Hi Terry,
Thanks for your comments.
Here we should put slightly aside engineers and inventors or even
designers that existed and in fact engineered and invented or designed
something that, through film, work as metaphors for human virtues. Your
cases are very interesting but are not about science fiction. In a
sense, they are reports of something that happened.
Edna personifies several prejudices about fashion design, design and
Science Fiction. Just look at her house!!!
Yet, let's take a look at Edith's work and see if her designed something
for Flash Gordon...
Best,
Eduardo
On 22-07-2011 15:46, Terence Kavanagh wrote:
> Eduardo
>
> There is something nice and circular about this. It is said that Edna Mode was based on the most famous of all Hollywood costume designers Edith Head (1897–1981) who dressed the likes of Ginger Rogers, Bette Davis, etc. She was awarded eight or ten Oscars, I think. Edna and Edith certainly look the same.
>
> A film that considered the design process in some depth and the challenges facing a designer developing a revolutionary design was a film made about the design engineer R.J. Mitchell in 1942 - 'First of the Few' with Leslie Howard and David Niven. Mitchell designed the 'Spitfire' aircraft.
>
> Another film worth a look features Sir Barnes Wallis the inventor of the bouncing bomb - 'The Dam Busters' made in 1954 with Michael Redgrave as Wallis.
>
> An examination of the lives of both Mitchell and Wallis shows that they both struggled throughout their years against the scepticism/indifference/lack of imagination of government officials and bank managers! Happily, sometimes they were sufficiently persuasive to win the day.
>
> regards
>
> Professor Terry Kavanagh
> Loughborough University
>
>
> On 22 Jul 2011, at 15:03, Eduardo Corte Real wrote:
>
> Dear IDIL,
> Unforgatable is Edna Mode in "The Incredibles" directed by Brad Bird. A
> fashion designer for super heroes costumes. You got everything there of
> the archetypal modern designer served by retro high-tech.
> I'll try to think of more but Edna should be framed and placed as #1.
> Best,
> Eduardo
>
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