Let's close the Adrian-themed thread that started last week with a focus on a dress from the 1940 film "Susan and God", directed by George Cukor and starring Joan Crawford and Fredric March.
Based upon a 1937 play by Rachel Crothers and with a screenplay by Anita Loos, the film revolves around Susan (Joan Crawford), a wealthy socialite who believes she has discovered a new religious movement set to expose the truth in God's name.
Estranged from her husband Barrie and teenage daughter Blossom, and blinded by her selfish and fashionable image, frivolous Susan manages to alienate also her friends as she tries to rearrange their lives. It will take her a summer at home with her husband and daughter to embark in a journey that, changing her from within, will make her understand the pain she has caused her family and friends.
While this may not be the best Joan Crawford film, due to the fact that Susan is not a sympathetic character, it includes some great fashion moments: Susan arrives at her friends' house after a trip to Europe in an ensemble that incorporates a belted pocket bag that wouldn's look out of place on a modern Prada runway and, while there are some classic "triangle silhouette" moments, we also see her wearing some wonderful gowns.
One of them is especially remarkable, it is a full-length halterneck pleated gown in dark red, white and blue (at least according to the recoloured poster of the film...) that turns Susan into a goddess, a very apt reference considering her new-found enthusiasm for religion.
The pleats contribute to give Crawford's character an amazing energy as she moves from one friend to the other, trying to promote the power of truth, but basically annoying all of them. The gown is very modern and every now and then variations of this design resurfaced in different collections, including Alice & Olivia's (View this photo) and Alexander McQueen's (View this photo).
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