Marit Allen (17 September 1941 – 26 November 2007) was an English fashion journalist and

costume designer A costume designer is a person who designs costumes for a film, stage production or television show. The role of the costume designer is to create the characters' outfits or costumes and balance the scenes with texture and colour, etc. The costum ...

. In a career spanning over three decades, she is recognized for her prolific work across film and television. She was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

in the category Best Costume Design for the film '' La Vie en Rose'' (2007). Her work appears in such notable films as '' Dirty Rotten Scoundrels'' (1988), '' The Witches'' (1990), '' Mrs. Doubtfire'' (1993), ''

Eyes Wide Shut ''Eyes Wide Shut'' is a 1999 erotic mystery psychological drama film directed, produced, and co-written by Stanley Kubrick. It is based on the 1926 novella '' Dream Story'' () by Arthur Schnitzler, transferring the story's setting from earl ...

'' (1999), and ''

Brokeback Mountain ''Brokeback Mountain'' is a 2005 American neo-Western romantic drama film directed by Ang Lee and produced by Diana Ossana and James Schamus. Adapted from Brokeback Mountain (short story), the 1997 short story by Annie Proulx, the screenplay ...

'' (2005).

Early life

Allen was born on September 17, 1941, in

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

, England, to a Norwegian mother and an English father. She was a pupil at Adcote School, an independent girls' boarding school in Shropshire between 1951 and 1959. She then graduated from the

University of Grenoble The (, ''Grenoble Alps University'', abbr. UGA) is a Grands établissements, ''grand établissement'' in Grenoble, France. Founded in 1339, it is the third largest university in France with about 60,000 students and over 3,000 researchers. Es ...

in France.

Fashion career

Allen's career in fashion began in 1961 when she took a job as a trainee at ''Queen Magazine''. She quickly became editor and writer for the 'About 20' young fashion section of the magazine, which she used to showcase young design talent and innovative photography.Foale & Tuffin optical check suit
in the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

collection. In 1964, when the editor of ''Queen'', Beatrix Miller, went to edit ''British Vogue'', she took Allen with her. For ''Vogue'', Allen founded the 'Young Idea' pages which continued to champion up-and-coming innovative young designers such as John Bates and Foale and Tuffin.Garments worn by Marit Allen
in the

Accessed 10/1/2011 Allen's layouts were also original, including a spread based on the ''Batman'' comic strip in June 1966.Double D minidress by Foale and Tuffin, worn by Marit Allen
in the

collection. Accessed 10/1/2011 She occasionally modeled for her own articles, and wore the designs she featured. For her 1966 wedding to the film producer Sandy Lieberson, Allen wore an ultra-modern mini-dress and coat trimmed with silver vinyl designed by John Bates.John Bates wedding outfit worn by Marit Allen
/ref> Allen remained at ''Vogue'' until 1973. She also helped to establish the bachelor's degree program in journalism at Central St. Martin's Art College in 1973.

Film career

Allen was persuaded to enter the costume-designing business for film by director

Nicolas Roeg Nicolas Jack Roeg ( ; 15 August 1928 – 23 November 2018) was an English film director and cinematographer, best known for directing ''Performance (film), Performance'' (1970), ''Walkabout (film), Walkabout'' (1971), ''Don't Look Now'' (1973) ...

after her successful career in fashion journalism. Following her entry into costume design, Allen worked on the costumes for a number of Roeg's movies, including '' Don't Look Now'', '' The Witches'' and '' Eureka''. Allen also developed a working relationship with Taiwanese film director,

Ang Lee Ang Lee (; born October 23, 1954) is a Taiwanese filmmaker. His films are known for their emotional charge and exploration of repressed, hidden emotions. During his career, he has received international critical and popular acclaim and List o ...

. The two collaborated to create the costumes for a number of Ang's major films, including ''

Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk ...

'', ''

'' and '' Ride with the Devil''. Allen's other noted films included '' La Vie En Rose'' (2007), for which she received her sole

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

nomination, '' Love in the Time of Cholera'' (2007), '' Dirty Rotten Scoundrels'' (1988), ''

Dead Man ''Dead Man'' is a 1995 American acid Western film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch. It stars Johnny Depp, Gary Farmer, Billy Bob Thornton, Iggy Pop, Crispin Glover, John Hurt, Michael Wincott, Lance Henriksen, Gabriel Byrne, Mili A ...

'' (1995), and ''

Little Shop of Horrors Little Shop of Horrors may refer to: * '' The Little Shop of Horrors'', a 1960 American film * ''Little Shop of Horrors'' (musical), a 1982 musical based on the 1960 film * ''Little Shop of Horrors'' (1986 film), a 1986 American film based on th ...

'' (1986). In addition to her Oscar nomination, Allen was honoured for her work with two

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...

nominations, as well as a

Costume Designers Guild The Costume Designers Guild (CDG), is a labor union, union of professional costume designers, assistant designers, and illustrators working in film, television, commercials and other media. Founded in 1953, the CDG comprises over 1,200 members as ...

award and a

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

for her work on La Vie En Rose.

Death

Allen died of a

brain aneurysm An intracranial aneurysm, also known as a cerebral aneurysm, is a cerebrovascular disorder characterized by a localized dilation or ballooning of a blood vessel in the brain due to a weakness in the vessel wall. These aneurysms can occur in an ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, Australia, on 26 November 2007, at the age of 66. She had three children: Lucy, Ben, and Holly. At the time of her death, she worked with Australian filmmaker George Miller on pre-production of his never-made film ''Justice League: Mortal''.

References

External links

*
The Guardian: Marit Allen, Former fashion editor who designed the costumes for a string of successful moviesThe Telegraph: Marit Allen obituaryThe Times: Marit Allen, Innovative Swinging Sixties fashion journalist who went on to become a highly esteemed costume designer for films Liverpool Daily Post: Marit Allen obituaryLos Angeles Times: Marit Allen: Fashionista designed costumes for top Hollywood films
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Marit 1941 births 2007 deaths 20th-century English businesspeople Best Costume Design BAFTA Award winners British women costume designers British women magazine editors English women magazine editors Deaths from intracranial aneurysm English costume designers English magazine editors English people of Norwegian descent English women journalists Fashion journalists People educated at Adcote School for Girls Grenoble Alpes University alumni Writers from Cheshire