The room that housed her most famous outfits also had a continual reel of clips from her most famous movies. It felt like stepping back into time and witnessing her acting firsthand. I loved all of the Travilla designs - as he was well known for working with Marilyn on eight or so Hollywood movies.
These are two of her most well known dresses from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and they are both by Travilla.
As a high end shoe buff, I adored the Ferragamo shoes section of the exhibit as well. There were replicas of some of the most famous shoes he's ever created: the Carmen Miranda shoes, the shoes with a removable sock lining, the shoes custom made for an Indian princess with real jewels, and the invisible sandal.
It was interesting to learn how he came from very humble roots and became one of the most well known designer names in the world. He was born in 1898 and made his shoe debut at his sisters' communion. He moved to Boston and worked in a shoe factory, but didn't enjoy that line of work, so he moved to Santa Barbara and opened a shop. He became well known through the shoes he made for movie sets and eventually some of the most famous movie stars ever. Eventually he moved back to Florence because the quality of craftsmanship was much higher. Ferragamo was debatably at the peak of creativity and innovation during the World Wars when he no longer had easy access to high quality materials and began to use materials that were available but deemed "poor." He used materials like cork, raffia, cellophane, fish skin, canvas, embroidery, and goat skin. He also invented the "wedge," the "stilletto" heel, and arch support (and consequently more comfortable shoes).
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