Marit Allen (17 September 1941 – 26 November 2007) was an English

fashion Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion in ...

journalist and costume designer who specialized in costumes for

films A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

. She designed the costumes for several successful Hollywood films, including '' Mrs. Doubtfire'', '' The Witches'', '' Eyes Wide Shut'', '' Dirty Rotten Scoundrels'', '' Brokeback Mountain'' and ''

La Vie en Rose "La Vie en rose" (; ) is the signature song of popular French singer Édith Piaf, written in 1945, popularized in 1946, and released as a single in 1947. The song became very popular in the US in 1950, when seven versions reached the ''Billboard ...

''. Her career as a film costume designer lasted over 33 years.

Early life

Marit Allen was born on September 17, 1941 in Cheshire, England, to a Norwegian mother and an English father. She was a pupil at

Adcote School Adcote School is a non-selective independent day and boarding school for girls, located in the village of Little Ness, northwest of Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The school was founded in 1907, and is set in a Grade I listed country house bu ...

, an independent girls' boarding school in Shropshire from 1951 and 1959. She then graduated from the University of Grenoble, in France.

Fashion career

Allen's career in

began in 1961 when she took a job as a

trainee A trainee is commonly known as an individual taking part in a trainee program within an organization after having graduated from higher and technical courses. A trainee is an official employee of the firm that is being trained to the job they wer ...

at Queen Magazine. She quickly became

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

and writer for the 'About 20' young fashion section of the

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

, which she used to showcase young design talent and innovative photography.Foale & Tuffin optical check suit
in the Victoria and Albert Museum collection. In 1964, when the editor of Queen,

Beatrix Miller Beatrix Molineux Miller, CBE (29 June 1923 – 21 February 2014) was a British fashion and cultural magazine editor. She was editor of ''Queen'' from 1958 to 1964, and editor of ''British Vogue'' from 1964 to 1985. Early life Miller was born on ...

, went to edit British Vogue, she took Allen with her. For Vogue, Allen founded the 'Young Idea' pages which continued to champion up-and-coming innovative young designers such as John Bates and Foale and Tuffin.Garments worn by Marit Allen
in the Victoria and Albert Museum Accessed 10/1/2011 Allen's layouts were also original, including a spread based on the Batman comic strip in June 1966.Double D minidress by Foale and Tuffin, worn by Marit Allen
in the Victoria and Albert Museum collection. Accessed 10/1/2011 She occasionally modeled for her own articles, and wore the designs she featured. For her 1966 wedding to the film producer

Sandy Lieberson Sanford "Sandy" Lieberson (born 16 July 1936)"Sanford Lieberson"
IMDb. is an American film producer and ...

, Allen wore an ultra-modern mini-dress and coat trimmed with silver vinyl designed by John Bates.John Bates wedding outfit worn by Marit Allen
/ref> Allen remained at Vogue until 1973. She also helped to establish the bachelor's degree program in journalism at Central St. Martin's Art College in 1973.

Film career

Allen was persuaded to enter the costume designing business for film by director Nicolas Roeg after her successful career in fashion journalism. Following her entry into costume design, Allen worked on the costumes for a number of Roeg's movies including '' Don't Look Now'', '' The Witches'' and '' Eureka''. Allen also developed a working relationship with Taiwanese

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

, Ang Lee. The two collaborated to create the costumes for a number of Ang's major films, including ''

Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk' ...

'', '' Brokeback Mountain'' and '' Ride with the Devil''. Allen's other noted films included ''

La Vie En Rose "La Vie en rose" (; ) is the signature song of popular French singer Édith Piaf, written in 1945, popularized in 1946, and released as a single in 1947. The song became very popular in the US in 1950, when seven versions reached the ''Billboard ...

'' (2007) for which she received her sole Oscar nomination, '' Love in the Time of Cholera'' (2007), '' Dirty Rotten Scoundrels'' (1988), '' Dead Man'' (1995), and ''

Little Shop of Horrors Little Shop of Horrors may refer to: * '' The Little Shop of Horrors'', a 1960 film directed by Roger Corman ** ''Little Shop of Horrors'' (musical), a 1982 musical based on the 1960 film ** ''Little Shop of Horrors'' (film), a 1986 film adaptat ...

'' (1986). In addition to her Academy Award nomination, Allen was also honored for her work with two

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

nominations, as well as a Costume Designers Guild award and a BAFTA for her work on

Death

Marit Allen died of a brain aneurysm in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, Australia on 26 November 2007. She was 66 years old. Allen had three children; Lucy, Ben and Holly. Allen was working with director and

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

George Miller on preproduction costume designs for the never-made film ''Justice League: Mortal'' at the time of her death in 2007.

References

External links

*
The Guardian: Marit Allen, Former fashion editor who designed the costumes for a string of successful moviesThe Telegraph: Marit Allen obituaryThe Times: Marit Allen, Innovative Swinging Sixties fashion journalist who went on to become a highly esteemed costume designer for films Liverpool Daily Post: Marit Allen obituaryLos Angeles Times: Marit Allen: Fashionista designed costumes for top Hollywood films
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Marit 1941 births 2007 deaths Best Costume Design BAFTA Award winners British film designers English costume designers English journalists English magazine editors English people of Norwegian descent Women costume designers Deaths from intracranial aneurysm People educated at Adcote School for Girls British production designers Women magazine editors Women production designers 20th-century English businesspeople Fashion journalists