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Shirley Ann Russell

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Shirley Russell
Born
Shirley Ann Kingdon

(1935-03-11)11 March 1935
London, England
Died4 March 2002(2002-03-04) (aged 66)
London, England
OccupationCostume designer
Years active1956–2002
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1956; div. 1978)​
Children5

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

Career

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Walthamstow College where both Russells studied

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

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Film

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Year Title Director Notes
1958 Amelia and the Angel Ken Russell Short film
1964 French Dressing
1967 Billion Dollar Brain Credited as Shirley Kingdon
Only designed costumes for Françoise Dorléac
1969 Women in Love
1971 The Music Lovers
The Devils
The Boy Friend
1972 Savage Messiah
1974 Mahler
The Little Prince Stanley Donen
1975 Inserts John Byrum
Tommy Ken Russell
Lisztomania
1977 Valentino
1979 Agatha Michael Apted Also production designer
Yanks John Schlesinger
Cuba Richard Lester
1981 Lady Chatterley's Lover Just Jaeckin
Reds Warren Beatty
1982 The Return of the Soldier Alan Bridges
1984 The Razor's Edge John Byrum
1985 The Bride Franc Roddam
1987 Hope and Glory John Boorman
1997 FairyTale: A True Story Charles Sturridge
2000 I Dreamed of Africa Hugh Hudson
2001 Enigma Michael Apted

Television

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Year Title Notes
1966 Isadora Duncan, the Biggest Dancer in the World Television film
1967–1970 Omnibus 3 episodes
1983 Wagner 10 episodes
1996 Gulliver's Travels 2 episodes
2000 Longitude 2 episodes
2002 Shackleton 2 episodes

Awards and nominations

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Award Year Category Work Result Ref.
Academy Awards 1979 Best Costume Design Agatha Nominated [12]
1981 Reds Nominated [13]
British Academy Film Awards 1969 Best Costume Design Women in Love Nominated [14]
1977 Valentino Nominated [15]
1979 Yanks Won [16]
Agatha Nominated
1982 Reds Nominated [17]
1987 Hope and Glory Nominated [18]
British Academy Television Craft Awards 1997 Best Costume Design Gulliver's Travels Won [19]
2001 Longitude Nominated [20]
2003 Shackleton Won [21]
Primetime Emmy Awards 1996 Outstanding Costume Design for a Miniseries or a Special Gulliver's Travels Nominated [22]
Saturn Awards 1985 Best Costume Design The Bride Nominated [23]

Personal life

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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.[24] They both converted to Roman Catholicism prior to their marriage.[25] 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

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She died from cancer[26] in March 2002, one week before her 67th birthday.

References

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