Gene Kornman took these gorgeous photos of Marilyn Monroe. She wore a gold lamé dress designed by William Travilla for ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)
The dress was too risky, and only appears for a few seconds in the film. Marilyn had just gone through a scandal in 1949 when she posed nude, and the studio did not want any negative attention or bad press. However, she wore it to the Photoplay Awards the same year.
Travilla also designed Marilyn’s costumes for seven other films. He particularly liked her breasts in this dress, saying she had “the best breasts in Hollywood.” The positioning is more important than the shape or size. It allowed him to experiment with a lower cut for the cleavage since they were wider-set than most women.
