Paris exhibition celebrates mythical Marlene
Kunang Helmi-Picard, Contributor, Paris
A cascade of white feathers from 200 swans smother a fine silk coat in which Marlene Dietrich was famously wrapped while performing at Las Vegas in 1957.
Other pieces, all to die for and to dream about, include a long sheath of spectacular Mexican fighting cock feathers, gleaming black with tinges of metallic green, created by Hollywood designer Jean Louis. The leopard coat Marlene wore in Blue Angel and the masculine suits that raised a scandal in the 1930s also stand on display, as does the pale pink negligee from Martin Roumagnac, topped by a tiny black lace bolero with pink and black ostrich feathers on the cuffs.
It was only when she was 11 years old that the future movie goddess invented her signature name, shortening Marie Magdalene to become Marlene. Having created her own image, Dietrich was to continue constructing the myth of her persona all her life, for which her wardrobe was the essence.
Marlene Dietrich, Creation of a Myth, an exhibition curated by Catherine Join-Dieterle at the Galliera Museum, draws upon the vast collection that belonged to Dietrich's only daughter, Maria. In 1993, the Film Museum of Berlin acquired it for US$5 million.
Born German, Dietrich settled in Paris before the war, where she spent the end of her days in her private apartment. During World War II, she became an American citizen, living in Hollywood and entertaining Allied Troops, blessing them with the mere presence of one of the greatest film icons of all time.
The sound of her unforgettable voice singing Lili Marlene or Falling In Love Again accompanies visitors bedazzled by the costumes kept in impeccable order. Decisive about what to wear and issuing directives -- even to famous designers like Pacquin, Christian Dior, Balenciaga and Chanel -- Dietrich created her own personal style.
Maria, Dietrich and Rudiger Sieber's daughter, born in 1923, said of her famous mother: "Marlene Dietrich hated fashion, but adored style!"
The 250 gowns and accessories, including shoes and hats, are eloquent testimony to the importance of glamor in her life. This was the woman who, in 1936, traveled to London from Paris together with 21 cabin trunks, 35 large suitcases, 18 medium- sized suitcases, nine small suitcases and 15 cartons, not forgetting her chauffeur in his imposing livery.
The exhibition features only one of her trunks, a suitcase name tag and a photograph of her with a small vanity case in front of the Eiffel Tower. Also on display is her mascot, an African doll, her most faithful companion since filming Blue Angel and Morocco in 1930.
Other souvenirs from her life that speak volumes are the Medal of Freedom America she was awarded and the French Legion d'Honneur. Pieces of jewelry, monogrammed cigarette lighters and boxes are on show, including a Paul Flato gilded brooch of her famous legs, one crossed over the other in a plaster cast. The brooch was a present from the cast of The Lady is Willing of 1942, when she broke a leg while filming.
Most moving are samples of her correspondence with friends and lovers.
Poet and artist Jean Cocteau wrote on the first day of Spring in 1955: "Marlene tres cherie -- Here I am, immortal, I shall die soon -- and I would like to embrace you before dying. While waiting for this sweet moment -- I listen and re-listen to your record -- I literally know it by heart. Jean."
There is also a poignant black-and-white 1944 photo taken by Hyman Fink in a restaurant where a demure, obviously smitten Dietrich, without a trace of the cool femme fatale, sits beside Jean Gabin, the great love of her life.
Aside from other family shots or portraits, one by Milton Greene stands out: Only her endlessly long legs can be seen, and a curtain of blond hair hiding her face.
A choice of legendary film stills are scattered throughout the exhibition. These include one of the young actress in a Wolff von Gudenberg studio portrait taken in 1929 in Berlin. She stares straight at the camera with large melancholic eyes and a wave of shoulder-length auburn hair -- before she became a Blonde Venus in 1932 -- a tantalizing hint of what the future held in store for her.
At the time of the portrait, she had already played in 17 films between Berlin and Vienna, but her breakthrough the following year in Blue Angel with Josef von Sternberg, director and lover, was not yet come.
Years later, in 1975 at 74 years of age, when she reflected upon her career as a film star and performer, she retired to the Parisian apartment she hardly left -- except for a cameo in Gigolo by David Hemmings in 1978. Dietrich died in May 1992 and was buried next to her mother's final resting place in Berlin.
Over a decade after her death, a small square near her former sanctuary behind Avenue Montaigne was named after her to coincide with the show's opening.
Should you too miss the glamourous presence of Dietrich and happen to be in Paris, take a trip to Galliera Museum before Oct. 12 and you will be richly rewarded.