Shirley Ann Russell

Contents

Shirley Ann Russell (née Kingdon; 11 March 1935 – 4 March 2002) was a British costume designer. She has received various accolades, including a BAFTA Film Award and two BAFTA Television Awards, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards and an Emmy Award.

Career

Russell studied Fashion at Walthamstow College of Art, and she later attended the Royal College of Art. She ran her own firm of film costumiers, called The Last Picture Frock, particularly specialising in 1930s and 1940s clothing.[1] The firm was sold to the costumier Angels[2] in the 1970s. Her interest in historic costume began when she assisted Doris Langley Moore, the founder of the Fashion Museum, Bath.[3] She was a widely-acknowledged expert on period costuming and was often called upon by art dealers to help them date paintings.[4]

Russell's costume designs were detailed and nuanced, using costume to show subtle distinctions in class.[5] She was known for the weight and authenticity her design lent to characters.[6] In 1969's film Women in Love her designs signalled the social and cultural differences between the two Brangwen sisters and the Crich family, and were nominated for a Best Costume Design BAFA. She designed for stars such as Vanessa Redgrave in A Song at Twilight,[7] Rudolf Nureyev in Valentino[8] and Roger Daltrey in Lisztomania.[9] Her design for Daltrey was described by Russell as "fantasticated gear" - the jacket had huge labels featuring keyboard motifs.[10] Another "fantasticated design" is 'The Acid Queen' from Tommy.[11]

Collaborations with her husband Ken Russell included: Women in Love, Amelia and the Angel, The Music Lovers, The Devils, The Boy Friend, Savage Messiah, Mahler, Tommy, Lisztomania, and Valentino. Russell's other credits include The Little Prince, Lady Chatterley's Lover, The Return of the Soldier, The Razor's Edge, Hope and Glory, The Bride, Yanks, Gulliver's Travels, I Dreamed of Africa, and Shackleton.

Selected filmography

Film

YearTitleDirectorNotes
1958Amelia and the AngelKen RussellShort film
1964French Dressing
1967Billion Dollar BrainCredited as Shirley Kingdon Kingdon only designed costumes for Françoise Dorléac
1969Women in Love
1971The Music Lovers
The Devils
The Boy Friend
1972Savage Messiah
1974Mahler
The Little PrinceStanley Donen
1975InsertsJohn Byrum
TommyKen Russell
Lisztomania
1977Valentino
1979AgathaMichael AptedAlso production designer
YanksJohn Schlesinger
CubaRichard Lester
1981Lady Chatterley's LoverJust Jaeckin
RedsWarren Beatty
1982The Return of the SoldierAlan Bridges
1984The Razor's EdgeJohn Byrum
1985The BrideFranc Roddam
1987Hope and GloryJohn Boorman
1997FairyTale: A True StoryCharles Sturridge
2000I Dreamed of AfricaHugh Hudson
2001EnigmaMichael Apted

Television

YearTitleNotes
1966Isadora Duncan, the Biggest Dancer in the WorldTelevision film
1967–1970Omnibus3 episodes
1983Wagner10 episodes
1996Gulliver's Travels2 episodes
2000Longitude2 episodes
2002Shackleton2 episodes

Awards and nominations

AwardYear[12]CategoryWorkResultRef.
Academy Awards1980Best Costume DesignAgathaNominated[13]
1982RedsNominated[14]
British Academy Film Awards1970Best Costume DesignWomen in LoveNominated[15]
1978ValentinoNominated[16]
1980YanksWon[17]
AgathaNominated
1983RedsNominated[18]
1988Hope and GloryNominated[19]
British Academy Television Craft Awards1997Best Costume DesignGulliver's TravelsWon[20]
2001LongitudeNominated[21]
2003ShackletonWon[22]
Primetime Emmy Awards1996Outstanding Costume Design for a Miniseries or a SpecialGulliver's TravelsNominated[23]
Saturn Awards1986Best Costume DesignThe BrideNominated[24]

Personal life

Russell was born as Shirley Ann Kingdon in London, England. Whilst studying at Walthamstow College of Art, she met her husband the film director Ken Russell, to whom she was married from 1956 to 1978.[25] They both converted to Roman Catholicism prior to their marriage.[26] They had five children: Xavier, James, Alexander, Victoria and Toby. Following her divorce from Ken Russell, she lived for many years with director Jonathan Benson in Chiswick.

Death

She died from cancer[27] in March 2002, one week before her 67th birthday.

References

  1. 1.Rule, Vera (22 March 2002). "Obituary: Shirley Russell". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  2. 2."Angels Corporate – Angels Costumes. Costume suppliers to the entertainment industry, film, television and theatre, photographic, pop promos". Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  3. 3.Rule, Vera (22 March 2002). "Obituary: Shirley Russell". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  4. 4.Bell, Melanie (2021). Movie workers: the women who made British cinema. Women and film history international. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. p. 151. ISBN 978-0-252-04387-1.
  5. 5.Unterberger, Amy L (1999). The St James Women Filmmakers Encyclopedia. Visible Ink Press. p. 357.
  6. 6.Garvey, Adrian (2018). "The Boy Friend: Ken Russell's "Anti-Musical"". British Culture & Society in the 1970s: 225–234.
  7. 7."Costume design | Russell, Shirley | V&A Search the Collections". V and A Collections. 11 October 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  8. 8."Valentino | Russell, Shirley | V&A Search the Collections". V and A Collections. 11 October 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  9. 9."Listzomania | Russell, Shirley | V&A Search the Collections". V and A Collections. 11 October 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  10. 10.Harper, Sue (2000). Women in British Cinema. Continuum. ISBN 0826447325.
  11. 11.Smith, Justin (2012). British Film Culture in the 1970s. Edinburgh University Press.
  12. 12.Indicates the year of ceremony. Each year is linked to the article about the awards held that year, wherever possible.
  13. 13."52nd Academy Awards". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. March 2022. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  14. 14."54th Academy Awards". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. March 2022. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  15. 15."23rd British Academy Film Awards". British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  16. 16."31st British Academy Film Awards". British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  17. 17."33rd British Academy Film Awards". British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  18. 18."36th British Academy Film Awards". British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  19. 19."41st British Academy Film Awards". British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  20. 20."43rd British Academy Television Awards". British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  21. 21."2nd British Academy Television Craft Awards". British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  22. 22."4th British Academy Television Craft Awards". British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  23. 23."Shirley Russell - Emmy Awards, Nominations, and Wins". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  24. 24."1985 | 13th Saturn Awards". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 13 February 2006. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
  25. 25."BFI Screenonline: Russell, Shirley (1935-2002) Biography". www.screenonline.org.uk. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  26. 26.Ken Russell at Moviecrazed.com
  27. 27.Raising Hell: Ken Russell and the Unmaking of the Devils