Aenne Willkomm (17 June 1902 – 20 June 1979), later Aenne Kettelhut, was a German costume designer, born in
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
. She worked in German
silent films in the 1920s, including as costume designer on ''
Metropolis'' (1927).
Early life
Willkomm was born in Shanghai to European parents in 1902.
Career
Willkomm worked in the fashion industry before she worked with designer Heinrich Umlauff on
Fritz Lang's two-part film epic, ''
Die Nibelungen'' (1924). She became head of
UFA-GmbH's costuming department on the strength of her work on that first assignment.
She went on to work with Lang on ''Metropolis'', for which she designed and oversaw "literally thousands"
of
Bauhaus-inspired "futuristic" costumes, including for the film's main character,
Maria, played by
Brigitte Helm. She often clashed with the demanding Lang on the set of ''Metropolis''.
She worked on a few other films, including ''
My Leopold'' (1924), ''
Sister Veronika
''Sister Veronika'' (german: Schwester Veronika) is a 1927 German Silent film, silent Drama (film and television), drama film directed by Gerhard Lamprecht and starring Aud Egede-Nissen, Paul Richter, and Hilde Maroff. The film's Art director, ar ...
'' (1926), and ''
Der Katzensteg
''The Cats' Bridge'' () is an 1889 novel by the German writer Hermann Sudermann. It was published in English in 1898 as ''Regina, or The Sins of the Fathers'', translated by Beatrice Marshall.
Film adaptations
The novel has been adapted for film m ...
'' (1927, based on the novel by
Hermann Sudermann).
Personal life
Willkomm retired from film and by 1931 married her colleague, production designer
Erich Kettelhut. She died in Hamburg in 1979, aged 77 years.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Willkomm, Aenne
1902 births
1979 deaths
German costume designers