Estate / Collection: The Collection of EJ Gonzalez

EDITH HEAD

Original costume design for the black and white dress worn by Grace Kelly in Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window, 1954. Pencil and gouache sketch on paper. Signed in pencil (lr), with pencil notation "Grace Kelly Rear Window" (ll). The sheet measures 17 x 14 inches (43 x 35.5 cm). Framed. Light creasing mostly around corners from handling, a very short tear to right edge, a small loss at lower left corner, pinholes at upper corners.

An original Edith Head costume design for Alfred Hitchcock's classic 1954 thriller, Rear Window, showing the designer's favorite actress and close friend Grace Kelly in one of her most iconic costumes. Kelly is shown as she first appears in the film in her role as the stylish socialite Lisa Fremont, dressed in an evening dress with black deep V-neck bodice with short sleeves and full white skirt decorated with black lines, here seen holding up a cocktail in her hand. A second view on the sheet shows Kelly from behind, and includes her white chiffon shawl. The pleated skirt pictured here differs slightly from the costume in the film—the black designs emanate from the hem rather than the waistband—possibly indicating an early draft of the costume's design. The dress in the film also has more structured sleeves than shown in the sketch. According to Jay Jorgensen's book Edith Head – The Fifty Year Career of Hollywood’s Greatest Costume Designer, Hitchcock wanted Kelly to look untouchable, like a piece of fine Dresden china. This costume was further memorialized when it was made into the Grace Kelly Rear Window Barbie, released in 2012.

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