Isn’t this an amazing assiut dress? Oscar award-winning fashion designer Anthony Powel designed this amazing garment for the 1978 film “Death on the Nile.” This gown captures the sleek body-conscious lines popular in the 1930s. The long lean silhouette, strappy shoulders, and low-cut neckline captures all the essential design features of the era.
Compare Mia Farrow’s gown to this love sleek 1932-33 era gown worn by Hungarian opera singer Gitta Alpar. Notice how the designer has used the natural weight and drape of the assiut fabric to create a sleek, full-length gown. Gitta Alpar looks amazing in this widely distributed promotional postcard made shortly before Alpar relocated to Hollywood. She appeared in musicals from 1932 to 1941.
It was Anthony Powel’s amazing attention in detail on “Death on the Nile,” led to his win for the 1979 Academy Award for Best Costuming. If you would like to learn more about the costuming for this film, check out The Ultimate Fashion History channel. In this video, costume historian Amanda Hallay presents a nuanced read of the costumes in this film. She discusses how they helped craft the characters, and helped breathe life into this historic old mystery by Agatha Christy.
I really enjoyed this video, I hope you will too!
Dawn Devine ~ Davina
March 22, 2022
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