Five Female Fashion Icons of their Day with Olivier Courteaux

Marlene Dietrich

Whenever filming, the German star who once dismissed fashion as a “bore”, insisted on having a full-length mirror positioned on the set, so that she could have a glimpse at herself at any moment. Behind her apparent aloofness towards fashion, Marlene Dietrich always took great pain at curating her image; the image of a beguiling creature whose sense of sophistication and style established her among fashion’s most enduring icons. “I dress for the image. Not for myself, not for the public, not for fashion, not for men,”she told the Observer in 1960. And her image lives on…

In the series:

Olivier Courteaux received his B.A. in History, M.A. in War and Conflict Studies and Ph.D. in Contemporary International Relations from the University of Paris-Sorbonne. He has lectured at various Canadian universities, including Ryerson and the Royal Military College of Canada.