Muriel King
Encyclopedia
Muriel King was an American
fashion designer based in New York
. She was one of the first American fashion designers along with Elizabeth Hawes
and Clare Potter
to achieve name recognition. She also designed costumes for several major films in the 1930s and 1940s.
. She studied watercolor painting
and theatre design at the New York School of Fine and Applied Arts. Afterwards, she went to Paris and worked as a fashion illustrator for magazines such as Femina and Vogue
. She opened her salon at East 61st Street, New York, in 1932.
. King kept her designs simple and high quality, believing that dresses should just have one detail. Her method of working was unusual, as she was not a formally trained fashion designer, and did not cut, drape or sew. She created fully finished watercolour sketches showing her designs, which her tailors and sewing staff then interpreted into proper garments.
King signed a licensing partnership with Lord & Taylor
, the first department store to sell her ready-to-wear garments. In 1936, Muriel King was featured alongside Elizabeth Hawes
and Clare Potter
in the second Lord & Taylor "American Look" promotion which championed home-grown American design talent.
King went on to design the personal wardrobe for movie actress Katharine Hepburn
. From 1935 to 1944, she designed costumes for eight major movies, including two of Hepburn's. She was on the short list to design the costumes for Gone with the Wind
, but despite being the author Margaret Mitchell
's favourite, failed to win the job (which went to Walter Plunkett
). She also created film clothes for Rita Hayworth
, Margaret Sullavan
, and Ginger Rogers
.
During the 1940s, in addition to her Hollywood work, King produced ready-to-wear designs for department stores. In 1943, she created a collection of clothes specially for female factory workers at Boeing
and other West Coast aerospace firms, called Flying Fortress Fashions.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
fashion designer based in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. She was one of the first American fashion designers along with Elizabeth Hawes
Elizabeth Hawes
Elizabeth Hawes was an American clothing designer, outspoken critic of the fashion industry, and champion of ready to wear and people's right to have the clothes they desired, rather than the clothes dictated to be fashionable...
and Clare Potter
Clare Potter
Clare Potter was a fashion designer who was born in Jersey City, New Jersey in 1903. In the 1930s she was one of the first American fashion designers to be promoted as an individual design talent. She has been credited as one of the inventors of American sportswear. Based in Manhattan, she...
to achieve name recognition. She also designed costumes for several major films in the 1930s and 1940s.
Early life
Muriel King was born 27 August 1900, in Bayview, WashingtonBayview, Washington
Bayview is an unincorporated community centered at the intersection of State Route 525 and Bayview Road on Whidbey Island in Island County, Washington, United States....
. She studied watercolor painting
Watercolor painting
Watercolor or watercolour , also aquarelle from French, is a painting method. A watercolor is the medium or the resulting artwork in which the paints are made of pigments suspended in a water-soluble vehicle...
and theatre design at the New York School of Fine and Applied Arts. Afterwards, she went to Paris and worked as a fashion illustrator for magazines such as Femina and Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
. She opened her salon at East 61st Street, New York, in 1932.
Fashion design
King specialised in good-quality separates and day-into-evening looks, which proved versatile and good value during the Great DepressionGreat Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. King kept her designs simple and high quality, believing that dresses should just have one detail. Her method of working was unusual, as she was not a formally trained fashion designer, and did not cut, drape or sew. She created fully finished watercolour sketches showing her designs, which her tailors and sewing staff then interpreted into proper garments.
King signed a licensing partnership with Lord & Taylor
Lord & Taylor
Lord & Taylor, colloquially known as L&T, or LT, based in New York City, is the oldest upscale, specialty-retail department store chain in the United States. Concentrated in the eastern U.S., the retailer operated independently for nearly a century prior to joining American Dry Goods...
, the first department store to sell her ready-to-wear garments. In 1936, Muriel King was featured alongside Elizabeth Hawes
Elizabeth Hawes
Elizabeth Hawes was an American clothing designer, outspoken critic of the fashion industry, and champion of ready to wear and people's right to have the clothes they desired, rather than the clothes dictated to be fashionable...
and Clare Potter
Clare Potter
Clare Potter was a fashion designer who was born in Jersey City, New Jersey in 1903. In the 1930s she was one of the first American fashion designers to be promoted as an individual design talent. She has been credited as one of the inventors of American sportswear. Based in Manhattan, she...
in the second Lord & Taylor "American Look" promotion which championed home-grown American design talent.
King went on to design the personal wardrobe for movie actress Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress of film, stage, and television. In a career that spanned 62 years as a leading lady, she was best known for playing strong-willed, sophisticated women in both dramas and comedies...
