Morgan Brittany: "Dynasty" copied "Dallas"' clothing??

[Alexis]

I was going to post something along these lines on the Falcon Crest thread, I think it's the most logical explanation for why Travilla didn't do Falcon Crest in addition to Dallas and Knots Landing. Shirley Cunningham was credited as Wyman's costumer for the entire run of Falcon Crest but I imagine Wyman had a wardrobe budget included in her contract (as Barbara Bel Geddes probably did on Dallas). Jane Wyman frequently wore Nolan Miller for public appearances as well as when she guest starred on shows produced by Aaron Spelling. I don't know what these sketches are from, by the looks of them they're from the 70s.

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Nolan Miller's success wasn't only due to has skill as a designer but his diplomacy in dealing with Hollywood-sized egos. Dressing Wyman on Falcon Crest for money but no screen credit was probably the best way to keep both Jane Wyman and Aaron Spelling happy.

I can't imagine Lorimar even considering asking Travilla to design for Susan Sullivan and the other actresses on Falcon Crest knowing that Wyman was already being dressed by Miller - that would have created a bigger catfight than anything that appeared on the nighttime soaps.

Now I'm wondering about Lana Turner, did she also wear Nolan Miller on Falcon Crest?

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Yes, you can tell just by looking at some of Jane's outfits on Falcon Crest that they are Nolan Miller. I would imagine Lana Turner's clothes were probably by him too, though I don't remember anything specific or that would stand out as his. I know he dressed her a lot for her personal wardrobe too.

 

[James from London]

A hostage situation already in episode 2 is not very smart.

Flamingo Road did the same thing! Dallas at least waited until Episode 4.

 

[Jimmy Todd]

I was going to post something along these lines on the Falcon Crest thread, I think it's the most logical explanation for why Travilla didn't do Falcon Crest in addition to Dallas and Knots Landing. Shirley Cunningham was credited as Wyman's costumer for the entire run of Falcon Crest but I imagine Wyman had a wardrobe budget included in her contract (as Barbara Bel Geddes probably did on Dallas). Jane Wyman frequently wore Nolan Miller for public appearances as well as when she guest starred on shows produced by Aaron Spelling. I don't know what these sketches are from, by the looks of them they're from the 70s.

View attachment 28513

Nolan Miller's success wasn't only due to has skill as a designer but his diplomacy in dealing with Hollywood-sized egos. Dressing Wyman on Falcon Crest for money but no screen credit was probably the best way to keep both Jane Wyman and Aaron Spelling happy.

I can't imagine Lorimar even considering asking Travilla to design for Susan Sullivan and the other actresses on Falcon Crest knowing that Wyman was already being dressed by Miller - that would have created a bigger catfight than anything that appeared on the nighttime soaps.

Now I'm wondering about Lana Turner, did she also wear Nolan Miller on Falcon Crest?

View attachment 28514

This is interesting. I don't know a lot about fashion, so please explain to me why having Travolta do the gowns for the other ladies on FC cause friction between them and Jane. Wouldn't having the same designer bring out the "I look better in Miller than she does," in any of the ladies with a competitive edge?

 

[Grant Jennings]

This is interesting. I don't know a lot about fashion, so please explain to me why having Travolta do the gowns for the other ladies on FC cause friction between them and Jane. Wouldn't having the same designer bring out the "I look better in Miller than she does," in any of the ladies with a competitive edge?

I don't think the friction would be among the actresses but between Miller and Travilla. I doubt Travilla would be interested in the job if it didn't include dressing the show's star (who was also a Hollywood legend). I imagine Miller's nose would have been out of joint if, after several years of dressing Jane Wyman (and possibly Lana Turner) Travilla were to be hired amidst much fanfare. I think the producers decided it was best to let sleeping dogs lie.

 

[colbyco]

Dynasty may have won in the clothes stakes but in my opinion the women of Dallas were far more beautiful..and intelligent.

Did you forget Heather Locklear, Catherine Oxenberg, Leann Hunley, Emma Samms, Diahann Caroll ??
Sue Ellen mostly didn´t seem intelligent ... the way JR threated her. She should have married Dusty and never come back.
Cliff often handled Aafton bad. The men had the power most of the time. Unless you were Mrs Stone.

Krystle's been copying Miss Ellie for years...

-God thanks she didn´t copy her way to dress ....

