From Here to Eternity (1953)

From Here to Eternity was a war time film starring Montgomery Clift, Frank Sinatra and Burt Lancaster as soldiers stationed in Hawaii leading up to the attacks on Pearl Harbour.

With a cast like this, the costume needed to reinforce the glamour and Jean Louis, the designer, didn’t disappoint.  He was nominated for an Academy Award for best costume design (black and white) but was beaten by Edith Head’s achievements on Roman Holiday.

The biggest disappointment of this film was that it was not shot in colour, as it brought us the trend of the Hawaiian shirt, colourful leaf and fruit motifs in a lightweight short sleeve shirt. This is a trend we laugh at now, but every now and then, still graces our spring summer catwalks.