Born: Waco, Texas, USA, 1894
Died: Los Angeles, California, USA, 1958
Travis Banton was considered – along with Gilbert Adrian – one _of the most important figures in Hollywood. Having attended the New York School of Fine and Applied Arts, he worked for Lucile _Duff Gordon, who was then one of the most famous couturiers _in the world. Banton’s big break came in 1924, when he was commissioned to design the costumes for Leatrice Joy and the _cast of A Dressmaker in Paris.
During his time as chief designer at Paramount, from 1927–38, Banton created costumes for Tallulah Bankhead, Marlene Dietrich, and Claudette Colbert’s 1935 appearance in Cleopatra. His trademark was bias cutting and body consciousness. When _his contract expired with Paramount, he switched to Twentieth-Century Fox, then Universal Studios.
