Love Among the Millionaires
Costume
ca. 1930 (made)
ca. 1930 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This dress was reputedly worn by Clara Bow in an unidentified film. Bow was one of the most popular performers of the silent era and one of the few to make the transition to sound films in 1927. Bow was the original ‘It’ girl, nicknamed after her appearance in the film It (1927) brought her global fame. In 1927, Cosmopolitan published a serial in which writer Elinor Glyn described 'It' as ‘a quality possessed by some which draws all others with its magnetic force’. The term ‘The It Girl’ has since entered the cultural lexicon.
The British Film Institute (BFI) acquired its costume collection for display at the Museum of the Moving Image, which existed on the South Bank in London between 1988 and 1999. The collection is made up of British, European, American and Japanese films and covers the period from the silent film era to the mid-1990s. It contains a wealth of historic and significant film costumes worn by major performers and designed by some of the 20th century’s most important film costume designers. The collection was transferred to the V&A in 2015.
The British Film Institute (BFI) acquired its costume collection for display at the Museum of the Moving Image, which existed on the South Bank in London between 1988 and 1999. The collection is made up of British, European, American and Japanese films and covers the period from the silent film era to the mid-1990s. It contains a wealth of historic and significant film costumes worn by major performers and designed by some of the 20th century’s most important film costume designers. The collection was transferred to the V&A in 2015.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Love Among the Millionaires (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Stitching, beading |
| Brief description | Costume worn by Clara Bow in Love Among the Millionaires, designed by Travis Banton, 1930 |
| Physical description | Short pale gold dress with a bow on the front and decorated with silver beads. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Credit line | Given by the British Film Institute |
| Summary | This dress was reputedly worn by Clara Bow in an unidentified film. Bow was one of the most popular performers of the silent era and one of the few to make the transition to sound films in 1927. Bow was the original ‘It’ girl, nicknamed after her appearance in the film It (1927) brought her global fame. In 1927, Cosmopolitan published a serial in which writer Elinor Glyn described 'It' as ‘a quality possessed by some which draws all others with its magnetic force’. The term ‘The It Girl’ has since entered the cultural lexicon. The British Film Institute (BFI) acquired its costume collection for display at the Museum of the Moving Image, which existed on the South Bank in London between 1988 and 1999. The collection is made up of British, European, American and Japanese films and covers the period from the silent film era to the mid-1990s. It contains a wealth of historic and significant film costumes worn by major performers and designed by some of the 20th century’s most important film costume designers. The collection was transferred to the V&A in 2015. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.1651-2015 |
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| Record created | May 29, 2015 |
| Record URL |
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