. From 1935 to 1944, she designed costumes for eight major movies, including two of Hepburn's. She was on the short list to design the costumes for Gone with the Wind
Gone with the Wind (film)
Gone with the Wind is a 1939 American historical epic film adapted from Margaret Mitchell's Pulitzer-winning 1936 novel of the same name. It was produced by David O. Selznick and directed by Victor Fleming from a screenplay by Sidney Howard...
, but despite being the author Margaret Mitchell
Margaret Mitchell
Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell was an American author and journalist. Mitchell won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1937 for her epic American Civil War era novel, Gone with the Wind, which was the only novel by Mitchell published during her lifetime.-Family:Margaret Mitchell was born in Atlanta,...
's favourite, failed to win the job (which went to Walter Plunkett
Walter Plunkett
Walter Plunkett was a prolific costume designer who worked on more than 150 projects throughout his career in the Hollywood film industry....
). She also created film clothes for Rita Hayworth
Rita Hayworth
Rita Hayworth was an American film actress and dancer who attained fame during the 1940s as one of the era's top stars...
, Margaret Sullavan
Margaret Sullavan
Margaret Brooke Sullavan was an American stage and film actress. Sullavan started her career on the stage in 1929. In 1933 she caught the attention of movie director John M. Stahl and had her debut on the screen that same year in Only Yesterday...
, and Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers was an American actress, dancer, and singer who appeared in film, and on stage, radio, and television throughout much of the 20th century....
.
During the 1940s, in addition to her Hollywood work, King produced ready-to-wear designs for department stores. In 1943, she created a collection of clothes specially for female factory workers at Boeing
Boeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
and other West Coast aerospace firms, called Flying Fortress Fashions.
Exhibitions
- Muriel King: Artist of Fashion at the Fashion Institute of TechnologyFashion Institute of TechnologyThe Fashion Institute of Technology, generally known as FIT, is a State University of New York college of art, business, design, and technology connected to the fashion industry, with an urban campus located on West 27th Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues in the Chelsea neighborhood of...
, 10 March - 4 April 2009.
Film wardrobe
Muriel King worked on wardrobe for the following films:- Sylvia ScarlettSylvia ScarlettSylvia Scarlett is a 1935 romantic comedy film starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant, based on The Early Life and Adventures of Sylvia Scarlett, a novel by Compton MacKenzie. Directed by George Cukor, it was notorious as one of the most famous unsuccessful movies of the 1930s...
(1935, Katharine Hepburn's clothes.) - Stage DoorStage DoorStage Door is a RKO film, adapted from the play by the same name, that tells the story of several would-be actresses who live together in a boarding house at 158 West 58th Street in New York City. The film stars Ginger Rogers, Katharine Hepburn, Adolphe Menjou, Gail Patrick, Constance Collier,...
(1937, gowns) - Manhattan Merry-Go-RoundManhattan Merry-Go-RoundManhattan Merry-Go-Round was a NBC musical variety radio program of the 1930s. Described as a "musical revue," it was produced by Frank and Anne Hummert. Sponsored by Dr...
, (1937, Tamara GevaTamara GevaTamara Geva was a Russian actress, ballet dancer and choreographer. She was the first wife of dancer/choreographer George Balanchine.-Biography:...
's gowns) - Appointment for Love (1941, Margaret Sullavan's gowns)
- Back StreetBack Street (1941 film)Back Street is a 1941 drama film made by Universal Pictures, directed by Robert Stevenson. The film stars Charles Boyer and Margaret Sullavan. It is a remake of the 1932 film of the same name, also from Universal. The film follows the 1931 Fannie Hurst novel and the 1932 film version very closely,...
(1941, Margaret Sullavan's gowns) - The Woman in the WindowThe Woman in the WindowThe Woman in the Window is a film noir directed by Fritz Lang that tells the story of psychology professor Richard Wanley who meets and becomes enamored with a young femme fatale....
(1944) - Casanova BrownCasanova BrownCasanova Brown is a 1944 American romantic comedy film directed by Sam Wood, and starring Gary Cooper, Teresa Wright, and Frank Morgan. Written by Thomas Mitchell , Floyd Dell, and Nunnally Johnson, the film was nominated for three Academy Awards: for Best Score , Best Sound, Recording Casanova...
(1944) - Christmas HolidayChristmas HolidayChristmas Holiday is a 1944 American drama film directed by Robert Siodmak. The black-and-white film noir is loosely based on a novel by W. Somerset Maugham. Producer Felix Jackson chose this project as a dramatic vehicle for Deanna Durbin. The screenplay was adapted by Herman J. Mankiewicz, who...
(1944) - Cover Girl (1944, gowns)