Katharine Hepburn, changed American Fashion

24 Jan

Katharine Hepburn, ph. Cecil Beaton
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Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress. Known for her fierce independence and spirited personality, Hepburn was a leading lady in Hollywood for more than 60 years. She appeared in a range of genres, from comedy to literary drama, and she received four Academy Awards for Best Actress—a record for any performer. In 1999, Hepburn was named by the American Film Institute The Number One Female Star of All Time.

Hepburn was unparalleled in her ability to invent and maintain her own star image. She signed with RKO and went to Hollywood in the early 1930s when the Dream Factory was fixated on platinum blondes draped in sequins and feathers. But Hepburn was cut from a different template, and from the moment she stepped onscreen in the 1932 film A Bill of Divorcement, her unique image made her a “movie star.” Her highly-stylized personality and lanky physique signaled a radical departure from such screen sirens as Jean Harlow and Carole Lombard. Instead, Hepburn conveyed the essence of modernism—a woman who looked life straight in the eye.

“I was a success because of the times I lived in. My style of personality became the style.”

Book

Katharine Hepburn: Rebel Chic

The first book to celebrate the irreverent and original style of Katharine Hepburn — icon of stage and screen. Glamorous when she wanted to be and tomboyish when she didn’t, Katharine Hepburn developed her personal style and public image as a style rebel. Whether on stage, on screen, or in private life, Hepburn had a firm grasp on the power of her appearance. Rather than submit to studio image makers, she controlled her image and drew on her own proclivities to create a distinct antifashion persona. This book presents the famously headstrong star in a new light: as a style icon. Through images of Hepburn’s on-screen and off-screen wardrobes and essays by top fashion historians, this book reveals how modern Hepburn’s insouciance and idiosyncratic manner of dressing really was and shows her as an inspirational, self-styled counterpoint to the over-managed looks of celebrities today. Full of never-before-published images of Hepburn’s costumes and personal wardrobe, Katharine Hepburn is a refreshing look at a true fashion original..