1950s
Gogie Gomez became an overnight sensation in 1956 with her first single, “The Wayward Wind.” Travilla visited her backstage and created a gown for her 1957 Hollywood nightclub performance. Gomez would wear the gown again for a publicity photo.
Marie "The Body" McDonald appeared in Las Vegas for her 1957 appearances wearing a $4800 Travilla black chiffon and sequin creation.
A couple of months later, at the Hotel Plaza's Persian Room, she'd added "a 14-carat gold gown and also a silver metallic job for slumming." per Variety's review. McDonald returned to the Desert Inn, opening her show in a Travilla gown of red chiffon over a nude souffle, where she performed "Alive and Kicking" in addition to songs from her newly released RCA album.
In 1958, the Los Angeles Herald reported McDonald wore a “beige chemise dress” by the designer to a court appearance concerning her estranged husband, Harry Karl's involvement in her faked kidnapping plot to garner publicity.
Jane Powell was a pixie-sized actress, barely breaking five feet, who found fame in 1940s MGM musicals. Travilla designed Powell's gowns for her 1958 appearance at the Plaza Hotel's Persian Room. A sketch (not drawn by Travilla) appeared in Women's Wear Daily. Four of the gowns were lace and featured a wide over-skirt over a narrow sheath, varying only in color. They included a white lace with embroidered white silk organdie, red with coral, black with gunmetal, and turquoise with aqua. The fifth gown was of yellow silk satin with white folded bands in the strapless neckline.
And again in January 1959 at Phoenix's KoKo Room while designing her Spring and Summer wardrobe. For her Las Vegas appearance, one dress was a sheath of palest mauve with a pale yellow camisole band. Over this was draped a chiffon gown in alternating layers of sea blue and green. And again for her 1960 show at the Sahara in Vegas. Twenty years later, Powell appeared with Travilla on Dinah Shore's talk show about Hollywood glamour. Sitting next to the singer, he talked about Jane's diminutive size and the difficulties in designing for it. He mentioned his wife, Dona, remarking she and Powell were identical in height and measurements.
1960s
In June of 1960, the Richard Allen Diane Hartman Dance Team opened at Ciro’s on Sunset Boulevard. Billy Daniels choreographed a total of six numbers for the duo with several costume changes. Variety deemed Trailla’s wardrobe, including Hartman’s white shirtdress in the finale, worthy of “a positive nod.” Allan had worked at Fox the same time as Travilla, leaving for Germany when they dropped his contract. He returned to America and teamed with Hartman and his first and last appearance at Ciro's when the famed nightclub closed its doors a few months later. (Now the more famous Comedy Club.)
In March 1961, Sheila MacRae and her husband Gordon appeared at Manhattan Waldorf Astoria’s Empire Room. The blonde siren was gowned by Travilla, Balenciaga, and Sebasta. Trailla had created both professional and personal wardrobes for McRae for a few years.
In 1962, singer Margaret Whiting would be named on of the Ten Best Dressed
Women of America by the Fashion Foundation while appearing at Boston’s Bradford
Room in Call Me Madam. “Clothes are an attitude,” she feels. “Dress well and
you look and feel well.” Among her costumes for the show, all from her personal
wardrobe included several Travilla’s including, “a show-stopping orange satin
sheath, a black peau de soie with red bodice trim and a memorable chiffon
Grecian drape sheath as lavishly multi-colored as Joseph’s coat. Whiting would
later dub Susan Hayward in Valley of the Dolls. (For which Travilla designed the costumes.)
1963 Dorothy Provine co-starred with George Burns in a six-week engagement. Two weeks at the Sparks Nugget Reno, then the Riveria in Las Vegas. Provine was a television actress who was replacing Burns’ former partner Carol Channing. She began rehearsals in May for their opening in August and ordered five white wigs and five gowns by Travilla. Sitting ringside at the premiere were Burns’ wife Gracie Allen with Jack Benny and his wife, Mary Livingston. The act was a test as Jack “Dragnet” Webb was interested in the pair for Wendy and Me, a new television series. The duo didn’t click, and Connie Stevens would replace Provine in the unsuccessful sitcom.
