- Born
- Died
- Birth nameVarvara Zhmoudsky
- Barbara Karinska was born on October 3, 1886 in Kharkov, Russian Empire [now Kharkiv, Ukraine]. She was a costume designer, known for Joan of Arc (1948), Hans Christian Andersen (1952) and The Pirate (1948). She was married to Vladimir Mamontov, Alexander Moïssenko and N. S. Karinsky. She died on October 19, 1983 in New York City, New York, USA.
- SpousesVladimir Mamontov(1921 - ?)Alexander Moïssenko(1908 - 1909) (his death, 1 child)N. S. Karinsky (divorced)
- Costumer of the New York City Ballet, first costumer ever to win the Capezio Dance Award, for costumes "of visual beauty for the spectator and complete delight for the dancer." She won the 1948 Oscar for the costumes of Joan of Arc. She divided her time between homes in Great Barrington, Mass., and Domremy, France, the birthplace of Joan of Arc.
- Barbara Karinska built and designed the costumes for the 1948 Vincente Minnelli MGM musical "The Pirate". Vincente Minnelli, after seeing the Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontaine Broadway play, during a vacation break while filming "Meet Me In Saint Louis", decided this would be a perfect production for Judy Garland. Minnelli made notes, sketches, copies of Miles White costumes for the play. Minnelli gave these notes to Madam Karinska. Karinska had brought a costume sketch artist with her from New York to interpret Minnelli's notes and ideas based on the New York play. Miles White regretted that Minnelli never considered hiring him to costume the movie adaptation.
- Karinska followed the original Diaghilev Ballet Russe from Paris to Monte Carlo in order to be hired as their wardrobe mistress and costume designer. Arriving in Monte Carlo at the Opera House, Karinska entered the theatre, marched down the main aisle, introducing herself with the intent of becoming the company's wardrobe mistress. "Yes, I can sew!" In response to Diaghliev's question, she and her assistant had a job and career with the Ballet Russe! After being hired by the ballet company, which later became called "Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo" in 1931, Karinska, as part of the company staff, accompanied the ballet company on all of their engagements in Paris, London, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, in South American tour cities, and to Australia. Karinska remained in New York, establishing Madam Karinska's Costume Shop in the 40s. Karinska's costume work relationship with choreographer George Balanchine, who established the New York City Ballet with Lincoln Kirsten, evolved with Madam Karinska in charge of the ballet company's costume-wardrobe shop.
- Film costume designer Edith Head is credited for Ginger Rogers' modern day dress in the Paramount Pictures feature film-musical "Lady in the Dark." Broadway-film couturier/set designer Raoul Pene du Bois is credited in the feature film as the costume/set designer in the circus dream-musical dance sequences. Paramount film studio art department supervisor Hans Drier was the Paramount feature film's Production Designer. The film's director Mitchell Leisen, (formerly a set and costume designer), supervised and contributed his creative imaginative set and costume ideas, suggestions, in the creation of the film's scenery and costume applications. Leisen was instrumental in creating the mink-fur skirted gown lined in jewels for Ginger Rogers' musical circus sequence. Raoul Pene du Bois designed this costume which has usually been attributed to the films lead costumer Edith Head. The first mink gown was created, and during fittings and rehearsals, the costume's fur lined jeweled weight was just too heavy for Ginger Rogers to walk, nor to stand (up) during long filming sequences, nor to dance or perform in a choreographed production number. The first original gown, lined with matched paste-glass rubies and emeralds, cost $35,000 (in 1944 dollars) to manufacture. Brief shots of Rogers in the fur skirted paste-jeweled gown were photographed. The New York costume wizard Barbara Karinska was at the cross town - Culver City MGM studio collaborating with the costume designer Irene on the Ronald Colman and Marlene Dietrich filming of "Kismet." Raoul Pene du Bois, who had collaborated with Barbara Karinska in New York City's Broadway theatricals, begged, imploring Madam Karinska to remake the fur skirt to enable Ginger Rogers to perform and dance in the musical production number. Karinska made a second version of the mink dress, lined with sequins, which, less bulky - weighed less, was lighter for Ginger Rogers's choreographed dream-circus-dance production number. Studio costume departments maintained a fur vault providing fur pelts for coats and costume trimming. The floor length mink skirt for Ginger Rogers used mink pelts from this vault. The original show-piece mink skirt, too heavy to wear, was rebuilt as a new costume. Karinska built a wire hoop covered with a fine netting, hanging and spacing the mink pelts apart from each other; supported by net, reducing the number of mink pelts on the skirt's total weight, allowing the skirt's flexibility on the actress' body during the dance sequence. Both gowns are shown in the movie. The original fur-skirted gown with the paste-glass jewels was donated to the Smithsonian Institution. The second fur skirted gown was DE-constructed, with the fur pelts returned to the studio's fur vault. Karinska was never credited for building this particular Ginger Rogers - dance-costume.
- Mail (chain mail, chainmaille) is a type of armor consisting of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh. A coat of this armor is often referred to as a hauberk. The "Joan of Arc" military-infantry chainmaille costumes-wardrobe posed a major problem in manufacturing as authentic wardrobe requirements - too costly to duplicate matching actual authentic chain mail - too heavy to wear for an actor to perform - actors and extras required as military regiments appearing in the film's battle sequences. Madam Karinska's solution was simply inspired. With knitting needles and yarn, Karinska knitted tunics with simple metal washers spaced equally throughout the knitted garment, then sprayed with a dull silver paint.
- "There is Shakespeare for literature and Madame Karinska for costumes." -- George Balanchine.
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