“They’re flirty, strong, and very sensual, but in the end, they have the same desire as all young women: to be married,” said Alexis Mabille of the feisty gals played by Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Let’s assume that he was speaking not of today, but of 1953, when the Howard Hawks film declared itself in trailers as, “The most glamorous musical of our age.” This might account for the hot pink number in ruffled organza—considerably more poufy than the one immortalized by Miss Lorelei Lee (aka Monroe).
But rather than riff too much on the film, Mabille wanted to offer suggestions of a wedding dress sans wedding ring. Replacing what would have been white for a crayon box of color was the obvious place to start. Those girls not wearing tiaras were usually adorned with sparkle elsewhere—diadem-shaped sleeves or belt detailing. Veils appeared throughout—when not worn as a headpiece, then cascading as an overdress, shrouding as a caftan, or extending as a train. Conversely, there was little nuance to the corset detailing and negligees, which signaled life postnuptials. The collection in five words or less: beauty pageant, bridal, boudoir.
Mabille, historically, enjoys a healthy amount of role-playing with his collections. Here, though, it’s hard to tell whether the retrograde vibe was earnest or ironic. Of little doubt was his exhaustive workmanship—all those volumes, encrustations, and embellishments—which might make some women consider ordering them as actual wedding dresses. The swirling ribbon embellishment with the tulle of the final dress was an idea worth exploring further. And there was something intriguing about a corseted bodysuit to which he added layers of dramatic black tulle and called it a “bridal cape.”
