The man who dressed Marilyn

“... A lush-bodied girl in the prime of her physical beauty. In an ivory georgette crepe sundress with a halter top that gathers her breasts up in soft undulating folds of the fabric. She’s standing with bare legs apart on a New York subway grating. Her blonde head is thrown rapturously back as an updraft lifts her full flaring skirt, exposing white cotton panties. White cotton! The ivory crepe sundress is floating and filmy as magic. The dress is magic ... ”

THUS does Joyce Carol Oates describe Marilyn Monroe’s famous subway scene in The Seven Year Itch, when her dress is blown upwards by wind from the subway vent below. The footage of Monroe’s dress billowing seductively over a subway grate has become the definitive picture of Monroe. It has graced a million bedroom walls and been recreated endlessly by starlets and lookalikes, including Barbie.

Last Sunday week (Sept 15) marked the anniversary of the day Marilyn shot the scene, an image that is almost as famous as Monroe herself. The man responsible for the white dress was William Travilla, one of Hollywood’s most celebrated costume designers and a favourite of Monroe’s — he dressed her for eight movies and even enjoyed a brief affair with her. The Seven Year Itch dress is the most famous costume he ever made for Monroe and skilfully showcased her luminous sexuality and beauty despite its apparent simplicity.