About

Known credits:
36
Birthday:
1941-09-17
Place of birth:
Cheshire, England, UK
Website:
N/A

Marit Allen

Overview

Marit Allen (17 September 1941 – 26 November 2007) was an English fashion journalist and costume designer who specialized in costumes for films. She designed the costumes for several successful Hollywood films, including Mrs. Doubtfire, The Witches, Eyes Wide Shut, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Brokeback Mountain and La Vie en Rose. Her career as a film costume designer lasted over 33 years.

Marit Allen was born on 17 September 1941 in Cheshire, England, to a Norwegian mother and an English father. She was a pupil at Adcote School, an independent girls' boarding school in Shropshire from 1951 and 1959. She then graduated from the University of Grenoble, in France.

Allen's career in fashion began in 1961 when she took a job as a trainee at Queen Magazine. She quickly became editor and writer for the 'About 20' young fashion section of the magazine, which she used to showcase young design talent and innovative photography. In 1964, when the editor of Queen, Beatrix Miller, went to edit British Vogue, she took Allen with her. For Vogue, Allen founded the 'Young Idea' pages which continued to champion up-and-coming innovative young designers such as John Bates and Foale and Tuffin. Allen's layouts were also original, including a spread based on the Batman comic strip in June 1966. She occasionally modelled for her own articles, and wore the designs she featured. For her 1966 wedding to the film producer Sandy Lieberson, Allen wore an ultra-modern mini-dress and coat trimmed with silver vinyl by John Bates. Allen remained at Vogue until 1973. She also helped to establish the bachelor's degree program in journalism at Central St. Martin's Art College in 1973.

Allen was persuaded to enter the costume designing business for film by director Nicolas Roeg after her successful career in fashion journalism. Following her entry into costume design, Allen worked on the costumes for a number of Roeg's movies including Don't Look Now, The Witches and Eureka.

Allen also developed a working relationship with Taiwanese film director, Ang Lee. The two collaborated to create the costumes for a number of Ang's major films, including Hulk, Brokeback Mountain and Ride with the Devil.

Allen's other noted films included La Vie En Rose (2007) for which she received her sole Oscar nomination, Love in the Time of Cholera (2007), Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988), Dead Man (1995), and Little Shop of Horrors (1986).

In addition to her Academy Award nomination, Allen was also honored for her work with two Emmy nominations, as well as a Costume Designers Guild award and a BAFTA for her work on La Vie En Rose.

Marit Allen died of a brain aneurysm in Sydney, Australia, on 26 November 2007. She was 66 years old. Allen had three children; Lucy, Ben and Holly.

Allen was working with director and producer George Miller on preproduction costume designs for the never-made film Justice League: Mortal" at the time of her death in 2007

Source: Article "Marit Allen" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Known for

Costume & Make-Up
2007 Love in the Time of Cholera Costume & Make-Up Costume Design 61
Fair
2007 La Vie en Rose Costume & Make-Up Costume Design 70
Good
2006 All the King's Men Costume & Make-Up Costume Design 58
Average
2005 Brokeback Mountain Costume & Make-Up Costume Design 76
Good
2005 Nomad: The Warrior Costume & Make-Up Costume Design 58
Average
2004 Thunderbirds Costume & Make-Up Costume Design 55
Average
2003 Hulk Costume & Make-Up Costume Design 56
Average
2002 K-19: The Widowmaker Costume & Make-Up Costume Design 62
Fair
2001 The Weight of Water Costume & Make-Up Costume Design 57
Average
1999 Forever Mine Costume & Make-Up Costume Design 58
Average
1999 Ride with the Devil Costume & Make-Up Costume Design 60
Fair
1999 Eyes Wide Shut Costume & Make-Up Costume Design 73
Good
1997 Snow White: A Tale of Terror Costume & Make-Up Costume Design 59
Average
1995 Dead Man Costume & Make-Up Costume Design 69
Fair
1993 Mrs. Doubtfire Costume & Make-Up Costume Design 71
Good
1993 The Secret Garden Costume & Make-Up Costume Design 68
Fair
1992 Stalin Costume & Make-Up Costume Design 58
Average
1992 Wind Costume & Make-Up Costume Design 59
Average
1992 Shining Through Costume & Make-Up Costume Design 60
Fair
1991 A Kiss Before Dying Costume & Make-Up Costume Design 58
Average
1990 Mermaids Costume & Make-Up Costume Design 63
Fair
1990 The Witches Costume & Make-Up Costume Design 66
Fair
1989 Eat a Bowl of Tea Costume & Make-Up Costume Design 58
Average
1989 The Rachel Papers Costume & Make-Up Costume Design 58
Average
1988 Dirty Rotten Scoundrels Costume & Make-Up Costume Design 66
Fair
1987 White Mischief Costume & Make-Up Costume Design 59
Average
1986 Little Shop of Horrors Costume & Make-Up Costume Design 66
Fair
1986 Dream Lover Costume & Make-Up Costume Design 58
Average
1985 Florence Nightingale Costume & Make-Up Costume Design 59
Average
1985 Déjà Vu Costume & Make-Up Costume Design 59
Average
1984 The Hit Costume & Make-Up Costume Design 60
Fair
1983 Eureka Costume & Make-Up Costume Design 58
Average
1982 An Unsuitable Job for a Woman Costume & Make-Up Costume Designer 59
Average
1980 Richard's Things Costume & Make-Up Costume Design 58
Average
1980 Bad Timing Costume & Make-Up Costume Design 60
Fair
1973 Don't Look Now Costume & Make-Up Costume Design 65
Fair