The Costumes of Hollywood: Highlights from The Collection of Motion Picture Costume Design

The Costumes of Hollywood details the design, creation, and influence of over 100 ensembles from some of the most iconic designers, films, and roles in Hollywood history, spanning the 1920s through the early 21st century.

All costumes featured are from The Collection of Motion Picture Costume Design, one of the world’s largest private collections, curated over thirty-five years by leading Hollywood costume historian and archivist, Larry McQueen. The book presents full costumes on display in addition to close-ups, and rarely seen interior details of some garments. Iconic costumes, including many with Academy Award nominations, from Some Like It Hot, Hello Dolly, Cabaret, Rear Window, Ben Hur, Mildred Pierce, Angel, Masters of the Universe, The Piano, The Hunger Games, and so many others are featured. This book gives the audience a rare and heretofore unpublished insight into what collecting, restoring, and reproducing entails, and highlights differences between private collecting and museum-backed collections. The Costumes of Hollywood details the significance of the designer, costume, and wearer via thorough research, interviews, and Larry McQueen’s behind-the-scenes knowledge of collecting and working as an archivist in Hollywood.

Within the entertainment field, this book will be of interest to professional costume designers and technicians in film, theatre, and performance, as well as students of film production, history, and costume design and construction. The Costumes of Hollywood will also enrich and entertain anyone with an interest in costume design in film and collecting.

Coleen Scott is a costume designer and historian with over 25 years of experience in theater, opera, film, and television. Her book The Costumes of Burlesque was published by Routledge in 2019. She is a proud member of IATSE, USA 829, USITT, and is Chair of The Costume Society of America’s Western Region. Coleen is tenured faculty in the Theatre Arts and Fashion Department at Santa Rosa Junior College in California heading the Costume Design, Technology and Makeup programs.

Larry McQueen is a leading Hollywood costume historian and archivist. Mr. McQueen’s private collection of film costumes is one of the finest, and consists of costumes worn in films from 1920 to the present. Portions of his collection have been exhibited in museums across the globe including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, The Fashion Foundation in Tokyo, and The Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Website: www.filmcostumecollection.com