DALLAS had better looking ladies. With the exception of Joan Collins.
The hair alone on Charlene Tilton, Morgan Fairchild and Morgan Brittany is incredible. All the actors had such gorgeous eyes. Lucy and katherine, characters they played were criminally underused and misused.

-Really? Did you forget Heather Locklear, Catherine Oxenberg, Leann Hunley, Emma Samms, Diahann Caroll ??

Lorimar hired Travilla for Dallas (61 episodes) and Knots Landing (60 episodes), both 1984-86! I didn't see any enlarged living rooms at the Seaview Circle...

Travilla won an Emmy for Best Costume Design in September 1983 for The Thorn Birds . While people were talking more about Dynasty's shoulder-pad costumes Travilla was a natural choice for Lorimar to do something different. Travilla also won an Emmy for The Scarlett O'Hara War (1980) where he dressed Morgan Brittany as Vivien Leigh. I think that could have been a stronger inspiration since Brittany's Katherine wore the most glamorous dresses. And his costumes for Victoria Principal, Linda Gray and Priscilla Presley actually bore more references to what he designed for Marilyn Monroe and her co-stars in How to Marry a Millionaire, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and The Seven Year Itch.

I really don't see the imitation of Dynasty. Dynasty's Nolan Miller had an own distinctive style as Travilla had too. When Lorimar hired him they had the extra money to spend on clothes for two of their highest-rated shows (and a few episodes for a third one, Berrenger's in 1985). Before that Lorimar spend more money on location shootings than Dynasty.

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- Without Dynasty´s success Dallas probably wouldn´t have hired Travilla ... even the ladies of KL got a Dynasty-upgrade because it was the fashion the whole world talked about ....
But I wonder why KL got Travilla´s dresses and not FC? For me FC was the more "rich show" .... second after Dynasty.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

- Without Dynasty´s success Dallas probably wouldn´t have hired Travilla ... even the ladies of KL got a Dynasty-upgrade because it was the fashion the whole world talked about ....
But I wonder why KL got Travilla´s dresses and not FC? For me FC was the more "rich show" .... second after Dynasty.

I've heard somewhere that Wyman had her own designer. But not getting Travilla may have been for a different reason --- Filerman co-produced both shows, of course.

There's no question that DALLAS was impacted by DYNASTY's ratings rise and its fashion sense -- in a positive way, initially. Long-term? That's still up for debate.

 

[Rove]

Did you forget Heather Locklear, Catherine Oxenberg, Leann Hunley, Emma Samms, Diahann Caroll ??

Only one lady here stands out for me...Diahann Carroll. She was breathtakingly beautiful but her talent and beauty was wasted on Dynasty. So much potential...lost.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Only one lady here stands out for me...Diahann Carroll. She was breathtakingly beautiful but her talent and beauty was wasted on Dynasty. So much potential...lost.

DYNASTY was all about potential lost.

 

[colbyco]

DYNASTY was all about potential lost.

- that´s so sad and true ...

 

[HelloHappy]

I disagree with Ms. Brittany. The clothes on Dynasty were meant to be glamorous and were usually flashier than Dallas. Angelica Nero's outfits seemed inspired by Alexis on Dynasty. However, Dallas was usually more elegant and realistic with their women's fashions.

 

[HelloHappy]

Only one lady here stands out for me...Diahann Carroll. She was breathtakingly beautiful but her talent and beauty was wasted on Dynasty. So much potential...lost.

The way that show wasted Ms. Carroll will forever be a stain on its legacy to me. It wasn't until Sabler that the writers allowed Alexis to have an actual female rival when it should've been Dominique.

 

[HelloHappy]

DYNASTY was all about potential lost.

If only they had spent half as much on writers as they did on clothes.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

If only they had spent half as much on writers as they did on clothes.

Well, they had a bunch of writers, but everything had to be filtered through the creators' camping buddies who seemed totally disinterested in the characters before too long, their giving too little attention -- and also too much -- to the details. So I guess the wardrobe was all they had to fall back on.

 

[HelloHappy]

Well, they had a bunch of writers, but everything had to be filtered through the creators' camping buddies who seemed totally disinterested in the characters before too long, their giving too little attention -- and also too much -- to the details. So I guess the wardrobe was all they had to fall back on.

I also don't think the writers were helped by John Forsythe and Linda Evans demanding that Blake and Krystle must never be unfaithful. It may have killed a lot of potential stories.