The glamour of everyday: Hollywood designers and the endorsement of ‘ordinary’ products in the studio system

This article examines how Hollywood costume designers helped shape consumer culture through product endorsement during the studio era. Drawing on extensive archival research, it highlights how designers like Adrian and Travis Banton, celebrated for their glamorous on-screen creations, were enlisted to promote ordinary household items like washing powders and hosiery. These campaigns emphasized the designers’ expertise in garment care and fashion, transforming everyday products into aspirational tools for achieving Hollywood-style sophistication. The study reveals how the studio system extended costume designers’ influence beyond film production, transforming them into trusted authorities in marketing and taste-making. Through a nuanced analysis of promotional campaigns housed in the J. Walter Thompson Collection at Duke University’s Rubenstein Library and the Gary and Sandra Baden Collection of Celebrity Endorsement in Advertising at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, the article uncovers the overlooked labour of costume designers as cultural intermediaries, who not only shaped Hollywood’s visual identity but also bridged the gap between aspirational glamour and accessible consumer goods. By situating these practices within a broader context, the study offers fresh insights into the commercialization of Hollywood glamour and its enduring legacy in consumer culture.