Shirley Ann Russell

British film costume designer (1935–2002)

Ken Russell
​
​
(m. 1956; div. 1978)​
Children5

Shirley Ann Russell (11 March 1935 – 4 March 2002) was a British costume designer. She has been nominated two times, for Agatha (1979) and Reds (1981), for the Academy Award for Best Costume Design.

Career

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 Bath Costume Museum.[3]

Russell's costume designs were detailed and nuanced, using costume to show subtle distinctions in class.[4] She was known for the weight and authenticity her design lent to characters.[5] She designed for stars such as Vanessa Redgrave in A Song at Twilight,[6] Rudolf Nureyev in Valentino[7] and Roger Daltrey in Lisztomania.[8] Her design for Daltrey was described by Russell as "fantasticated gear" - the jacket had huge labels featuring keyboard motifs.[9] Another "fantasticated design" is 'The Acid Queen' from Tommy.[10]

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.

Awards and nominations

Award Year Category Work Result Ref.
Academy Awards 1980 Best Costume Design Agatha Nominated [11]
1982 Reds Nominated [12]
BAFTA Film Awards 1970 Best Costume Design Women in Love Nominated [13]
1978 Valentino Nominated [14]
1980 Yanks Won [15]
Agatha Nominated
1983 Reds Nominated [16]
1988 Hope and Glory Nominated [17]
BAFTA Television Craft Awards 1997 Best Costume Design Gulliver's Travels Won [18]
2001 Longitude Nominated [19]
2003 Shackleton Won [20]
Primetime Emmy Awards 1996 Outstanding Costume Design for a Miniseries or a Special Gulliver's Travels Nominated [21]
Saturn Awards 1986 Best Costume Design The Bride Nominated

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.[22] They both converted to Roman Catholicism prior to their marriage.[23] 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[24] in March 2002, one week before her 67th birthday.

References

  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. ^ Unterberger, Amy L (1999). The St James Women Filmmakers Encyclopedia. Visible Ink Press. p. 357.
  5. ^ Garvey, Adrian (2018). "The Boy Friend: Ken Russell's "Anti-Musical"". British Culture & Society in the 1970s: 225–234.
  6. ^ "Costume design | Russell, Shirley | V&A Search the Collections". V and A Collections. 11 October 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  7. ^ "Valentino | Russell, Shirley | V&A Search the Collections". V and A Collections. 11 October 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  8. ^ "Listzomania | Russell, Shirley | V&A Search the Collections". V and A Collections. 11 October 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  9. ^ Harper, Sue (2000). Women in British Cinema. Continuum. ISBN 0826447325.
  10. ^ Smith, Justin (2012). British Film Culture in the 1970s. Edinburgh University Press.
  11. ^ "52nd Academy Awards". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  12. ^ "54th Academy Awards". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  13. ^ "23rd British Academy Film Awards". British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  14. ^ "31st British Academy Film Awards". British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  15. ^ "33rd British Academy Film Awards". British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  16. ^ "36th British Academy Film Awards". British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  17. ^ "41st British Academy Film Awards". British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  18. ^ "43rd British Academy Television Awards". British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  19. ^ "2nd British Academy Television Craft Awards". British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  20. ^ "4th British Academy Television Craft Awards". British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  21. ^ "Shirley Russell - Emmy Awards, Nominations, and Wins". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  22. ^ "BFI Screenonline: Russell, Shirley (1935-2002) Biography". www.screenonline.org.uk. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  23. ^ Ken Russell at Moviecrazed.com
  24. ^ Raising Hell: Ken Russell and the Unmaking of the Devils

External links

  • Shirley Ann Russell at IMDb
  • A tribute to Shirley Russell
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