Edith Head

OKCMOA website

Edith Head: Hollywood’s Costume Designer
June 22, 2024 - September 29, 2024Organized by OKCMOA, this exciting retrospective of award-winning costume designer Edith Head will feature costumes from the 1930s to the 1960s that were worn by some of Hollywood's biggest stars of the 20th century.
The Oklahoma City Museum of Art announced its 2024 summer exhibition, Edith Head: Hollywood’s Costume Designer which will be on view from June 22, 2024, through September 29, 2024. Organized by OKCMOA and presented by The Ann Lacy Foundation, this exciting retrospective of award-winning costume designer Edith Head (1897-1981) will feature 70 costumes that capture the height of Head’s career and were worn by stars such as Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, Ginger Rogers, Shirley MacLaine, Veronica Lake, Barbara Stanwyck, and Kim Novak.
 
“Edith Head: Hollywood’s Costume Designer has been generating a great deal of buzz behind the scenes as we’ve been working on this original exhibition for the past few years. Some of us recognize her name and associate her with some of our favorite films, such as director Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo and Rear Window, or we know her from the Edna Mode character in Pixar’s The Incredibles,” said OKCMOA President and CEO Michael Anderson, PhD. “We are thrilled to be part of people’s summer plans for next year as they join us for this much-anticipated exhibition.”
 
The exhibition will take up the entirety of the Museum’s third floor, where costumes, sketches, and two screening areas will showcase Head’s life and work. The exhibition will include sections displaying a variety of costume styles, such as formal gowns, musical performance costumes, daywear, and historical costumes. Visitors will also have the opportunity to learn more about her working relationship with Hitchcock, her life outside of her career, and her process.
 
“Head was famous for wearing sunglasses, but most people don’t realize there’s a reason behind the shades,” said Catherine Shotick, guest curator for Edith Head. “Her trademark glasses had custom, blue-tinted lenses, which allowed her to see how the costumes photographed in black and white: a trick used by costume designers during the Golden Age of Hollywood.”
 
With over 400 films to her credit, Head ruled the costume design departments at Paramount and Universal Studios from the early 1920s to the early 1980s. Head helped define the style of classic Hollywood with her striking designs, which earned her 35 Oscar nominations and eight Oscar wins — more than any other woman to date. To complement the exhibition, a related film series will be organized for the Museum’s Noble Theater highlighting Head’s work on the screen. Additional public programming will be announced in the coming months.
 
As with all exhibitions, Museum members receive free entry and early access to Edith Head: Hollywood’s Costume Designer, as well as invitations to exclusive events and discounts on films and programming. For more information, please visit okcmoa.com/membership.

Lloyd Cracknell

Portfolio

Associate Professor - Costume Design
2020 Rothbaum Presidential Professor of Excellence in the Arts
[email protected]
Lloyd Cracknell is originally from Cambridge, England. He is an Associate Professor of Costume Design and the resident Costume Designer at the University of Oklahoma. Lloyd’s career includes both costume and fashion design, and working for prestigious design houses including The Emanuels and Versace. Lloyd’s designs have been seen in London, New York, Paris, Milan, and South America. Lloyd was invited to exhibit his costume designs at the World Creativity Forum in Cardiff, Wales in 2010. In 2020, Lloyd was awarded the USITT-SW Mildred and Glen Martin Jr award for outstanding service. Other awards and nominations include: DFW Theatre critics forum award - best design team for a season (2015 & 2017), Theatre Jones Best - costume design runner up (2015), Kennedy Center American College Theater award (2010), Region VI National Partners in American Theatre KCACTF award (2010).

Dressing Marie

Dressing Marie is an online digital storytelling exhibition created by Chloe Walker for the University of Oklahoma, Digital Humanities Practicum. The exhibition follows Associate Professor of Costume Design at the University of Oklahoma, Lloyd Cracknell, through his process of creation from start to finish. The subject is the spring 2023 production of Marie Antoinette, for which Mr. Cracknell created all new costumes. The exhibition utilizes a variety of media forms to engage the audience with the costume process from multiple angles. The exhibition centerpiece is a 3D model of Marie’s costume from Act 1. Scanning assistance was provided by Kristi Wyatt, Emerging Technologies Librarian, and Dr. Katherine Pandora was the practicum supervising professor.

Dressing Marie

The REd Dress

The artistry is unparalleled Check out the new costume exhibit, “The Red Dress Collection,” on the main floor of Bizzell Memorial Library.
These works of art were designed by Associate Professor of Costume Design Lloyd Cracknell and made by the staff and students of OU School of Drama.
"This art form not only demonstrates a deep collaboration with the director/choreographers and performers on stage or in film, but also with the scenic, lighting and sound artisans. These dedicated people create the world within theatre and film in all its varied genres," says Cracknell, who has been at The University of Oklahoma as the professor of costume design since 2010.
The exhibit is a joint project, co-curated by Senior Exhibits Coordinator James Burnes, Ph.D., of OU Libraries, in celebration of the Weitzenhoffer Family College of Fine Arts centenary year (1924-2024). It includes costumes from the School of Drama, School of Dance, OU School of Musical Theatre, and the OU School of Music for the Opera.
OU Fine Arts OU Dance