 American musical film directed by Victor Saville and starring Rita Hayworth, Lee Bowman and Janet Blair. The film portrays wartime romance and tragedy in a London musical show, loosely modelled on the Windmi ...

'', 1945, '' Gilda'', 1946, ''Down To Earth'', 1947, ''The Lady from Shanghai'', 1948, ''The Loves of Carmen'', 1948, ''

'', 1952, ''

Miss Sadie Thompson ''Miss Sadie Thompson'' is a 1953 3-D American musical romantic drama film directed by Curtis Bernhardt and starring Rita Hayworth, José Ferrer, and Aldo Ray. The film was released by Columbia Pictures. The film is based on W. Somerset Maugha ...

'' and ''

Salome Salome (; he, שְלוֹמִית, Shlomit, related to , "peace"; el, Σαλώμη), also known as Salome III, was a Jewish princess, the daughter of Herod II, son of Herod the Great, and princess Herodias, granddaughter of Herod the Great, a ...

'', 1953 * Irene Dunne in '' Together Again'', 1944 * Claudette Colbert in ''

Tomorrow is Forever ''Tomorrow Is Forever'' is a 1946 black-and-white romance film directed by Irving Pichel, and starring Claudette Colbert, Orson Welles and George Brent. It was also the film debut of Richard Long and Natalie Wood. It was distributed by RKO ...

'' 1946 * Judy Holliday in '' Born Yesterday'', 1950 and '' The Solid Gold Cadillac'', 1956 *

Lucille Ball Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedienne and producer. She was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning five times, and was the recipient of several other accolades, such as the Gold ...

in ''The Magic Carpet'', 1951 * Gloria Grahame in '' The Big Heat'', 1953 *

Deborah Kerr Deborah Jane Trimmer CBE (30 September 192116 October 2007), known professionally as Deborah Kerr (), was a British actress. She was nominated six times for the Academy Award for Best Actress. During her international film career, Kerr won a ...

in '' From Here to Eternity'', 1953 *

in '' A Star is Born'', 1954 *

in ''

'', 1955 *

Betty Grable Elizabeth Ruth Grable (December 18, 1916 – July 2, 1973) was an American actress, pin-up girl, dancer, model, and singer. Her 42 films during the 1930s and 1940s grossed more than $100 million; for 10 consecutive years (1942–1951) she reign ...

in '' Three for the Show'', 1955 *

Kim Novak Marilyn Pauline "Kim" Novak (born February 13, 1933) is an American retired film and television actress and painter. Novak began her career in 1954 after signing with Columbia Pictures and quickly became one of Hollywood's top box office stars, ...

in ''

Picnic A picnic is a meal taken outdoors ( ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event such as preceding ...

'', 1955, and '' Bell, Book, and Candle'', 1958 *

and

in '' Pal Joey'', 1957 * Lana Turner in '' Imitation of Life'', 1959 *

Doris Day Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress, singer, and activist. She began her career as a big band singer in 1939, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, " Sent ...

in '' Pillow Talk'' (1959), ''The Thrill of It All'' (1962), ''

Send Me No Flowers ''Send Me No Flowers'' is a 1964 American romantic comedy film directed by Norman Jewison from a screenplay by Julius Epstein, based on the play of the same name by Norman Barasch and Carroll Moore, which had a brief run on Broadway in 1960. ...

'' (1964) and ''Ballad of Josie'' (1968) * Loretta Young for ''The Loretta Young Show'', Television series, 1953-1961 *

in '' The Monte Carlo Story'', 1956, and ''

'', 1961 *

Susan Hayward Susan Hayward (born Edythe Marrenner; June 30, 1917 – March 14, 1975) was an American film actress, best known for her film portrayals of women that were based on true stories. After working as a fashion model for the Walter Thornton Model A ...

in '' Back Street'', 1961 *

in '' The Misfits'', 1961, and '' Something's Got to Give'' (unfinished), 1962 *

in ''

'', 1965 *

Shirley MacLaine Shirley MacLaine (born Shirley MacLean Beaty, April 24, 1934) is an American actress, author, and former dancer. Known for her portrayals of quirky, strong-willed and eccentric women, MacLaine has received numerous accolades over her seven-dec ...

in '' Gambit'', 1966 *

Mary Tyler Moore Mary Tyler Moore (December 29, 1936 – January 25, 2017) was an American actress, producer, and social advocate. She is best known for her roles on '' The Dick Van Dyke Show'' (1961–1966) and '' The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (1970–1977), whi ...

, and Carol Channing in ''

'', 1967 * Eva Gabor for ''

Green Acres ''Green Acres'' is an American television sitcom starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor as a couple who move from New York City to a country farm. Produced by Filmways as a sister show to '' Petticoat Junction'', the series was first broadc ...

'' Television series, 1965-1967 *

Barbara Bel Geddes Barbara Bel Geddes (October 31, 1922 – August 8, 2005) was an American stage and screen actress, artist, and children's author whose career spanned almost five decades. She was best known for her starring role as Miss Ellie Ewing in the te ...

for ''

Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

'' Television series, 1978-1984 and 1985-1990

References

*Hollywood Costume Design/ David Chierchetti, author *In A Glamorous Fashion: The Fabulous Years Of Hollywood Costume Design/ W.Robert Lavine, author

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Louis, John 1907 births 1997 deaths French costume designers American costume designers Best Costume Design Academy Award winners French emigrants to the United States