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There have been numerous books about Hollywood costume design that encompasses the silent era, but there is no account of this activity for British silent film. As a result one could assume that this area of film production was neglected or of a poor standard: this is in fact untrue. The problem stems from the fact that largely British producers paid little attention to exploitation and rarely publicised the glamour aspect of their movies unlike America where the importance of its female audience was recognised and the fashions of the stars was given major prominance.
However, despite this problem of visibility, it has been possible through diligent research to create a picture of the role of costume design in British silent film which appears to have followed an almost parallel evolutionary course to that of Hollywood. In the early days actresses dressed themselves and then gradually experienced technicians created wardrobes for them. The difference between America and the UK was that, despite bold early attempts, costume designers in the UK did not become an essential and permanent ingredient in the film production mix of a given studio until the 1930s and individually they never gained the star status of their American cousins. Instead, since London was bursting with creative talent, film producers and leading actresses utilised the services of various couture and costume houses and individual designers who had already made their names on the London stage. The younger breed of film makers such as Cutts, Balcon, Elvey and Wilcox tended to be more positive about the importance of art direction and costume, whilst the older, more established firms such as Pearson, Samuelson, Hepworth, Ideal and Stoll were left behind by the growing emphasis on improving production qualities.
In this first ever investigation of the role of costume design in British silent film I investigate the differences between America and the UK, assess the importance of publicity, examine those actresses that dressed themselves and valued the importance of costume (such as Violet Hobson, Josephine Earle, Valia, Leah Douglas, Fay Compton, Gladys Cooper and Jose Collins), discuss the major couture and costume houses used (Lucile, Mde Merci, Maxon, Marie Blanche, Clarkson) the importance of art directors (Willie Davies & EP Kinsella), actual costume designers (Henry Ducay, Herbert Norris, Paula Blackton, Doris Zinkeisen, Jean Gabriel Domergue, Dolly Tree, Gordon Conway), the first studios who attached a designer (Alliance/ Gladys Jackson and Marcelle de St Martin/Famous Players Lasky) and pose questions about other films that were well dressed but the originator a mystery.
The importance of costume in film making and its development as an art in British film provides an interesting vehicle to view the development of British Film itself and highlight those films where high production values were followed.