Designed for Mrs. Nat King Cole, a silk/wool coat and dress ensemble in Champagne Gold. The double-breasted coat has angled princess seaming and a deep luxurious hem of lynx. The sleevelss dress has a high round neckline with princess seaming and a corded waist band that sits at the hip top. Two hip front pockets. Back zipper with hook/eye.
Where the Boys Are star, Connie Francis saw a dress she admired at a New York City party and quickly sketched it for her seamstress to make a copy. From over her shoulder, she heard, “Almost as good as when I designed it.” Connie Francis became a client in August 1966 with her first appearance at the Cal-Neva Lodge in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. According to Francis’ press agent, the designer created twenty outfits for her show. Francis had three dress forms that Travilla worked from – one at her average weight, one underweight, and one overweight. Francis had nicknamed them “O.K.,” “Starvation,” and “Not Another Ounce” although she told another journalist Bill Kennedy that “He screams if I have too much to eat. One ounce and it drives him to his dummies called “Thin,” “Regular,” and “Are You Kidding?” For her 1967 Las Vegas Sahara appearance, she set Las Vegas on its ear in 1967 by opening her act in sequined bell-bottomed pajamas. That May, Marilyn Beck tattled that Connie ordered a $1500 blouse to go with the four elegant skirts Travilla was creating for her.
Nancy Wilson, 1967 Stage, and Personal Women Wear Daily.
“She has terribly good taste.” He loved working with Wilson’s 5’8” frame, one
size smaller than a model. For her Los Angeles Greek Theater appearance,
several long shirtwaists including a cage of white beads, a citron-colored
draped halter jersey gown “I like her covered up for evening.” Wilson also
ordered twelve daytime costumes from his fall collection. “She wants to be
comfortable, doesn’t like gimmicks.” Among her choices was a navy camel
reversible polo coat over a slim dress.
Women’s Wear Daily reported Kay Starr's fashions in her 1967 appearance at Los Angeles’ Century Plaza Hotel Westside Room. A four-tiered white pleated chiffon gown with a midnight blue sweater top smothered in paillettes. An ultramarine long-sleeve chiffon tent. A formal shirtdress of point d’esprit embroidered in white and yellow daisies. A high neck white silk crepe with a diamond half belt and a silver and white silk and wool with silver cinched waistline. A welcome-back party was thrown in the California Lounge after her opening night. Travilla was among many guests, including hairdresser Jay Sebring, Johnny Ray, and Starr’s proud mother.
Julie London spent $25,000 on her wardrobe for her 1967 New York appearance at the Americana Hotel, including a flowing pink pleated chiffon Travilla. The gown was lettuce green at her 1968 Century Plaza Los Angeles booking. When she returned to Manhattan and the Waldorf, it was a “deceptively demure gown with huge balloon sleeves and a plunging neckline that went on and on.”
Lena Horne Late 1960s early 70s sketches.
Travilla admitted to sending Marlene Dietrich a long, handwritten love note asking if he could design for her and if she would please call him. “I sat by the phone for three days, waiting for a reply. None came." So, these sketches might just be wishful thinking on the designer's part.
Dinah Shore wore Travilla numerous times during her television series and specials. And she did again during her 1969 Vegas appearance at the Landmark Hotel, including a black creation with a large silver buckle fastened “smack onto Dinah’s bare mid-riff.”
Ann Margret sketches for her Vegas stage shows. Travilla would design Margret's wardrobe for her appearance in 1984's Streetcar Named Desire.
Based upon the gold lame created for Marilyn, Travilla would bring this design out ever few years. Here it's worn on a Gladys Knight & the Pips Album Cover
A gown worn by Whitney Houston in 1986 to the 28th annual
GRAMMY Awards ceremony where Houston won her first GRAMMY for Best Pop Vocal
Performance Female for her song "Saving All My Love for You." The
sleeveless floor-length teal gown has a single white shoulder strap with key
hole cut out, beaded embellished with loch rosen rhinestones. A fall of fabric
from key hole and slit up the leg of the gown. Whitney’s dress sold for $20,000
in 2012. The estate copy sold for far less in 2013. Though attributed to Travilla, in 1986, blurbs appeared in the Hawaiian press stating local designer “Eduardo,” who’d been assisting Travilla at the same time, was the actual designer.
When asked backstage by a reporter about how she chose this particular dress, Houston's reply was "I saw it. I liked it. I bought it."
