Designing Woman Helen Rose
Though Helen Rose may not be a household name like her contemporary Edith Head, she was a costume design legend in her own right.
Lena Horne, Cyd Charisse, Deborah Kerr, Grace Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor, Lauren Bacall , Esther Williams, Lana Turner, Judy Garland – They all loved to be dressed by Helen Rose.
She Made Them Beautiful
Palm Springs Life presented a runway production of the Palm Springs Historical Society’s Helen Rose Collection donated by Barbara Marx (Mrs. Frank Sinatra) on Monday, February 25th.
I was among those who were lucky enough to have a ticket to her glamorous sold-out show. Held behind the gates of the stunning private Thunderbird Country Club in Rancho Mirage, we sipped on champagne and ate a delicious lunch while waiting for her creations from classic films to come to life on the runway.
A brief history – La Vie en Rose:
A resident of Palm Springs, Rose won two Academy Awards for Best Costume Design, for The Bad and the Beautiful in 1952 and for I’ll Cry Tomorrow in 1955. She was nominated a further eight times and was also very well known for designing famous wedding dresses of the era. She designed the famous wedding dress for Grace Kelly when she married Prince Rainier of Monaco in 1956. She also designed clothing for Elizabeth Taylor in the movies Father of the Bride and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof as well as Elizabeth Taylor’s wedding dress when she married Conrad “Nicky” Hilton. The show did not disappoint. Susan Stein, fashion editor for Palm Springs Life Magazine, did a wonderful job as MC for this event. The models were as gorgeous as the gowns and outfits. Simply stunning afternoon.
Rose stepped in to do Lena Horne’s hair on set of the 1943 film Stormy Weather when the studio hairdresser refused to work on a black woman, and the star became her lifelong friend thereafter.
These images are just a sampling of some of my favorites. I met some very interesting women in that room. Some I will see again for sure. In the meantime…
FASHION WEEK
takes place March 16-23rd – held at The Gardens on El Paseo in Palm Desert. Tickets are on sale now https://fashionweekelpaseo.com/
Girl Who Would be KING on Life, Style and INSPIRATION. 