"},"parts":[{"template":{"target":{"wt":"Efn","href":"./Template:Efn"},"params":{"1":{"wt":"[[Edith Head]] advocated a return to conservative lines and draping, but Kalloch felt this did not go far enough to achieve the needed economies."}},"i":0}}]}"> [lower-alpha 5] Belts, pleats, and unique fastenings were no longer used. Skirts were fuller, [74] [lower-alpha 6] but generally above the knees. [86] Shoulders were broader and clothes could ripple, but swirling movement was no longer possible due to restrictions on the amount of fabric used. Crocheted hats and knitted scarves were now common (which indicated to the audience that these items were home-made rather than store-bought), and cords were used for draping but not as belts. [74]
Kalloch often was forced to improvise due to restrictions on materials. Because silk prints were not available, Kalloch produced appliqués in large batches and had them applied to plain silk. [89] These proved so popular that Greer Garson, Hedy Lamarr, and Jeanette MacDonald all bought appliqué garments for their private wardrobes. [90] He created what he called "body bandanas" for Lamarr's wardrobe in White Cargo—three sarongs which could be redraped or reversed in order to provide variety. [64] A renewed focus on line helped reduced the need for trim, and he discovered that piping could substitute for a belt. Using these and other innovations, he saved 20 yards (18 m) of fabric, 50 yards (46 m) trim, several pounds of sequins, beads and spangles, and multiple yards of thread on Jeanette MacDonald's wardrobe in Cairo. [88]
Kalloch had been named Adrian's successor at MGM, [74] [54] but by late 1941 it was clear his design work and productivity were not acceptable to the studio. [91] The reasons are unclear, but MGM head Louis B. Mayer may have been unhappy with his designs since Kalloch had no experience with period costumes. Columbia Pictures' Harry Cohn disliked this genre of film, and Kalloch had done no work in the genre prior to joining MGM. [14] Kalloch may also have been suffering from personal problems, as his life-partner Joseph Demarais began to rapidly decline due to severe alcoholism. [54]
In June 1942, at the suggestion of Mayer's wife, Margaret, [91] MGM hired Irene (Irene Lentz) as the studio's chief costume designer. Kalloch was retained as MGM's fashion designer. [80] Kalloch's authority was further eroded when the studio hired Howard Shoup as a fashion designer in late July. [92]
Kalloch left MGM in 1943, although he continued to do freelance work for the studios until his death. His last major films were the 1946 film Suspense and the 1948 picture Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (in which he dressed Myrna Loy again). [15] He created wardrobes and women's fashions for 105 motion pictures. [21]
Kalloch was never nominated for the Academy Award for Best Costume Design, as the category was only introduced in 1948. [93]
Peggy Hamilton often featured his work in her Los Angeles fashion shows in the 1930s, [21] and Kalloch exhibited his film and private fashions at various shows. [94] Film magazines regularly featured his work. [14]
Kalloch's fame as a costume and fashion designer was so great by 1937 that the press began to interview him with some frequency about fashion trends. [95] He criticized "fussy" fashion, [96] favored the swing skirt, supported the use of sheer fabrics for summer wear, [97] offered advice to brides on a budget, [98] and advocated slim lines and the use of suede. [99]
Beginning in 1938 and lasting two years, Kalloch wrote occasional fashion columns for the Los Angeles Times. [100] By 1940, Kalloch was considered one of the nation's top fashion designers [101] and he was a member of the Los Angeles Fashion Group, a nonprofit organization of (largely female) fashion designers. [102]
Throughout his Hollywood career, Kalloch continued to design fashions for the private use of a number of famous women, including Fay Wray, [103] Grace Moore, [104] Mona von Bismarck (wife of industrialist Harrison Williams), [105] Joan Perry, [106] Doris Nolan, [107] Gloria Stuart, [108] Ida Lupino, [109] Loretta Young, [110] and Rosalind Russell. [111] He even designed a "strip tease dress" for Eleanor Powell for her 1942 USO tour. Her black evening dress was composed of several pieces, each of which was removed during the routine to reveal only a brief dance costume at the end. [112]
He also designed a 1937 line of hats for mass production, [113] costumes for Nancy Carroll when she appeared in the play Jealousy in 1935, [114] and (with Walter J. Israel) costumes for the San Francisco Light Opera Company's 1946 production of Jerome Kern's Roberta . [115]
Kalloch had an unusually close relationship with his mother. She lived with her son in his New York City apartment after Kalloch's father died in 1915, and accompanied him to Europe in 1919 and 1920. [12] He and his mother moved into an apartment at 1335 N. Laurel Avenue in Los Angeles in either late 1931 or January 1932. [14] Kalloch and his mother collected antiques all over the world, and filled the apartment with them. [45] Kalloch had found a black stray cat in Central Park in New York [116] and named it Mimosa. [45] In Los Angeles, Kalloch devoted an entire room of his apartment to the cat, covering the walls with chicken wire and growing ivy over it. Cushions were strewn on the floor for the cat's comfort. [116]
Kalloch was homosexual, [7] and since at least 1931 was partnered with Joseph Demarais. [117] Demarais' parents were French Canadian immigrants to the United States, and he grew up very poor in Tiverton, Rhode Island, the youngest of five children. In his teens, he worked in the local textile factory before relocating to New York City to become an artist. [12] By the late 1920s, Demarais was sharing an apartment with other struggling artists. It is unclear when Kalloch and Demarais met, although there is evidence to suggest that they both worked for Madame Frances & Co. Demarais relocated to Los Angeles in February 1932 to be with Kalloch. [14]
In 1939, Kalloch and Demarais jointly purchased a home at 4329 Agnes Avenue in the Studio City neighborhood of Los Angeles for $10,000 ($200,000 in 2023 dollars). [54] The two decorated the house with antiques and paintings. [1] After his move to MGM, Kalloch put Demarais on the studio's payroll as his own secretary at a salary of $950 ($19,679 in 2023 dollars) a year. [118] Demarais, an alcoholic, entered a residential sanatorium for alcoholics for the first time in 1941. His stay was brief, but he returned to the facility numerous times over the next five years. During this period, Kalloch's professional output declined dramatically. [54]
Kalloch wore round wire-frame glasses and was never without his silver cigarette case. [14] He was a good cook, often experimenting in the kitchen. [119] He reportedly suffered from a number of phobias and neuroses, [14] the most famous of which was his fear of automobiles. He refused to own a car of his own, and when forced to ride in a car would cower on the floor of the back seat. [120]
Kalloch had arteriosclerosis, and died of cardiac arrest at about 6:00 AM at his home on October 19, 1947. His lover, Joseph Demarais, died of alcoholic fatty liver disease at 3:15 PM the same day. With Demarais' death coming so soon after Kalloch's, a suspicion of foul play arose. Autopsies on both men confirmed a natural cause of death in both instances. [1] He was interred at Grand View Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California. [121] Travis Banton paid for half of Kalloch's burial and funeral expenses. [54]
Kalloch's will designated Demarais as his heir. Demarais' will, in turn, designated Kalloch as his heir. [1] Demarais inherited Kalloch's $5,000 ($100,000 in 2023 dollars) estate. But because Demarais' will was inoperative, his estate (valued at $20,000 [$300,000 in 2023 dollars]) and Kalloch's went to Demarai's two brothers. [122] Kalloch's uncle and aunt sued to overturn Kalloch's will. [1] [122] The court battle, which was ultimately resolved in favor of the Demarais heirs, lasted four years. [1] Kalloch's relations settled the lawsuit for $750 ($8,605 in 2023 dollars), while Demarais' siblings received the remaining $10,000 ($100,000 in 2023 dollars). [54]
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