Andrew Hansford, author of Dressing Marilyn: How a Hollywood Icon Was Styled by William Travilla, is interviewed in the latest issue of Corduroy magazine:
“How much of a say did Marilyn have in designing the clothes?
None. A lot of celebrities did, but Marilyn trusted him implicitly. He would ask her what she thought and she would say, “It doesn’t matter.” Marilyn did, however, have one rule: she would not wear a full skirt. The one exception she made was with her dress in The Seven Year Itch, and she was okay with that because it ended up over her head!How did Travilla like to dress his clients?
Just look at Marilyn, there’s not a single photo of her showing cleavage. Travilla knew how to dress her provocatively and sexy, and still show nothing! Pleating was his big thing. He also loved working with chiffon, velvet and silk; he never used unnatural fiber.”
